There are many phones to choose from, but not all of them are offered by the same carrier. For the longest time, people who wanted the iPhone had to get it from AT&T until it was released to all other carriers. It was a big deal when Verizon started offering the iPhone because it brought in a ton of business. Picking a carrier can be almost as hard as picking a phone. It used to be that you had to get in a contract to use any kind of smartphone. That is starting to change, and Virgin Mobile’s announcement makes it even easier.

Announcement from Virgin Mobile

Virgin Mobile just announced that the iPhone 5c and 5s can be used with pre-paid plans starting on October 1, according to PC Magazine. Maybe you want a new phone but don’t want to be tied down to any one carrier. Maybe you like knowing you have the freedom to change whenever you want. That is what Virgin Mobile is offering.

Plan costs to consider

You can get an unlimited data and texting plan for around $35 a month with an iPhone, though you end up with hardly any talk minutes. If you don’t care about talking on the phone, then it won’t really matter. Also, PCMag points out that you can get a discount on your bill by signing up for automatic payments. So you can quit at any time and are paying way less than competitors. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me!

Not a lot of talk time

One thing to consider is how often you actually spend talking on the phone anymore. If I added up all my minutes for the last month, I might have only reached a hundred or so. Most of the time, I text people or send emails. I know I’m not alone. There have been multiple studies showing an increase in texting and decrease in talking. So, maybe we should pick up the phone and talk every once in awhile, but the need for it has decreased significantly with all the other forms of communication around.

What this means for you, the business

Almost all cell phone companies offer unlimited talk and text because the phone is rarely used for talking. Verizon had to completely switch their plans because so few people were willing to pay for talk anymore. As a business, you should recognize your customer-base would rather be communicated with electronically. You should get your texting system set up, so you can spend less time trying to reach out to people over the phone and more time actually getting information to customers through texting. If you send a text, you are guaranteed to have sent the information, whereas hardly anyone will answer the phone, and even if they do, they don’t want to listen to a sales pitch. An automatic text system could be just what you need to get more customers.

Source: PC Magazine