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Prepaid cell phones are the best way to avoid a long-term commitment with a mobile phone
provider. Some of the advantages of having a prepaid mobile phone are as follows.
The best thing about having a pre-paid cell phone is that you don't need to pay cancellation
charges, in case you plan to switch. With post paid mobile phones, one has to pay extra
charges if they wish to switch to a different provider. A prepaid cell phone is best suited for
those people who don't use too much everyday and for those who have a limited budget
available. Mostly parents prefer this type of connection for their children. Other than
parents, people who don't have a good credit history also go for these types of connections.
With a prepaid cell phone service the user has the freedom to decide how much they want
to spend and when they want to spend. If your balance runs out you simply cannot make
any more calls; for some this can be a bit of a disadvantage but if you are a parent this can
be very useful. Due to flexibility and convenience of having a prepaid cell phone it is
considered to be a hassle-free service to have. Different mobile phone service provider
around the world offers both post pay and prepaid services for the consumers.
Prepaid cell phones have the same types of features and benefits as that of standard mobile
phone plans. You can call, send messages, send and receive files like music and videos.
They offer both local and international calling, roaming, caller ID, voice mail and long
distance calling. In a post pay or standard mobile phone plan you can go over the limit of
your minutes, this can result in a much higher expected phone bill. That is not the case of
having a prepaid mobile phone; you only utilize the minutes you have paid for. This gives
you a piece of mind that at the end of the month there won't have to face any unexpected
charges.
In long term it has been noticed that standard telephone plans tend to be more expensive
as compared to prepaid cell phone. On top of that if you wish to change your carrier or buy
a new mobile phone it can be expensive as well due to the cancellation charges involved.
These days most of the major mobile phone service providers have got payment plans for
prepaid connection. They are similar to a standard or post-paid plan but provide you all the
flexibility as well. New cell phones are also being introduced with prepaid plans which allow
the user to select from a wide range of manufacturers. Depending on the use one can easily
decide the right prepaid plan for their needs.
Well that is a question that you need to answer for yourself, while the pricing may look
attractive you need to consider if you will be using the phone on a regular daily basis. Ask
your self the following:
If the answer to the above number of questions is no, well prepaid cell phones could be your
best choice. Prepaid cell phones are ideal for people who do not intend signing contracts and
do not intend to use the cell excessively. There many advantages and disadvantages with
using this type of cell phone:
·No termination fee if you decide not to use your phone again
·Calls and SMS Text will be more expensive per minute than using a bill phone
·You could run out of credit at a crucial time that you need to make a call
·Some carriers will put a time limit on your credit (you will need to use it up within a certain
time or else it will be classed as invalid)
Always purchase a cell phone with low emissions for health and safety purposes. Children
under the age of 7 are not recommended to using any type of cell phone.
If you like to keep tabs on your children and you feel a cell phone is a good safe idea, do
not make the mistake that many parents do in giving a cell phone that has line rental. If
you do this be very prepared for a large monthly bill every month from the mailman. It's
like giving your child a large bag of candy and asking them not to eat them unless it's really
necessary. Prepaid cell phones are ideal for children, if their credit runs out, so be it, but
you can always call or text them and it's then up to you what extra credit to allow.
It's very difficult for young children to budget wisely and kids will be kids so you need to
careful when it comes to financing them a cell phone.
What are the highest costs involved with prepaid cell phones?
Be careful your credit can be eaten up very quickly. Camera cell phones are great fun and
handy to have at times but if you are using a prepaid cell camera phone and want to text
photos the cost can be very high per text. Also watch for roaming charges are these too can
be very expensive. Always look for promotions and giveaways with no hidden charges.
Buying credit could not be easier. Most stores will sell credit for the different cell phone
carriers and some stores have vending type machines where you can simply follow the
instructions and top up your credit. You can also call your cell phone carrier (usually a toll
free number) and purchase with your credit card. Credit issued as a long number. Simply
type this into the correct section of your cell and that's all there is to it.
·A great idea for those of us who need to stay inline with our phone expenses.
·Ideal for children if you wish for them to carry a cell phone
Once again always look into the different cell phone carriers and their prepaid cell packages,
not all are the same with some giving excellent starter packages.
Advantages of Prepaid:
The “pay-as-you-so” option is the first and foremost advantage of prepaid plans as compared to
postpaid plans.
No Credit Checks:
Credit check is not a requisite for prepaid plans. If at all your credit score is below what is acceptable,
you will be asked for a deposit.
