Part of the reason for the improved service catalog available to prepaid customers is that prepaid network infrastructure has dramatically improved; this means 4G speeds and devices. In the U.S., Sprint recently made its 4G WiMax assets available to its prepaid brands, MetroPCS has been an early innovator in 4G LTE, and both Jolt Mobile and Cricket Wireless have signed deals with Clearwire for 4G LTE service.

More Ways to Pay

Customers of prepaid providers have a wide variety of billing options that are increasingly attractive to modern consumers, including no-contract monthly, pay-as-you-go, prepaid daily (or weekly), prepaid with add-on services (like unlimited calls to Mexico for $10 a month, for instance), and discounted bundles (such as smartphone plus mobile hotspot). Customers can pay through a variety of portals, including internet, on-device, and phone payment, and even set up direct payments from a bank account. The flexible and transparent nature of the prepaid service billing allows customers to better control their spending. PriceWaterhouseCoopers cited this aspect as a driver of prepaid growth in a recent research report, writing, "We believe that the significant growth in the prepaid subscriber base is attributable to the combination of a maturing market, with mobile subscriber penetration recently nearing 100%, and recessionary consumer purchasing behaviors, which have evolved toward mobile services that allow more careful control of spending."

In a strange twist, postpaid plans are being revamped to reflect consumer preference for prepaid-style charging. Verizon's new Shared Everything plans are suspiciously similar to prepaid plans, except they require a long-term commitment from the customer. Prepaid plans, on the other hand, inherently address the issue of billshock; since service is paid for ahead of time, concerns of overage fees and hidden charges don't materialize.

Personalization

Due to the customizable nature of billing and the lack of a long-term contract, prepaid wireless can offer more personalization on a month-to-month basis that many postpaid plans. In this manner, prepaid shares some of the attributes of a cloud offering (elasticity, measured service, on-demand service). Prepaid customers can activate and deactivate services on a daily basis through a web portal or on their device. These include data packages, plan specifics, unlimited international long distance, global local number, unlimited video service, unlimited streaming music service, international texting, tethering, and more. This level of personalization and is very attractive for customers who: travel frequently; have family overseas; have variable monthly income, or those who simply want more control over their monthly spending which has a growing appeal in times of economic uncertainty.