Phone Plus Prepaid: Retail News

Posted: 9/2003

Retail News

AGSi Enters the Prepaid Market

By Tara Seals

Alliance
Group Services Inc. (AGSi), a wholesale network provider, has entered the
prepaid market with a card targeting Hispanics who want to call Mexico.

The cards cost $10 for 103 minutes, and there are no additional fees or
connection charges. The cards are tailored for the nations largest minority
group, with Spanish instructions on the card and voice prompts en Espanol.

The company struck an agreement with the worlds largest retailer to market
the card. Sales of the AGSi/Wal-Mart Stores Inc. card thus far have been beating
expectations, say executives.

Troy Aikman, the former star quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys and an
investor in Alliance Group Services, is a business associate who could play a
role in promoting the card and opening doors, though management says it had
not been determined whether Aikman would be used in any TV, radio or print
advertising.

Moviso Signs Distribution Deal with Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is distributing Moviso LLCs prepaid ring tone cards at
about 2,000 retail stores across the country. Wal-Mart, the worlds largest
retailer, is featuring the prepaid cards alongside its range of prepaid wireless
airtime products.

Moviso
prepaid cards let consumers personalize their mobile phones to ring with
favorite songs and, unlike ring tones purchased on the Internet or telephone, do
not require a credit card to buy.

Our prepaid ring tone cards are just one of many content and service
products offered to the wireless market, and present a great new revenue source
for our carrier, retailer and entertainment industry partners, says Shawn
Conahan, Movisos president. We are excited to offer Wal-Mart customers this
selection as we believe the power of prepaid mobile media is reaching new
customers and driving additional interest to the industry.

Movisos prepaid ring tone card includes licensed content from rock, hip-hop
and R&B artists. Each prepaid card purchase gives consumers three ring tones,
which they can select from a catalog of at least 15 compositions.

The prepaid ring tone cards are activated on purchase and contain simple
instructions and a unique PIN for accessing content. Customers call a toll-free
number from the cell phone, enter the PIN and select the content they wish to
download. Customers also can visit the Moviso Web site to download from the
companys extensive list of 2,000 or so additional ring tones.

The cards, which are also available in 5,000 7-Eleven Inc. stores across the
country, cost $4.97 each. They are available for the following Nokia phone
models: 3360, 3390, 3395, 5120, 5125, 5160, 5165, 5190, 6190, 6340, 6360, 7160,
7190, 8260, 8265, 8290, 8390 and 8890. Moviso plans to support additional phone
models and manufacturers this year.

IDT Named Exclusive Calling Card Provider for Barnes &
Noble College Bookstores

IDT
Corp. was selected as the exclusive calling card provider to Barnes & Noble
College Bookstores Inc., a manager of college and university bookstores. This
summer, IDT began providing the companys nearly 500 on-campus retail outlets
with point-of-sale (PoS) activated calling cards.

Barnes & Noble College Bookstores is a privately held sister company to
Barnes & Noble Inc., the nations largest bookseller. It operates college
bookstores at about 400 institutions including Johns Hopkins University,
Columbia University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, University of
Chicago and the coops at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The cards will be sold in three denominations: $5, $10 and $20 cards with
domestic and international capability and a customized $20 international calling
card.

GoPhone Bridges Prepaid-Postpaid Gap

Bridging the gap between prepaid and postpaid, AT&T
Wireless recently introduced GoPhone, a national wireless service providing
unlimited night and weekend calling, domestic long distance and roaming without
a credit check or long-term contract. GoPhone can be purchased off-the-shelf in
more than 10,000 stores nationally, including Target, 7-Eleven, CompUSA,
Staples, Ritz Camera and AT&T Wireless stores.

Customers can choose from one of four Go Phone calling plans
priced from $19.99 to $49.99 a month and with rates as low as 9 cents per
minute, which is comparable to rates previously available only to customers on
plans that required long-term contracts.

These plans look and are priced like todays ubiquitous
postpaid accounts, but they charge a recurring monthly upfront fee to a credit
or debit card, says Charles Golvin, an analyst with Forrester Research Inc.
He says eliminating the credit check and emphasizing Web and automated,
phone-based self-service makes GoPhone customer less costly to activate.

Customers can track and manage their GoPhone accounts online
or by accessing the Account Activity option on their GoPhone handset.
GoPhone automatically deducts a set fee from a customers preferred bank
account, credit card or debit card each month or more often, if their
GoPhone account needs to be replenished before the month is out. GoPhone will
send a text message alerting the customer that their balance is running low and
that a new payment will automatically be charged.

The GoPhone handset, with a suggested retail price of $89.99,
is a Nokia 3590. It uses AT&T Wireless GSM/GPRS wireless network, which
offers customers optional services such as text and e-mail messaging and the
ability to access entertainment and information sites using AT&T Wireless
mMode service. GoPhone customers can purchase mMode for an additional $3.99 a
month.

There is a huge pent-up demand that these prepaid offerings
address, says analyst Jeff Kagan. There are millions of potential
customers who havent taken the wireless plunge either because they are
credit-challenged, or because buying a wireless phone was too confusing. This
credit-friendly, simple, off-the-shelf approach will bring new waves of wireless
customers in to the stores.

Blackstone Releases Prepaid Prescription Cards, Senior Traffic
Academy

Continuing its strategy of expansion beyond telecom,
Blackstone Calling Card has launched prepaid prescription discount cards and
prepaid senior traffic academy courses.

The Senior Traffic Academy course is the latest in Blackstones
line of prepaid online traffic school and teen traffic academy programs. The
program allows seniors to attend the course on the Internet. Individuals over
the age of 55 receive a state-mandated insurance discount for three years after
taking a driver-safety course.

The student purchases the product, accesses the Internet,
enters the Web site indicated on the card, enters his or her PIN and accesses
the class. Upon successful completion of the course, the student receives a
certificate to send to his or her insurance carrier.

The prepaid prescription discount card can be purchased for
$9.95 and is good for 60 days of household prescription drug coverage, plus
diabetic supplies, diabetic devices and insulin on prescription. Consumers can
save up to 40 percent on all prescriptions at about 50,000 pharmacies
nationwide, says the company. Services are provided through PSDT, a products and service
distribution company, in concert with NPAX, the marketing arm of NPA, which is a
division of Express Scripts, a provider of pharmacy benefit management services.

The new offers are available via e-PIN delivery using the
Blackstone pointof- sale machine or the Prepaid One Stop, its self-service
interactive kiosk. They also are available in a traditional hanging-card format.