No Contracts:
You are not bound to any contract. If you want to cancel your account, all you need to do is just
switch to another carrier. You can cancel this account without paying any penalty!
However, we should not ignore the advantages of contract with a carrier. Here are the advantages of
a contract.
Limitations of Prepaid:
Limitations of contract:
Credit check:
Credit check is the biggest disadvantage for contract plans. You will have to sign a contract with your
carrier. A social security number will be asked by the carrier prior to the contract in order to perform a
credit check. Make sure that you don’t have a bad credit otherwise you will be either denied the
service or asked to pay a hefty sum as deposit.
Termination fee for breaking the contract:
If you want switch over to another carrier, you will have to pay a contract termination fee. Sometimes
the penalty fee crosses $250.
Sign another contract to upgrade the handset:
Upgrading a handset demands signing another fresh contract with the carrier. The carrier may even
charge you full price on the new replacement handset.
Every coin has two sides. It is upto you whether to choose prepaid contract or postpaid contract. While
making the choice, make sure that you as to suit your lifestyle and more importantly, your wallet!
1. Instant Activation
You don't have to wait for three or four days to get your connection set up. Walk in to any
retail store with your identity proof (passport or ID or some kind) and get your connection
instantly. Sometimes, you can get your SIM card and connection for free too. (I got a
connection with Rs.30 talk-time for free).
2. No Monthly Commitments
There are no monthly plan charges to pay. If you don't wish to charge your mobile for three
or six months, it is just fine. However, that is not the case of postpaid plans. You have
monthly plan charges to pay. You have to make this payments even if you don't make or
receive a call.
When you overrun your bill payment date, it can usually mean fines and punishments.
There is no such punishment in case of prepaid mobile. You put money into your account
whenever you want to. And, you are not answerable to the company if you choose not to
pay anything.
Some people just can't stop calling. If you are one among them, you know how frustrating it
is to look at huge bills. In case of prepaid mobile, you can recharge your mobile with low
denomination recharges. The lower balance amounts in your account will prevent you from
making unnecessary calls. Bonus: You will learn the benefits of discipline:)
In case of prepaid users, you can keep your number active for incoming calls only. This is
especially beneficial if you are changing to a new number. You may need to change your
number for various reasons. In case of postpaid connection, keeping the connection active
costs you money.
I know several people who have more than half a dozen SIM cards. If all of them were
postpaid connections, they would go bankrupt years ago. However, they can choose to
enjoy the benefits of specific service providers any time they choose. You can find special
offers including unlimited free calls to same network, whichever mobile service provider you
use. Aircel, BSNL, Reliance, etc all have such offers. With no monthly plans to worry about,
you can enjoy the benefit of any network, any time you choose.
Mobile users today have the option to go for a postpaid or a prepaid connection. A postpaid
as well as a prepaid connection has its advantages and disadvantages. If you are wondering
whether you should opt for a prepaid or a postpaid connection, here is some information
that would be useful to you.
If you are using a postpaid connection, you are billed at the end of the month for all the
services used. Once you receive the bill, you are liable to pay the bills within the given
timeframe. With a prepaid connection, you are given a certain amount of talk and use
minutes, which one exhausted, the account needs to be refilled. Basically, the prepaid
connection is a pay as you go system, where you need to pay the money upfront.
Differences in Services:
In some cases, the services offered to the prepaid and the postpaid customers differ. For
example, some prepaid connections may not offer the GPRS connection, or some postpaid
connections may not offer a minute by minute billing update to their customers. While most
of these features are billing centric - you would not need a minute by minute billing update
on a postpaid connection - some of these services are restricted because they are not
financially viable to the consumer as well as the service provider.
Differences in Networks:
A long time ago, the network of the prepaid and the postpaid connections were different.
This used to invoke complaints that the prepaid connection would offer better connectivity
than the postpaid or vice versa. Though this is very rare today, it is possible, and one
should check whether the service provider runs the prepaid and postpaid connections on the
same networks.
It is a myth that the cost of calling from a prepaid is much lesser than calling via a postpaid.
Frankly speaking, the cost of calling from a prepaid can actually be higher if you are prone
to make too many calls. Most connection providers charge more per minute in the prepaid,
and there are some other service charges that make the cost difference between using a
postpaid and a prepaid quite abysmal.
These are the four major differences between using a prepaid and a postpaid connection,
which you would need to keep in mind.
