It comes as no surprise that Simple Mobile was the top selling brand in the most recent multi-carrier prepaid dealer survey conducted by Wave7 Research. Look over previous surveys, and you'll see Simple Mobile finished on top each time as well. In fact, Simple Mobile has finished on top for 27 straight quarters, as long as Wave7 Research has been conducting the surveys.
The most recent survey was conducted during August and September. Representatives were interviewed at 30 independent multi-carrier prepaid dealers around the USA. Dealers in a wide variety of markets were contacted including a dealer in a rural area and a small city in Iowa.
Prepaid Dealer Survey Results
Note: The "number of dealers" column indicates the number of dealers selling the brand. The "1st place" column denotes the number of dealers reporting the brand as their top seller, while "2nd place" etc., means the number of dealers reporting that as their second best selling brand.
| Provider | Number of Dealers | 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | Also-Ran |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Mobile | 25 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| H2O Wireless | 18 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
| Ultra Mobile | 16 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| AT&T Prepaid | 15 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| Verizon prepaid | 14 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7 |
| Boost Mobile | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Lycamobile | 10 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Net10 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Page Plus | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Cricket Wireless | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| GoSmart | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Total Wireless | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| T-Mobile Prepaid | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Red Pocket | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Selectel | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| EasyGo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Gen Mobile | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| AirVoice | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Wave7 Research gave Ultra Mobile its Wave7 Momentum award for the survey. Ultra Mobile was found in 16 of the 30 dealer stores surveyed, up from 12 dealers in the second quarter of 2021. 12 of those 16 dealers said it was one of their top 3 selling brands up from 10 in quarter two. One dealer told the research firm that incentives offered by Ultra are helping and that its plans are well-received by customers.
Ultra Mobile made several big changes to its plan lineup throughout the year and has offered several big promotions. In February of 2021, Ultra updated and consolidated its phone plan lineup to make its monthly and multi-monthly offerings based on the same plans. There were also data increases on some plans. The changes first went live in dealer stores before later appearing online.
Throughout the summer, Ultra offered a special promo exclusively through its dealers. New customers who purchased a 3-month plan and current customers who upgraded were given a free month of service through an account credit. A new unlimited plan was also announced. All factors that likely helped to contribute to Ultra's growth in the channel.
Wave7 Research listed T-Mobile prepaid and Page Plus as its survey losers. Page Plus was found in just eight dealer stores, down from 13 in 2Q21. T-Mobile prepaid went from eight dealers in 2Q21 to just four in the 3Q21.
Interestingly, GoSmart Mobile increased to being found in six dealer stores during the quarter, up from four in quarter two. GoSmart Mobile is a Tracfone owned brand that only offers 3G data speeds except when its subscribers access Facebook. Facebook data speeds are 4G LTE.
"It will be fascinating to see how this survey changes, assuming Verizon closes its acquisition of TracFone. There will be a legion of changes." -- Jeff Moore, Principal of Wave7 Research
Full results from the last quarter's survey can be found here.