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I have to admit. I LOVE 7-Eleven! As a kid, I'd get the "Big Gulp" and a TastyKake Tasty Klair Pie and be happy for the rest of the day...unfortunately, this made my Mom miserable for some reason...hmmm
Anyway, According to thewirelessweblog, 7-Eleven, Inc. is launching the industry's first Pre-Paid Wireless service. The service would be delivered by Ztar mobile Inc. which would use the Cingular Wireless nationwide network. Like Long Distance phone cards, you'll be able to purchase "7-Eleven Speak Out wireless refill cards" which come in different price categories ($25, $50, $75 and $100) "After initial refinements, the program is now being offered in selected 7-Eleven stores in 14 other markets: Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Hartford-New Haven, Kansas City, Providence, R.I.-New Bedford, Mass., Richmond, Va.; Springfield, Mass.; St. Louis, Toledo and Washington, DC. 7-Eleven plans to rollout its 7-Eleven Speak Out program to the majority of the rest of its 5,300 U.S. company-operated and franchised stores in the United States later this month."
Sound like a good plan?
__________________ A good way to threaten somebody is to light a stick of dynamite. Then you call the guy and hold the burning fuse up to the phone. \"Hear that?\" you say. \"That\'s dynamite, baby.\"
The key piece of information that is missing in that article is "what are the rates?!"
(edit) I went to the 7-11 site and found their rates... looks like a flat $0.20 a minute.
Depending upon usage patterns, a prepaid service can be cheaper than service plans.
I've already switched my cell phone service from Sprint PCS to VirginMobile prepaid. (VirginMobile uses the same Sprint PCS network) My monthly cost dropped from $60 a month down to about $20... and I use the phone more now that I did before. VM's rates are $0.25 a minute for the first 10 minutes in the day, $0.10 a minute after that.
Comparison of the 7-11 plan vs. VirginMobile...
Code:
Duration 7-11 VM
----------------- -------- --------
10 minutes a day: $ 2.00 $ 2.50
15 minutes a day: $ 3.00 $ 3.00
30 minutes a day: $ 6.00 $ 4.50
60 minutes a day: $12.00 $ 7.50
So for low daily usage (under 15 min. a day), the 7-11 plan is cheaper than VM's. But if you talk a lot on a particular day, then the comparison is flipped upside down.
It looks like this new 7-11 service offers competitive rates... that is great news for us consumers. More and more people are coming to the realization that cell service contracts heavily favor the companies. Reasonably priced pre-paid phones may be cheaper but definitely have the advantage of being able to upgrade the phone at-will and sell or give away the older prepaid phone.
As a kid, I'd get the "Big Gulp" and a 
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