In this day of high communication needs, it seems no one goes without a cell phone. But the
usage pattern of every user has a direct influence on his expenses. So as well as choosing top
mobile phones,
the right cellular plan is very important to keep the expenses to the minimum and derive the
best out of it.
The first question that comes in front of us is whether we should choose prepaid cellular service
or postpaid cellular service? Well, this is a vital decision for most of the users.
So, I have thrown light on some of the options of the two service options for cellular connection.
It's you who decide which option would be the best for you. Cellular service providers in India
give the cheapest calling rates anywhere. We can even make calls for as low as 99paise/min to
anywhere in our country and as low as 1paisa/min locally. So with the increasing competition,
the cellular companies in India have been slashing calling rates considerably to attract the price-
conscious consumers of India. So let's encourage the competition after all its we, the consumers,
who benefit from this.
Call it the death of post-paid mobile user in the world’s fastest-growing mobile market.
India has all but completely rejected the post-paid option, with nearly 99% of new
mobile user additions in the country accounting for by pre-paid connections.
With mobile operators increasingly doling out cut-price offers for newer, often poorer
users, customers are also embracing this platform with gusto.
Consider this: Bharti Airtel, India’s largest mobile company by user base, added a
record 8.1 million-plus new customers during the October-December 2008 quarter, of
which 99.6% were pre-paid users. Ditto for Reliance Communications, Vodafone Essar
and Tata Teleservices. About 99.9% of RCOM’s 5.5 million new additions in the quarter
went in for a pre-paid connection, while for Vodafone Essar and Tata Teleservices, the
numbers were 97.3% and 96%, respectively.
The switch towards pre-paid from post-paid connections has been steadily climbing.
Fromaccounting for about 60% of the country’s total subscriber base in 2005, pre-paid
users now constitute over 92% of India’s mobile customer base.
Bharti’s numbers for October-December 2007 quarter show that a little over 95% of
new additions preferred pre-paid connections. For Reliance and Vodafone Essar, the
comparable numbers were 96% and 92%, respectively, of net customer additions.
Mr Gupta said that pre-paid growth was aided by three factors. “First, the revolutionary
lifetime pre-paid concept has done away with the cost of entry and validity. From Rs
999 earlier, it costs a mere Rs 99 for a lifetime connection, which does not require
a recharge to stay connected. Second, unlike most other countries, the consumer does
not pay for an incoming call. Third, pre-paid follows a sachet approach as customers
can recharge for as low as Rs 5 or Rs 10 when they want to use their mobiles,” he said.
Vodafone Essar’s marketing head Harit Nagpal says it also suits operators too to have
their new customers on the pre-paid platform “Post-paid customers need verification,
credit rating and collection infrastructure in every geographical service. Today, new
additions are mostly from rural and interior India, which lacks this infrastructure. Unlike
other countries, a significant majority of India’s population do not hold a bank account
which acts as a collection infrastructure,” he said.
Mobile operators also point out that a post-paid connection required a minimum spend
— known in telcom industry parlance as average revenue per user (ARPU) — to be
viable. “Since, most of the new entrants cannot bring in this ARPU, operators want
them on pre-paid,” Mr Nagpal added.
According to a top executive with another GSM player, telcos’ operational expenses
increase multiple times when it comes to post-paid users: “From generating multiple
billing cycles depending on thetariff plan chosen by the customer to increased IT
deployments to higher manpower requirements, the costs shoot up,” the executive
said.
But, Bharti's Gupta is of the view that rural customers will always choose pre-paid
connections. "Typically, Indians start with pre-paid as they are unsure of the usage.
Over a period of time, after they are accustomed to using a mobile phone and the
tariffs, a small segment switches to post-paid," he said.
Besides mobile customers in India also do got get the usual benefits associated with
post-paid connections such as free handsets, lower tariffs and discounts on value-added
services which are available in more developed markets. With call tariffs in India
already one of the lowest in the world, post-paid connections offer little value to the
typical Indian mobile user.
Many mobile users remains confused on the issue to choose or opt for prepaid recharge or postpaid
mobile. To solve this problem, anyone should have a clear view of about the difference of both the
connections.
Prepaid recharge in simple words means user have to recharge this mobile to use. Whereas in case
of post paid connections, payments are made on a monthly basis, the service provider would make a
total of all usage a sent a monthly statement along with the bill. Prepaid mobile connections are
opposite to post paid as the customer as has pay first before the usage of the services. In short post
paid connection is a like a credit card where as prepaid mobile is like the money in your wallet where
user can know the limit of usage. Service operators tie up with many firms which provide online
mobile recharge.
