Comments on: T-Mobile goes off-brand with new prepaid service GoSmart

By: Edward J Willey III

Edward J Willey III — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 00:24:34 +0000

I suspect that customers needing what’s becoming “enterprise grade” mobile data will tend to remain with the big carriers, which have the dominant position in 4G. This includes some pretty serious HSPA+ speeds on T-Mobile and AT&T. I’m not sure if there’s really a huge differentiator as between the big carriers and the MVNO in the view of voice-centric and budget-conscious consumers – assuming that prices for lower-bandwidth and voice-centric plans ultimately flatten out. It’s like selling non-fresh baked bread in the grocery store. At some level, you just aren’t expecting the superior quality. And that’s ok. What would be a serious game changer is a smaller carrier or MVNO offering “enterprise grade” services at a much better value, or perhaps such a small player offering unique services. It’s definitely an interesting time to be in this industry.

By: Kevin Fitchard

Kevin Fitchard — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 04:16:56 +0000

Hi Horton,

I suspect the MVNO factor won’t be that big just yet since almost every independent MVNO save TracFone has a pretty small customer base. The number of connections the carriers have an LTE is still relatively small, but as evidenced by Verizon’s numbers the most hard-core data users are moving to 4G. It seems the carriers are preparing an eventually mass exodus from 3G though. Verizon has already designated its 3G network a prepaid network for all practical purposes. There’s also the issue of spectrum refarming. T-Mobile is already shutting down most of its 2G network and portions of HSPA+ to make room for LTE. All of the carriers will eventually do the same.

By: Hortron

Hortron — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:54:35 +0000

Thanks for the link. I am completely a price-sensitive shopper and this seems very good.

The question for me is if this and just about every other MNVO provide 3G data, will the 3G networks become congested (if they sign up tons of customers)? Or will people upgrading to 4G radios offload enough connections from the existing 3G networks?

By: Sid

Sid — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 04:13:53 +0000

As long as they dont remove their $30 5gigs @ 4g and 100 minute plan I’ll be a happy camper. My phone is primarily an internet device which is sometimes used for talking

By: brucebolton

brucebolton — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 03:10:14 +0000

I wonder how long plans that are $70+ offered by brand name providers (ATT, Verizon, Sprint, Tmobile) can survive when they are offering a “good enough” unlimited service for $50 or less? Other than business users will people pay more than a $20 premium?

By: brucebolton

brucebolton — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 03:06:34 +0000

How long can plans in the $70+ range survive when there are so many plans at the $50 that include almost unlimited data?