Analyst: With the Power of Walmart, Straight Talk Prepaid Wireless Can Be ‘Tipping Point’ for Millions
Thursday October 15, 2009
The 140 million U.S. consumers who are on cell phone contracts spend an average of $81 per month while using less than 550 monthly minutes, according to the New Millennium Research Council (NMRC). The NMRC is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
Prepaid carriers like Boost Mobile, Cricket, Virgin Mobile, Jitterbug and PlatinumTel are increasing in popularity due to their promise of lower-priced cell phone plans and no contracts.
Straight Talk, which is a brand of TracFone Wireless, is the newest prepaid wireless carrier on the scene. Straight Talk is now being sold by Walmart, which is the country's largest retailer.
This affiliation could be the "tipping point for millions of consumers who are already considering moving away from expensive, contract-based cell phone service," according to NMRC executive director Allen Hepner in a Thursday statement.
A survey published by the NMRC in March 2009 said two out of five Americans with contract-based cell phone service were likely to cut back to save money if the economy continued to get worse.
The same survey said 40 million Americans (or 26 percent of consumers with contract-based cell phone service) are "more inclined [now] than ... six months ago to look at a way to save money on [a] cell phone bill such as by switching to a prepaid cell phone service."
A Dec. 2008 survey from the NMRC said only 44 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds know when their contract-based wireless service ends.
While Straight Talk is just one choice for prepaid wireless service, the carrier has among the simplest offering around. It just has two plans.
One costs $45 for unlimited minutes and another is priced at $30 for 1,000 anytime minutes. Web usage is limited on both plans.
Is prepaid wireless right for you? Learn more about Straight Talk along with all of the other prepaid wireless carriers!
Comments
And it’s about time!!! The big phone carriers have been gouging their customers for years, locking them into unnecessary two year contracts and forcing them to select packages of minutes they will either never use or run out of and have to pay outside the “plan” at exorbitantly high rates. Thank you Walmart! You deserve my business and that of the American consumer. Best part of this deal is that StraighTalk is carried on the Verizon network, rated best coverage coast to coast by Consumer Report Magazine. Now let’s home they do the same to the big oil conglomerates.
I was one of those consumers that was overpaying everymonth. At $85 for 750 minutes that was ridiculous! I switched to prepaid back in May when Straigh Talk came out with the $30 plan for 1000 calls/1000 text + data and have never looked back. The fact that they’re now offering the $45 unimited calls and text plan (+data) means that TracFone is really paying attention to nneds of consumers. With all the unemployment someone’s got to care. I think the fact that WalMart’s offering the plan is also awesome! That’s where I shop anyways, so this is super convenient.
This is great! I’m glad Straight Talk is now carried by Wal-Mart. I got one on the web a while ago and I am very impressed. It has probably been the most satisfying cell phone experience I’ve had. No dropped calls so far, which is incredible. I’ve tried a number of the prepaid carriers before but this is in a class of it’s own.
poor service ported my phone an then told me they can take up to 7 days. mean while no phone service the web says that if carrier delays.my carrier responded right away . after over an hour of on hold 3 min. at a time and multiple lies about it being my carrier .they admit to a problem and tell me no problem by signing up i agreed to be without service up to seven days, I thought wallmart would do it right.
I’m very happy with the service. I ported my old number thru the website and it went through smoothly.
I like it a lot so far. It’s got great coverage thru the Verizon network, too.
But the best thing about Straight Talk is its simplicity. I am so tired of wading through funky phone bills with mysterious charges and fees.
I really appreciate the savings, of course, but not having those awful and undecipherable bills has been a great stress-reducer.
I have had the Samsung R-451C for a week now I live in the boonies and get 5 bars here much better and cheaper than my old AT&T I am very happy with it the web is a little weak but for 45 a month ill live with it
before i get with this company i need to know if the web is any good.
Straight Talk Prepaid is nowhere as good as Boost Mobile. I am returning my phone to Walmart and going back to Boost Mobile.
I receive spam text. For being a Walmart product, customer service is in some foreign country and they are no help whatsoever (Sam Walton is probably turning over in his grave!).
Trying to setup your voicemail is a joke also!
I am one of the original cell phone subscribers in Richmond, VA. When I bought my first cell phone I was told that withing 5 years it would be cheaper than owning a home phone. Well I haven’t seen that come about yet. When my contract is up with Verizon I am going to change cell phone to a no contract and I can choose the phone that I want. Lots of countries have unlimited talk time, text messaging and web time much cheaper than we do. It is time for people to have a cheaper choice. I was just reading the other day about a company that may introduce unlimited talk time, text time and web use for only $39.95. Can’t wait for that to happen. I have been waiting for 30 years.
just got straight talk 3 days ago and i love it. gerry your getting spam mail cause you forgot to uncheck the recieve text messeg about special offers during sign up if you did it online. The only problem i had with it was wen i tried to activate my phone. Some how walmart misscanned it and my phone serial number didnt go into straight talk system. so i had to go back to walmart and tell them to rescan it. So far thats about the only problem i had . ohh another thing is there customer service for some reason i can barely hear what there saying to much back ground noise . other than that they were really helpful on getting my phone activated .
The Boost guy is an obvious phoney. (Get it?)
The Straight Talk service is so awesome and the price is so right that no honest person would want to go back to Boost, which I know is a part of Sprint. Meh!
Having Straight Talk on Verizon is awesome. Best deal around.