We're in October now, and that means it's time for the 3Q23 Wave7 Research multi-carrier prepaid dealer survey results. For the 35th time in a row, Simple Mobile has won the survey just like it has every time since the survey's inception. Simple Mobile was carried by 23 out of 30 dealers surveyed and was the top seller in 10 of those dealers.
Verizon Prepaid took second place in the survey with 15 stores carrying the brand, up from 10 in 2Q23 but still down from 18 in the 1Q23 survey. It was the number 1 seller at five of the stores surveyed. Verizon Prepaid narrowly edged out Ultra Mobile for the number 2 spot. Ultra Mobile was also carried by 15 stores, but was the top seller in 4 stores.
Cricket Wireless earned the dubious distinction of being called the survey loser. It was only carried by two dealers and was not a top two seller in either of them. Cricket does not appear to be putting much effort into the multi-carrier prepaid dealer channel. Checks of the last several years worth of surveys show the brand has never been found in more than 6 stores. Cricket's efforts are more focused on its dealer stores. In March 2023, the company said it has over 4500 store locations spread across all 50 states and in Washington, D.C.
The latest survey was conducted in August, and September, 2023. Representatives from 30 independent multi-carrier prepaid dealers in a variety of markets around the USA were interviewed, mostly by phone. Full results of the survey are detailed below.
3Q23 Prepaid Dealer Survey Results
Note: The "number of dealers" column indicates the number of dealers out of 30 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 | 23 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Verizon Prepaid | 15 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Ultra Mobile | 15 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| H2O Wireless | 12 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Boost Mobile | 11 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| T-Mobile Prepaid | 11 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| AT&T Prepaid | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Lyca Mobile | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Gen Mobile | 9 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| Cricket Wireless | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Selectel | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| TracFone | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Wave7 Research noted in its survey that a couple of reps made negative remarks about the push of Simple Mobile customers over to Verizon's network. Prior to Verizon's takeover of the brand in November 2021, Simple Mobile had operated on the T-Mobile network. Some dealers have not surprisingly reported that they have customers who refused to move to Verizon from T-Mobile's network and opted for service with another T-Mobile MVNO instead.
Wave7 Research Gives T-Mobile Prepaid Its Momentum Award
Wave7 Research gave T-Mobile Prepaid its Momentum Award based on the survey results. T-Mobile Prepaid was found in 11 dealer stores and was a top 3 seller in 7 of them. In the previous survey it was found in 6 stores and a top seller in 3 of them. The reason for the upward movement is unclear. However, LinkedIn posts from prepaid master dealer, Orion Mobile may provide a hint. Their post feed features stores with signage pushing T-Mobile Prepaid's Connect Plans which start at just $10/month.
Boost Mobile was named honorable mention for the Momentum Award. Boost gets honorable mention for being sold in 11 of 30 dealers, up from 8 in the 2Q23 survey. Also, 9 of 11 reps mentioned Boost as being their store’s #1 or #2 seller.
“Simple Mobile has won the dealer survey for the 35th time in a row. I was surprised that 11 of 30 reps said that T-Mobile was an option. It seems like there’s been an uptick in T-Mobile prepaid efforts in this channel.”