Virgin Mobile adds 'Beyond Talk' plans aimed at data-centric users

Sprint Nextel Corp. unveiled more details about its plans to lure prepaid customers onto its Virgin Mobile USA sub-brand, including a $25 a month Virgin Mobile plan aimed at data-focused youth market. The carrier expanded its Assurance brand and offered a few more details about a fourth brand that will offer pay-as-you-go by the minute pricing.
Sprint is betting heavily on the prepaid market; the carrier said it expects 70% of net additions this year to be customers who choose to go without contracts. As such, the carrier paid $483 million last year to buy all of Virgin Mobile.
“This is the year that prepaid moves to the forefront of the wireless industry,” said Dan Schulman, president of Sprint’s prepaid group. “In the first quarter of 2010, more than half of the mobile gross additions in the U.S. selected prepaid, and we predict that approximately 70% of the net adds in 2010 will choose plans without a contract.”
Earlier this week, Sprint announced enhancements to its Boost Mobile plans, offering unlimited 411 calls, e-mail and instant messaging to its $50 per month, unlimited rate plan. For those customers on the company’s BlackBerry plan, the new offering simply adds unlimited 411 calls for the same $60 per month as the e-mail and IM options were already part of the package.
Virgin Mobile aggressive on data, devices
Virgin Mobile is introducing three new pricing plans May 12 called Beyond Talk that include unlimited messaging, e-mail data and Web.
“The way youth and young adults communicate has changed dramatically over the past few years,” the carrier said, citing data from Nielsen on postpaid users ages 18 to 34 from 2007 to 2009. “Minutes of talk dropped over 10% while messages sent and received grew by more than 150%. The amount of data usage within this group grew by over 1,800% during the same time period.”
As such, the $25 Beyond Talk plan includes unlimited data offerings and 300 minutes of voice calling; the $40 Beyond Talk plan offers the same data offerings but includes 1,200 minutes of voice calling and the $60 plan ups the voice plan to an unlimited number of minutes. BlackBerry data service can be added to any of the plans for $10 per month more. Also, the carrier said the price plans will include regulatory fees and taxes, although some sales tax may still apply.
Virgin introduced four new devices to accompany the Beyond Talk plans. Customers can buy a BlackBerry Curve 8530 for $300; an LG Rumor Touch for $150; an LG Rumor 2 QWERTY for $90; and a Kyocera Loft QWERTY handset for $70.
New brand on the horizon
Sprint seems to be starting off slow with its fourth prepaid offering, aimed at budget-conscious consumers who spend less than $30 per month and prefer to buy their wireless service by the minute or the day. The brand will launch in 16 markets initially.
“There are millions of people who don’t want or can’t afford smartphones and expensive data plans,” said Schulman. “This is the traditional no-frills prepaid customer base. For these ‘basic communicators,’ we are creating a fresh brand with industry-leading value and consumer-friendly offers.”
Finally, the carrier said its Assurance Wireless sub-brand, aimed at people who qualify for government assistance, should be availabe in 25 states by the end of the year.