Price War Coming to Cellphones for Seniors, AGE Says
The wireless prepaid price war is extending to the 13-19 million older Americans who either don’t currently own a cellphone or no longer use one, said officials with Alliance for Generational Equity (AGE) in a press briefing Tuesday. Seniors can now purchase a senior-friendly prepaid phone for less than $15 and get service starting at $7 a month, they said, citing a study by AGE’s Senior Advocate Health & Safety Project.
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High price is the critical barrier preventing seniors from getting cellphones, said Mac Haddow, AGE senior fellow on public policy. The three least expensive and most senior-friendly pay-as-you-go cellphone plans are GreatCall Jitterbug, Consumer Cellular (which offers a discount for AARP members) and Senior Value Cell Phone (SVC) by TracFone, the study said. For seniors with “pricey contract-based cellphone service” who are “throwing away hundreds of minutes a year,” it’s time to switch to a cheaper prepaid plan, said David Herman, a vice president. But for many seniors, network reliability is key, whether to connect with family and friends or to reach critical services or phone in an emergency, a Verizon spokesman said. Various plans and devices for seniors are available for seniors at Verizon, he said. Prepaid may be a great option for some seniors, but “one-size-fits-all” is not the best way to meet the individual needs of every customer, an AT&T spokesman said. “Some may very well prefer prepaid offers while others could benefit from postpaid plans,” he said.
AGE found SVC had no activation fee, the least-expensive option for service (allowing consumers to keep their phone active for less than $7 a month), and the lowest-priced “senior friendly” handset, the Samsung T155G, for $14.95. By contrast, both Jitterbug and Consumer Cellular require a $35 “activation” fee for new service, impose higher entry points for consumers ($14.99 a month for 50 minutes on Jitterbug and $10 a month to maintain service on Consumer Cellular), and more expensive “senior friendly” handsets ($49-$79 for Jitterbug, though its features are very similar to the SVC handset, and $25-$30 for Consumer Cellular’s Doro handsets).
Meanwhile, various federal and state fees attached to the use of prepaid phones and plans tend to discourage seniors’ adoption of cellphones, a critical emergency tool for them, Haddow said. He urged federal and state regulators to eliminate any disincentives in the form of excessive fees, particularly those created to drive revenue instead of paying for infrastructure, he said. Seniors as a group haven’t embraced technology or are scared of it, Herman said, urging vendors and service providers to offer simpler phones and less expensive plans aimed at the tech-weary. Features important to seniors users include large screens and buttons, hearing aid compatibility, operator assistance and emergency buttons, he said.