Mobile operator provides similar service to both the user. The main features are incoming / outgoing,
SMS, Roaming facility, internet, MMS and much more.
But to compare, there are only few differences. The main difference is the billing method. In prepaid,
we need to pay first and then only we get the services. The service stops when you’re balanced get
exhausted. Whereas incase of postpaid connections, one has to pay on a monthly basis on the total
usage. A prepaid mobile is bit easy to access through less amount of documentation than the
postpaid. But the charges like calls, MMS, SMS or other charges are similar to post paid.
Now the question is which one to use? To get the correct ………… ask your self “which one will be
worth of your money? The answer relies on the situation and usage of the mobile phone.
You can for prepaid connection, if you have budget or a limit use of cell phone. As a matter of fact,
each service provider has a market selling price and gives a talk time after reduction of tax. If you
have a short stay at any location, the prepaid is the best one. Prepaid plans are available with in
various denominations; the flexibility of recharge is up to the user. Prepaid recharge are available
with retailer near to your house, office etc.
And you are suggested to go for post paid connections, if you are a heavy user of your cell phone,
you need to be on track with limitless usage as per the demand of business or profession.
So keeping in mind the above mentioned facts, decide which one is best for you.
Prepaid cellular service will work the same as a postpaid cellular service phone. Based on which
technology you choose, there is not a visible way of anyone knowing whether you are using a prepaid
service or not. Some digital carriers offering prepaid require that the caller dial an extension to reach the
subscriber. In general, prepaid cellular will cost more since it uses a totally different system to track time
used and available. A computer system called an IVR platform actually tracks the call from start to finish.
It will then automatically calculate how much time you have used and how many units are remaining to
make cellular phone calls.
On average, you are looking at a price per minute rate of 38 cents to $1 dollar per minute for a local call.
Your best bet in reducing the price per minute is to purchase the highest denomination airtime calling card
you can get. The bulk volume purchase principle applies here. The more you buy in airtime, the lower
your rates will come out to be.
If you are buying the phone for emergencies only, then the prepaid cellular phone may
save you more money in the long run. You won’t be under contract and you don’t have to pay a monthly
package fee for having the service. You can buy the airtime as you need it (with some exceptions). And
you do not have to pay a deposit for service.
The most common prepaid cellular service is local coverage area only. Which means that with the
service, you are restricted to making calls within your local calling area. There are a few other items you
need to look at before choosing prepaid cellular service.
As noted, you need to decide if you want analog or digital coverage. You will have to check around your
area or on the Internet to find out who is offering the best deal that will work for you. Now, there are a few
things you need to consider when selecting a source for a prepaid cellular phone. Once again, we move
into the gray area of what most retailers are hoping that you don’t know or will not study too closely.
You are offered a cellular phone package for $49.95, which includes 20 units of airtime. That sounds like
a great deal until you get there. You find that you only get the phone with the airtime and nothing else.
Plus, you are required to pay an activation fee of $20 to $40. Now you are up to $90 plus tax for a prepaid
cellular phone. And then comes the real kicker. The phone being offered is a used phone that comes with
only a 30 to 90 day warranty and will not be replaced if it stops working after that time. This is the most
expensive case that you will see. Some retailers will mix and match to give you an incentive to purchase
from them.
So you decide that you must have the phone and go ahead and pay the activation fee, buy the phone and
set up service. Just when you think the worst is over, you get the bomb dropped on you. The airtime units
you purchased will expire in 30 to 60 days and will not carry over to accumulate on your minutes
available. If you don’t use them, the airtime units are lost and the retailer pockets the money anyhow. You
in turn must go back and buy another card to continue your service.
Prepaid cellular is the one area that we recommend that you shop around quite a bit to find out who is
offering the best deal on the package being offered. And if you need the prepaid for traveling, find out if
they allow roaming with the phone. You will obviously pay more for roaming charges as all cellular phone
users must, but if you need it as a service, ask whether they offer it.
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The other prepaid cellular phone option you have is the service that offers national coverage. The national
coverage allows you to roam all over the US and still make calls from any location where there is an
analog service area. This service works especially well for the person who lives in one state and
commutes to another to work. It is also an excellent gift for holidays and special occasions, since it can be
operated and activated nearly anywhere. You will find that these packages range anywhere from slightly
over $50 to $480 per package. As with the local coverage carriers, you will want to ask the same
questions of the supplier for the national coverage prepaid cellular phone.
