The postpaid mobile phone is a
mobile phone
A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...
for which service is provided by a prior arrangement with a
mobile network operator
A mobile network operator (MNO), also known as a mobile network provider, mobile network carrier, mobile , wireless service provider, wireless carrier, wireless operator, wireless telco, or cellular company, is a telecommunications provider of se ...
. The user in this situation is billed after the fact according to their use of mobile services at the end of each month. Typically, the customer's contract specifies a limit or "allowance" of minutes, text messages etc., and the customer will be billed at a flat rate for any usage equal to or less than that allowance. Any usage above that limit incurs extra charges. Theoretically, a user in this situation has no limit on use of mobile services and, as a consequence, unlimited credit. This service is better for people with a secured income.
Postpaid service mobile phone typically requires two essential components in order to make the 'post-usage' model viable:
#Credit history/Contractual commitment. This is the basis on which the service provider is able to trust the customer with paying their bill when it is due and to have legal recourse in case of non-payment
#Service tenure. Most postpaid providers require customers to sign long term (1–3 year) contracts committing to use of the service. Failure to complete the term would make the customer liable for early termination fees.
The bill itself is an important component of the services which acts as an ambassador of the service provider and at times as an evidence of the service itself. The bill needs to be readable, comprehensible as well as aesthetically attractive for the subscriber to be interested enough to see details other than the bill amount.
The United States and Canada are examples of countries dominated by postpaid providers, including
AT&T
AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...
,
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand of telecommunications by Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telec ...
, and
Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...
in the US and
Bell
A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...
,
Rogers, and
Telus in Canada, among others. In the US a smaller market has been captured by prepaid providers such as
Boost Mobile
DISH Wireless L.L.C., doing business as Boost Mobile, is an American telecommunications company and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. Boost Mobile is the List of mobile network operators in the United States, fourth largest wirele ...
,
Metro by T-Mobile,
Cricket Wireless
Cricket Wireless LLC is an American prepaid wireless service provider, wholly-owned by AT&T. It provides wireless services to thirteen million subscribers in the United States as of 2022. Cricket Wireless was founded in March 1999 by Leap Wir ...
,
TracFone
TracFone Wireless, Inc. (TFWI) is an American wireless prepaid service provider. It is a mobile virtual network operator offering prepaid and no-contract services on the Verizon network under multiple brands, including: TracFone, Straight Talk ...
, and
Ting, which use postpaid providers networks (e.g. Cricket runs on AT&T's network).
Mobile telecommunication services
ru:Биллинг#Prepaid
The alternative billing method is a
prepaid mobile phone
A prepaid mobile device, also known as a pay-as-you-go (PAYG), pay-as-you-talk, pay and go, go-phone, or prepay, is a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone for which credit is purchased in advance of service use. The purchased credit is us ...
, where a user pays in advance for credit that is then consumed by use of the mobile phone service.{{telecom-stub