Simple Mobile Wins Wave7 Research’s 3Q26 Prepaid Dealer Survey, Verizon Prepaid Gains Ground

Simple Mobile has won Wave7 Research’s quarterly independent prepaid dealer survey for the second consecutive quarter. The 3Q26 results give the brand 44 wins across 47 surveys conducted since 2015. Ultra Mobile, which finished second, remains the only other provider to have won.

Simple Mobile was being activated at 25 of the 30 dealers interviewed, compared to 20 for Ultra Mobile. Both brands received one fewer dealer mention than in the 2Q26 survey, leaving the five-dealer gap between them unchanged.

The bigger change was in which brand dealers ranked first. Simple Mobile received 11 top-seller mentions, up from nine in the previous survey. Ultra Mobile received eight, down from nine. After tying in that category last quarter, Simple Mobile now leads in both overall availability and first-place rankings.

Ultra Mobile nevertheless remains a strong competitor where it is sold. Ten dealers ranked it second, giving it 18 top-two finishes compared to 15 for Simple Mobile. Only one of the 20 dealers activating Ultra Mobile placed it outside their top three. Simple Mobile has the broader distribution, but Ultra Mobile continues to command a prominent position at the stores carrying it.

3Q26 Prepaid Dealer Full Survey Results

Wave7 Research interviewed representatives from 30 independent multi-carrier prepaid dealers during August and September 2026. The stores were located in a variety of markets around the USA. The full results are below.

Note: “Number of Dealers” shows how many of the 30 dealers reported activating each brand. The first-, second-, and third-place columns show where dealers ranked the brand among their best sellers. “Also-Ran” indicates a brand being activated but not ranked among the store’s top three. These are dealer-reported rankings, not nationwide activation or subscriber market shares.

Top Selling Prepaid Brands In 3Q26 Wave7 Research Survey Of 30 Independent Dealers

Other Survey Winners

Verizon Prepaid displaced Gen Mobile as the third-most widely activated brand in the survey. Its 19 dealer mentions put it just one behind Ultra Mobile, compared to a six-dealer gap last quarter. Verizon Prepaid also recorded the largest increase in availability of any brand, adding four mentions.

T-Mobile Prepaid improved in both availability and sales rankings. It was being activated at 16 dealers, up from 14 in 2Q26. Twelve dealers placed it among their top three sellers, compared to nine previously, and its first-place mentions increased from four to six. Among the three national carriers’ namesake prepaid brands, T-Mobile Prepaid received the most first-place rankings.

Gen Mobile moved in the opposite direction on availability, falling from 18 dealer mentions to 15. However, it received nine top-three rankings, up from seven. Its smaller presence in this quarter’s sample did not translate into weaker sales rankings across the board.

H2O Wireless was found at 13 dealers, an increase of one, with six placing it among their top three sellers. AT&T Prepaid received 11 dealer mentions, down from 12.

Wave7 Research Momentum Award Winner: Verizon Prepaid

Verizon Prepaid’s climb to third place earned it Wave7 Research’s Momentum Award for 3Q26. Its dealer mentions have increased in each survey this year, progressing from 14 in 1Q26 to 15 in 2Q26 and now 19.

Eight dealers ranked Verizon Prepaid among their top three, unchanged from the previous quarter. Its first-place mentions actually fell from three to one, while its also-ran count increased from seven to 11. Verizon Prepaid is reaching more of the dealers interviewed, but it has not yet matched Simple Mobile or Ultra Mobile’s strength in the sales rankings.

Dealer feedback suggests that handset promotions and compensation are helping Verizon Prepaid compete for activations. A California dealer singled out the brand’s phone offers as a reason for its success. Another pointed to instant rebates offered to dealers.

Wave7 Research attributes some of Verizon Prepaid’s progress, along with the continued strength of sister brand Simple Mobile, to Verizon’s concentrated effort in the independent dealer channel. The firm points to social media promotion, initiatives presented at the August 2026 All Wireless & Prepaid Expo in Las Vegas, and four dealer events on the schedule this fall.

That outreach follows earlier product improvements, including the expanded international features announced for Simple Mobile and Total Wireless in August 2025. Simple Mobile’s changes included broader international calling and roaming options, giving dealers more features to sell alongside its domestic service.

The dealer outreach has continued since the survey interviews ended. In an October 15 LinkedIn post, Wireless Masters, a master dealer supporting Simple Mobile, highlighted an Authorized Retail Block Party in Los Angeles involving Simple Mobile, Verizon Prepaid, and Tracfone. The event is another example of Verizon maintaining direct contact with the retailers selling its brands.

Survey Loser: Smaller Prepaid Brands

LinkUp Mobile’s return increased the number of brands in the results from 11 to 12, but did little to change the balance between carrier-owned brands and independent MVNOs. Wave7 Research again named smaller brands the survey loser.

Just four of the 12 providers fell outside the brands operated by the three national carriers or EchoStar: H2O Wireless, MobileX, Lyca Mobile, and LinkUp Mobile. Numerous other MVNOs advertise dealer programs online, but those efforts generally did not produce activation mentions from the stores interviewed.

H2O Wireless remains the strongest of that group by dealer presence. It has been an established participant since Wave7 began the survey in 2015 and was being activated at 13 stores this quarter. Lyca Mobile has appeared in every survey over that period. Its seven dealer mentions were unchanged from 2Q26, with three stores ranking it as their second-best seller.

MobileX’s reported presence increased from seven dealers to nine, returning it to the upper end of the seven-to-nine range seen in recent surveys. None of the dealers ranked it among their top two sellers.

LinkUp Mobile received one mention and was classified as an also-ran. Its reappearance added another independent option to the table, but the survey still shows a considerable gap between offering a dealer program and establishing a widely activated brand.

Spectrum Sales Extend Beyond The Prepaid Results

Two representatives named Spectrum as their store’s top seller during the 3Q26 interviews, despite the company not appearing in the results table. Spectrum is excluded because the survey tracks prepaid wireless, while the dealer observations also include Spectrum broadband activations.

The comments build on a finding from 2Q26, when a dealer carrying Simple Mobile and Ultra Mobile described Spectrum as his core business. Wave7 also continued to observe Spectrum signage at some multi-carrier stores.

A Missouri dealer offered another perspective on why broadband can be attractive to these businesses. He said his store “only had five activations” for Spectrum during the previous month, but that those activations paid well.

AT&T Prepaid Activation Problems Remain A Dealer Concern

Beyond pricing and promotions, device eligibility continues to influence which brands some dealers are willing to activate. In recent surveys, several representatives have said they were reducing AT&T Prepaid activations because of problems involving phones’ IMEI eligibility.

A Missouri dealer described phones that initially cleared the activation process but were subsequently disconnected after service began. He cited certain AT&T phones with unpaid balances as an example of devices that could run into eligibility problems. The dealer said the issue also affects Cricket but does not apply to activations through AT&T MVNOs.

For the affected dealers, the concern is not simply that some phones cannot be activated. It is that an initial approval may not prevent a customer from losing service afterward, leaving the store with a problem to resolve after the sale.

“The Verizon Value team has shifted gears in a positive direction, with Simple Mobile winning the survey, while Verizon Prepaid has made gains and Tracfone is set to gain a presence in the multi-carrier channel.  Dealers also continue to be positive about Ultra Mobile, which took second place in the survey.  MobileX was mentioned by 9 of 30 dealers, as it also has a strong ground game.  Small and new MVNOs were not mentioned in the survey, apart from one mention of LinkUp Mobile.” – Jeff Moore, Principal of Wave7 Research