One of the corporations who initiated a roll back in national coverage prepaid cellular service pricing
is EarthVision Cellular. They challenged competitors to lower pricing of the packages offered and began
offering a free leather case and a rapid car charger with their selected packages. Since that time, more
competitors have followed their lead and began offering the same free items.
Although the national coverage prepaid cellular is available, it does not mean that you are going to have
to be traveling to use the phone. When you activate a phone in your local area, all calls made within that
area will be local calls and will be deducted as such. Keep in mind that the activation location of the
phone dictates when you are in local calling area, and not the activation of airtime cards. The best part is
that with most national coverage cellular phones, they will allow your airtime to accumulate without
expiring. Not to mention that you should not have to pay an activation fee either. You will probably have to
buy an airtime card every 60 days to keep your account active but your airtime is still valid for making
cellular phone calls anytime.
Therefore, if you are worried about buying a used phone with a short warranty and your airtime expiring
within a month, you may want to consider using a national coverage prepaid cellular phone. It may appear
that you are paying more for the national coverage prepaid cellular. However, you need to look at what is
being offered, what isn’t being charged, and what benefits apply to you based on the type of prepaid
cellular service provider you select to provide you with cellular phone service in the long haul. Do you
want to risk using a used phone and having your airtime expire before you actually have a need to use it?
If you decide to cancel service, it will cost you! Most providers have an early termination penalty. This can
range from a flat fee to a charge per month remaining on your contract. This gives you a limited window of
opportunity to cancel service without any penalty if you find out that a provider just doesn't meet your needs.
There is an alternative plan that allows you to change the number of minutes and other provisions:Prepaid Cell
Phone Plan.
If you are buying the phone for emergencies only, then the prepaid cellular phone may save you more money
in the long run. You won't be under contract and you don't have to pay a monthly package fee for having the
service. You can buy the airtime as you need it (with some exceptions). And you do not have to pay a deposit
for service.
Prepaid is also a way of learning about your usage patterns before committing to a long-term
monthly billing wireless contract.
Cellphones, more than a regular communication device seems more like a fashion
accessory or tech buddy of nearly billions of users world wide. It is one of the fastest
selling item in markets and one of the most widely used technology with a large
number of users locally and globally attaining its use 24/7 for various purposes. Even
surveys indicates that cell phones are tend to be a must-have gadget for most and it is
top listed in their survival list. Way to go technology!
I'm sure we all have cellphones and are always fascinated and attracted to the latest it
has in store, be it the phone model, applications, phone accessory etc but we all know
equally to all this how much of a value does the cell phone service provider would mean
to us. Indeed, sim card is the heart of the phone
Now speaking of cellphone service provider, we are well aware of the postpaid and
prepaid packages we are offered by our service provider. For instance, our local service
provider that is Nawras, Oman Mobile and Friendi. Like Nawras offers its customers
Nawras Ajel (postpaid) and Nawras Mousbak (prepaid). Each one of this package has its
own offers and payments.
The intention I had for writing up this article was to widen up our options on
either to choose the postpaid or prepaid method of payment for our
cellphones. We all usually get into this decision before making a purchase and
selecting a package from a service provider. I might forget to include some
points in this article so therefore, you are more than welcome to share your
thoughts and tell us which one you chose and why did you prefer it
Alright then, so lets begin. Now lets start off with the Prepaid payment method for
cellphones.
Personally I use the prepaid service of both Nawras and Oman Mobile and i find it
affordable and worth my monthly budgeting. Being a student, I find this one as the
right choice. Comparing both service provider, i prefer more Nawras due to the VAS
(Value-added services it provides) and the affordable call rates and bundle offers (48hrs
internet, sms bundle, etc). That was my opinion. let's break down general opinion into
two parts which of course is the pros and cons:
Pros:
Comes up with exciting offers and bundles
Usually targets the people of all ages in the market
A good deal for budgeting
Affordable
Easy to control and keep note of monthly usage
No roaming charges
No monthly bills
Good choice for those who uses cell phones not often as well
Cons:
Frustrating when you run out of offers when you do not use them which means
a waste of money
Call rates locally and internationally is a lil more costly than the postpaid
Sometimes unnecessary offers and bundle services can be tempting
Target Market:
People of all ages
Pros:
A good option for working individuals and corporates
Reasonable call rates locally and internationally
Good offers and VAS
Professional quality service
Can be good for budget for working individuals
Usually good for those who also like to get a lot of use from their cellphones
(business purposes, etc)
Cons:
You should never be late in paying your monthly fee or else there can be a
time when you have to renew the number
In other countries, one major con is overage fees, hidden fees which includes
roaming, etc.
