Prepaid takes business away from subscriber plans

A trend toward prepaid calling services is apparently taking hold internationally. A report by Voxofon LLC, a Houston-based international voice and messaging services provider, said a large percentage of international subscription plan users who try prepaid calling solutions abandon their subscriptions in favor of prepaid.

"For users who once called abroad with subscription plans from their mobile/landline providers 'at least several times a month,' 43 percent stopped using the plans altogether once they were introduced to easier, prepaid solutions like Skype and Voxofon," the provider said.

Additionally, Voxofon reported that 89 percent of subscription users decreased their usage of the plans after they were introduced to prepaid calling options.

However, Voxofon also noted that prepaid calling users, once they were exposed to over-the-top (OTT) services, preferred online mobile top ups of calling minutes over purchasing physical calling cards from stores. "The results were profound, as 68 percent of users who used calling cards 'at least several times a month' stopped using calling cards," Voxofon found. "In addition, 97 percent of those who used to use calling cards daily decreased their use of calling cards once they tried OTT services."

Voxofon's statistics have not deterred online video and phone call provider Skype from entering the international prepaid calling card market. In August 2012 the company launched prepaid Skype Cards in Mexico, that has a large unbanked population. Then, in November 2012, Skype expanded its prepaid calling card program to over 1,400 stores in the U.K.

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