DETROIT – There’s a new wireless player coming to metropolitan Detroit that will offer flat-rate, pay-by-the-month cell phone service with no long-term contracts starting April 18.
MetroPCS Communications, a Dallas-based wireless service provider, will offer service plans that range from about $30 to $50 a month for unlimited minutes in a footprint that ranges north towards Flint, south to the Ohio state line and west to Ann Arbor, an area with roughly 4.2 million people.
?We build coverage where core Detroit suburb folks, live work and play,?? said MetroPCS Regional Vice President and General Manager Patrick Markey. ?We?ll be selling an unlimited usage product for $45 a month, which includes all your long distance, text messaging and picture messaging. There is no credit check because we don?t send out bills. We directly charge your credit card for the same amount each month.?
Markey said MetroPCS is not for road warriors who travel around the state because it is meant to serve only Southeast Michigan. But the company will offer a TravelTalk plan for people who head north to their weekend cabins and need occasional wireless phone service.
?What we do is build networks in densely populated areas, like Detroit,?? Markey said. ?Our strategy is to capture a niche consumer market. Our average customer is between 18 and 49. He?s the real estate guy, the guy at the glass repair shop, high school and college kids. And Mom?s phone.?
Markey said MetroPCS landed about 100,000 subscribers in Tampa just six months after the service was offered and Tampa has a population about one-third less than metropolitan Detroit. So the company expects to do well in Southeast Michigan.
MetroPCS initially launched service in 2002 in the Atlanta, South Florida, Sacramento and San Francisco areas. In 2004, MetroPCS acquired licenses for the greater Tampa/Sarasota area and has now expanded its Florida footprint from South Florida into the Central Florida region.
Just last month, the company hit the two million customer mark with nearly half that number in metropolitan Miami, Markey said.
This week, MetroPCS is concluding a friendly user trial to test its backroom billing and voice mail to make sure the service end of the business is ready to go when the network goes live to the public on April 18. Markey said he has 200 dealers lined up and will soon have a dozen stores available to provide customer service. Those stores are in Clinton Township, Pontiac, Detroit near 8 Mile Road and on Woodward Ave, Taylor, Ypsilanti, Lathrup Village, Southfield, Hazel Park, Dearborn, and Mexican town.
Markey also announced Thomas Adams has been appointed regional vice president of sales and distribution, James Tucker has been named regional vice president of network operations and Russell Filbey regional vice president of finance and operations.
For more information, click on MetroPCS.Com/Plans
