JACKSON, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 19, 1998--SkyTel Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYT) is now offering prepaid alpha paging through its distribution partners. The prepaid alpha product complements SkyTel's prepaid numeric paging product launched successfully last fall.
"SkyTel is the only paging company to offer true usage-based prepaid paging nationwide," said Craig Hagopian, marketing director of SkyTel's Consumer Products Group. "And with prepaid alpha added to our product line, we will introduce paging to a whole new market."
As with SkyTel's prepaid numeric product, prepaid alpha paging provides the convenience of paging without the commitment of ongoing contracts, monthly bills, credit applications, deposits or separate activation fees. Therefore, it is ideal for businesses and individuals with short-term or infrequent paging needs.
"According to a recent study by the Yankee Group, over 17 percent of pager users are interested in prepaid paging," Hagopian said. "It givespeople a way to control expenses with no additional billing."
Two prepaid alpha packages are available. One package features a Motorola Wordline pager, while the other features a Beepwear pager watch. Both include a personal 1-800 number, custom greeting, Page Recall and 500 service credits good for up to three months. Users can also select features such as nationwide service, Caller ID, and operator dispatch on incoming pages. When a person uses these optional features, the corresponding number of service credits are deducted from the balance, which is displayed on the pager. Additionally, prepaid alpha customers receive news, sports and weather updates on their pagers at no additional cost. Customers can enjoy all these services for about a nickel per service credit and can purchase recharge cards for additional service credits.
"Because these packages and all these features are flexible, inexpensive and conveniently bundled together in a box, the purchasing decision is easy for people to make," Hagopian said. "Prepaid services are becoming increasingly popular in telecommunications, and we are certainly seeing that trend with our paging. The nature of this package makes it very attractive for the distribution partners who sell our products."
For SkyTel's distribution partners and other high-volume customers, the prepaid product has distinct advantages. The broadcast messaging capability enables a company to simultaneously communicate to a large audience. The single nationwide frequency means that one model works everywhere. And the product can be customized with specific logos.
SkyTel Communications, Inc., headquartered in Jackson, Miss., is a leader in wireless messaging, serving more than 1.4 million customers. Since 1989, the company has led the paging sector towards true nationwide messaging through a series of innovations that culminated in SkyTel two-way interactive messaging service. This service enables customers to exchange messages with other pagers and receive messages via e-mail and the Internet. More information about the company is available at www.skytel.com or by calling 1-800-643-0323.
CONTACT: SkyTel Communications Inc., Jackson Pam Kloha, 601/944-7046
No comments:
Post a Comment