The prepaid wireless industry is healthy and growing — pick the yardstick
The All Wireless & Prepaid Expo — the top prepaid event in the U.S. — took place on August 19-20 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The 2025 edition of the Expo shattered all previous records, as there were more than 4,900 registered attendees, up from more than 4,000 in 2024. Also, the Expo show floor had 150 exhibitors, which was also a record. I’m the Conference Director of the Expo. Photos from the Expo are here on Facebook.
The number of prepaid stores — defined as the total number of stores of Metro by T-Mobile, Cricket Wireless, Boost Mobile, and Total Wireless — has grown by 400 over the past year. These carriers have reported positive net adds over the past year, apart from Cricket/AT&T Prepaid. Finally, there is innovation, as MVNOs are launching, providing a mix of innovation and differentiation.
The best party scene in telecom
Another yardstick of progress is that the Expo now has the best party scene in telecom, as I tweeted recently. It started the night before the conference with a “Gen & Tonic” event, hosted by Gen Mobile, which was held at Caspian’s Rock & Roe Speakeasy. After the first day, there was a MobileX Mixer at the Vista Cocktail Lounge, which was hosted by MobileX CEO Peter Adderton and his team.
On stage at the Expo, keynoter David Kim, chief revenue officer of Verizon Value, promised “the best party ever.” He did not disappoint, as the party had hundreds of attendees and thumping music. It was attended by many Verizon Value employees and business partners, as well as analysts like me. My tweet about after-hours parties at the Expo is here.
These parties were invitation-only, but there was a happy hour event on the show floor after the first day that was open to all attendees. Attendees were winding down after a long day at the Expo. There were handshakes, hugs, and photos, while business cards were exchanged and adult beverages were consumed.
Conference as “the Switzerland of telecom”
The conference part of the Expo brings together executives from the industry to speak to attendees. The goal is education. We had 26 speakers in various areas of telecom, including speakers from top prepaid carriers, from the smartphone industry, from dealers and retailers, and from MVNOs.
I kicked off the day with a 20-minute overview of prepaid competition. David Kim of Verizon Value was our keynoter and he detailed multiple Verizon Value initiatives, including plans to increase the count of Total Wireless stores to exceed 2,000 by the end of this year. Executives Sharif Ailey of Ultra Mobile and Brett Wantland of H2O Wireless/Telrite also addressed the session.
I like to joke that the conference is “the Switzerland of telecom,” as it is a neutral forum for carriers and other vendors. Executives from Verizon Value, Boost Mobile, and MobileX have all been recent keynoters.
One area of progress is that top smartphone makers are now participating in the Expo. Two speakers from Samsung spoke, with Craig Feely of Samsung detailing Samsung’s new Certified Re-Newed program for smartphones.
The show floor — 150 vendors
The show floor was full, with a record 150 vendors having booths. Signage was pervasive for Verizon Value brands and their business partners, including a replica UFC fighting ring. In addition to Verizon brands, many prepaid carriers and MVNOs had booths, including Cricket Wireless, H2O Wireless, Ultra Mobile, Boost Mobile/Marceco, Gen Mobile, AirVoice Wireless, Trump Mobile, Boom Mobile, Rivertel, and Focall Mobile. Multiple payments vendors were present, as were scores of other companies from all over the wireless ecosystem.
There were celebrities. UFC Fighter Amanda Serrano made an appearance at the Total Wireless booth and the line to meet her was long. Medal of Honor winner Clint Romesha was signing his book at the H2O Wireless/Telrite booth. Mike Rowe, star of cable TV shows such as “Dirty Jobs,” did not make an appearance, but Telrite executive Brett Wantland noted that Rowe has been heavily featured in recent TV and radio advertising for PureTalk.
Consolidation accompanied by innovation
The biggest trend for prepaid competition in recent years has been the consolidation of carriers and networks. With Sprint, there were four networks and the nascent Boost Mobile network was intended to replace Sprint as the fourth network. Given the new EchoStar/AT&T network deal, there is no longer any prospect of a fourth network emerging anytime soon, assuming the deal is approved. UScellular operated networks in parts of 21 states and had a competitive prepaid brand of its own, but the company was acquired by T-Mobile.
Nearly all top prepaid brands are now operated by the three national carriers. Not long ago, the Tracfone family of brands made Tracfone the largest prepaid carrier in the U.S. Now, these brands are operated by Verizon. Mint Mobile found success as a direct-to-consumer brand and Ultra Mobile found success as a brand in the dealer channel, but both are now operated by T-Mobile.
There may only be three networks, but all three national carriers are showing a willingness to work with MVNOs and these emerging carriers are increasingly addressing a variety of segments and niches. T-Mobile Wholesale had a booth with its Your Name, Our Wireless organization pitching its services. MobileX, a Verizon MVNO, was prominent. AT&T is a wholesale provider for Boost Mobile and it supports the operations of H2O Wireless and PureTalk, which were prominent at the Expo.
Announcements in Las Vegas
Carriers are increasingly penciling the Expo onto their calendars for announcements. Verizon Value announced international calling enhancements during the event and used the event to build awareness of this move among its dealers and partners. MobileX during the Expo announced support from four new master agents, bringing the total of master agents to eight.
Competition thrives despite consolidation
The most obvious conclusion about U.S. prepaid is the high level of energy in prepaid wireless. The second major conclusion is that while there has been consolidation of major carriers and networks, competition continues to be strong, as carriers pursue multi-brand strategies and show a willingness to open their networks to innovative MVNOs. And finally, the best party scene in telecom lends itself to intriguing deal-making.
