Carrier Cricket?s Leap Wireless has become the first prepaid carrier to offer Apple's iPhone, showing that although there is a demand for smartphones, post-paid wireless carriers might have to fight for new and existing consumers in the future.

Beginning on June 22, Leap will launch two prepaid plans for the iPhone for either the 16GB iPhone 4S version or the 8GB iPhone 4 model.  By offering the iPhone on a prepaid plan, some analysts believe that it could risk wireless carriers losing customers to cheaper phone plans.

?In general the prepaid market, particularly in the United States, has been left to lower-end consumers, but that is being shifted as smartphones become cheaper,? said Michael Morgan, analyst at ABI Research, New York.

?Subsidization was the key crux with how smartphones were able to concentrate the market,? he said.

Carrier plans
The Leap iPhone plans will be included with the carrier?s fixed $55 a month plan, which includes an unlimited text, data and talk plan.

The iPhone4S will cost approximately $500 compared to Apple?s no-contract cost of $650. Leap will sell the iPhone 4 at approximately $400 versus the $500 retail price.

Reportedly, prepaid carrier U.S. Cellular was also offered to sell the iPhone but claimed that it could not be done for financial reasons.

According to Mr. Morgan, Leap?s move could set off a chain of similar announcements from other smaller carriers to begin offering pre-paid iPhone packages.

Prepaid proposition
There has been speculation over when the iPhone would become available to prepaid consumers for a while now.

Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint all offer the iPhone, and have made the phone a major part of its strategy in acquiring new customers.

However, with smartphone ownership continuing to grow, major carriers need to now think about how to give users a true value for being a customer, which is not necessarily done through a post-paid plan.

?Sure, you may get $300 off the initial price, but over a two-year contract you don?t necessarily get your money back,? Mr. Morgan said.

Additionally, an iPhone prepaid model could be a particularly good fit for smaller carriers because iPhone users typically have a low turn rates and tend to stick to their plans for longer periods of time.

The iPhone set the bar for the smartphone market for both marketers and consumers as a device with easy-to-use features, which is why carriers have been quick to cannibalize the market with post-paid plans.

In order to keep up, the big wireless carriers will have to reevaluate the customer service that they offer in order to keep customers, according to Mr. Morgan.

?This is big news for the consumer, but not the best news for mobile operators with post-paid plans,? Mr. Morgan said.

?If it takes off, and I won?t be surprised if it does, it will put pressure on the value of the prepaid plan and change consumer awareness,? he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York