Target Market:
Working Individuals, Groups or Companies
WHAT IS BEST PREPAID RECHARGE OR POSTPAID
CONNECTION
PREPAID RECHARGE VS POSTPAID MOBILE CONNECTION
Many people are confused with their mobile recharge options whether
they would go for prepaid recharge option or Postpaid mobile
connection. To choose best option for your mobile connection first you
should know about both these connections.
Prepaid recharge in simple words means user have to recharge this
mobile to use. Whereas in case of post paid connections, payments are
made on a monthly basis, the service provider would make a total of all
usage a sent a monthly statement along with the bill.
And you are suggested to go for post paid connections, if you are a heavy
user of your cell phone, you need to be on track with limitless usage as
per the demand of business or profession.
When a company starts mobile services for vast range of mobile users; it comes with two
options as postpaid services and prepaid services. Both the services are different in many
ways from each other. Both of these kinds have their own beauty and drawbacks in terms of
advantages and disadvantages respectively. In this article we would know the major
differences and features of Postpaid Mobile Services and Prepaid Mobile Services as well.
Billing Process
If you have chosen a Postpaid Mobile Services; it means you are billed at the end of your
billing cycle (A billing cycle is tenure of one month time) for all your services used during
one billing cycle. When you receive your bill, you are given a certain time as due date and
the service provider expects you to pay the bill by the due date. In case you are failed to do
so they might disconnect your services until you make the due payment.
But in case of Prepaid Mobile Services, the scene is totally different. With a Prepaid Mobile
Service you are required to pay in advance or you have to purchase various range of talk
time. Once you purchase or pay them for their services, you are given a certain amount of
talk value and use minutes as per the scheme you are opted for. Also, you have to refill
your prepaid account once it gets exhausted.
In various cases, services offered to postpaid customers and prepaid customers are
different. For instance, some postpaid connection may not offer displaying minute by minute
billing update on your mobile screen that makes you unaware about your daily calling
expense. While some prepaid connection may not offer GPRS and other Value Added
Services to entertain the user's communication practices and vise-versa.
A few times back there were a large numbers of complaints that the networks of postpaid
and prepaid services are different and prepaid connections are supposed to have better
network than the postpaid. But this is quite rare today and one should check whether the
service provider runs both the postpaid and prepaid services in the same network or not...??
Costs
There is a general myth among the people that the costs of prepaid services are lesser than
the cost of calling via postpaid. But the fact is different and in many cases the cost of calling
from a prepaid connection may higher than what it may in case of postpaid if you are
making too many and too long calls. On the contrary as being a postpaid customer you are
bounded to pay the rentals and other service charges, no matters whether you have used a
single minute of service or not.
Here one should check out their calling practices before they opt for postpaid and Prepaid
Mobile Services.
If you are using a postpaid connection, you are billed at the end of the month for all the
services used. Once you receive the bill, you are liable to pay the bills within the given
timeframe. With a prepaid connection, you are given a certain amount of talk and use
minutes, which one exhausted, the account needs to be refilled. Basically, the prepaid
connection is a pay as you go system, where you need to pay the money upfront.
Differences in Services:
In some cases, the services offered to the prepaid and the postpaid customers differ.
For example, some prepaid connections may not offer the GPRS connection, or some
postpaid connections may not offer a minute by minute billing update to their
customers. While most of these features are billing centric - you would not need a
minute by minute billing update on a postpaid connection - some of these services are
restricted because they are not financially viable to the consumer as well as the service
provider.
Differences in Networks:
A long time ago, the network of the prepaid and the postpaid connections were
different. This used to invoke complaints that the prepaid connection would offer better
connectivity than the postpaid or vice versa. Though this is very rare today, it is
possible, and one should check whether the service provider runs the prepaid and
postpaid connections on the same networks.
It is a myth that the cost of calling from a prepaid is much lesser than calling via a
postpaid. Frankly speaking, the cost of calling from a prepaid can actually be higher if
you are prone to make too many calls. Most connection providers charge more per
minute in the prepaid, and there are some other service charges that make the cost
difference between using a postpaid and a prepaid quite abysmal.