4 ms·
It's weird to see how less prevalent prepaid phones are in the US. Here in Europe, they're everywhere, hell I bought my iPhone on prepay. I wonder what lead to
by benofsky 16y ago
It's weird to see how less prevalent prepaid phones are in the US. Here in Europe, they're everywhere, hell I bought my iPhone on prepay. I wonder what lead to this difference.
- halo 16y agoI have wondered this before too. I can think of a few reasons why this might be the case: * US phone operators charging for incoming calls and messages, which make prepay phones much less useful. * Standardisation on GSM in most of the rest of the world, which reduced control by the networks, created a market for unlocked phones, and increased competition by making it easier to change networks and phones. * Cultural differences that mean that more people end up on contract phones. For example, teenagers often end up on 'Family Plan' contracts rather than Pay-As-You-Go, at least partially influenced by the above two factors. This helps creates a cycle where people consider contracts 'the norm'.
- benofsky 16y agoYeah, I never understood the charging for incoming calls but more so the charging for incoming messages, you have no control over that. Insane!
- maw 16y agoCharging for incoming calls seemed annoying at first, but it does have the advantage of making you more callable. No problems with cheapskate businesses who insist on having your number but won't accept the one you want to give. I agree with respect to SMSes, though.
- cdr 16y agoPrepaid is rarely advertised in the US, especially the good prepaid. Companies want you on costly voice, data, etc plans and locked into a 2-year contract.