Verizon to sell Smartphones for prepaid service

Verizon, the country’s largest cellular carrier brought out a new scheme for its prepaid customers. It is opening up access to Smartphones for customers who are with poor credit and those who don’t want to be tied down by long-term contracts.

Prepaid service has long been the field of low-end phones, but companies like Sprint Nextel Corp. and Leap Wireless International Inc. have now introduced Smartphones for their enhance, Virgin Mobile and Cricket brands.

According to Verizon Wireless, it started to sell smart phones for prepaid service in its stores on Thursday and will start selling them online on Sept. 28 this year itself.

The phones is said to be expensive than those offered to postpaid customers, usually associated with two-year contracts. For example, Verizon charges a prepaid customer US$215 for a BlackBerry Curve 8530. It’s available for US$20 with a two-year contract.

Similar to other carriers, Verizon discounts the price of phones with two-year contracts, figuring that it will make back the discount in monthly service fees. With prepaid service, the customer can cancel at any time.

Prepaid service is observed as one of the enduring growth areas for wireless carriers, as people who have good credit all have phones already.

Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of New York-based Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC of Britain.