WebProNews

Once disdaining the high turnover prepaid market, Cingular turns 180 degrees and plans a big marketing push.

Cingular, which purchased AT&T Wireless last fall, had not been a major player in the prepaid cellular service sector.

But that has changed, and Cingular plans to market its service heavily, particularly to teenagers. Anyone cost-conscious about cellular usage will be a secondary focus of the marketing scheme.

Prepaid plans notoriously have been high in customer turnover, or churn. It costs more to get prepaid customers and more to keep them as customers.

"The big issue in prepaid is churn. If you price it attractively and give people real alternatives in terms of devices and flexibility that gives them reason to stay," said Cingular spokesman Mark Siegel.

Cingular's plan will let customers use prepaid services on any of its phones. This is a big difference when compared to other providers who limit prepaid users to certain cellphones.

One motivating factor may be competitor Nextel's recent announcement that its prepaid service, Boost Mobile, finally made an operating profit in the first quarter of 2005. The growth potential of the sector may be ready to pay off for the likes of Cingular.

Cingular will offer plans ranging from $29.99 to $69.99 per month. A pay as you go option similar to Virgin Mobile's plan will be available as well.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.