Friday, March 01, 2013

Solavei: Winner of the Prepaid Mobile Market in 2013

I've written a few posts in the past where I review prepaid mobile services. Over the years, the top contenders have been Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. Recently, T-Mobile has stepped up their game in the prepaid market. It is only slightly surprising, therefore, that an MVNO using the T-Mobile network, Solavei, is now the best value in the prepaid market.

Before going further, let me just clarify that Solavei does not position itself as a prepaid mobile service. However, given that you pay for service in advance, have no contract, and do not have subsidized know what they say about looking and quacking like a duck.

But, that's where the similarities end.

If you have an unlocked GSM phone at your disposal, Solavei does not sell handsets, then you can subscribe for unlimited talk, text, and data for only $49/month. At the outset, you do have to buy a SIM card for $10, making your startup cost, sans the handset, around $68 or so.

Boost offers unlimited service for $50/month. Cricket offers a similar plan. So, you could say that Solavei offers a competitive rate plan.

However, where Solavei distinguishes itself is that they offer residual incentives for subscribers.

What does that mean?

Well, suppose you refer Mom to Solavei and sign her up. And you do the same for a couple of acquaintances. After subscribing 3 people, you get $20 off your rate plan. So, for every trio, you get $20 off your bill.

It doesn't stop there. After 9 referred subscribers, you get free mobile service. Yes, FREE.

Even better than that, if you refer more subscribers, you get paid every month, $20 per trio. On top of that there are bonuses and such. Let's forget all that for the moment.

Can you see how Solavei changes the game? On top of offering a path to savings, they offer a way to earn income from your prepaid mobile service.

In terms of value, I have vacillated back and forth between Virgin and Boost. Today, Solavei come out ahead of the pack. I subscribed and am looking forward to switching people over. I never thought I'd be so excited over prepaid mobile service. Check them out at

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