As one of Texas’ fastest–growing wirelesscarriers, Pocket Communications continuesto gain customers
When you ask Paul Posner, ownerof Pocket Communications, who hisaudience is, his response is simple:consumers. While his answer is almostcomical in its straightforwardness, itactually couldn’t be more appropriate.In a down economy where every rockis being turned over for money–savingopportunities, wireless services are notexempt from the scrutiny.
Pocket, which is one of Texas’ fastestgrowingflat–rate wireless companiesand the third largest flat rate carrierin the nation, is seeing an increase incustomers who are no longer interestedin fluctuating bills, hidden fees and –especially in uncertain times – contracts.
“We have the best network in SanAntonio,” says Posner. “We’re a low–costprovider but we back it up with a qualitynetwork. We have a 0.5 percent droprate, which is significantly better than thelarge nationwide carriers. So much of oursuccess is due to how we overinvest inour network.”
Pocket, he adds, has more transmittersites per square mile than typical wirelesscarriers, which gives the companyadditional capacity. Its network isdesigned for indoor phones, unlike othercarriers, because most of their customersdon’t have landlines. “And we have thelatest Nortel technology, meaning wehave robust equipment with the latestenhancements and features,” he says.
To give an idea of Pocket’s path ofsuccess, in November 2008 the companyreceived $100 million in venture capitalfrom Battery Ventures to fund PocketCommunications Northeast; additionallythey have secured another $25 milliondebt facility.
“(Battery) had every opportunity to notmove forward, and this was happening asWall Street collapsed. But they saw thatit was a good investment,” says Posner.Battery made the announcement to fundat a time when huge venture capitalinvestments were few and far between.
“Cell phone service is a commodity,”says Posner. “Everyone has a cell.Companies prefer Pocket for theiremployees because they don’t have toworry about personal calls. (Familiesand individuals) like us because their billis always the same and they can budgetfor it. We have a limited geographicfootprint, but we’re good for someonewho lives and works in San Antonio.”
At the same time, Pocket’s appeal iswhat helps to keep their costs down,Posner says. Customers pay in advance; ifthey don’t pay their bill by the last day ofthe month, service is cut off. That meansthat Pocket doesn’t have to spend moneyfor collections and carries no bad debt.
“We watch every dollar. We have an inhousecall center; we don’t farm out thatservice so we have low call center costs,”he says. “We don’t use contracts, whichdecreases administrative costs and there’sno paperwork. And Pocket’s cost–persubscriberis very low because we havesuch a high number of subscribers.”
The company has just over 300,000subscribers since its launch in 1996. Itreached 10 percent market penetration inless than a year, something that no othercarrier has ever done, Posner says. Andthanks to Pocket’s latest expansion intothe northeast, the company shows nosigns of slowing down.
“We’re local, we work really hard, andwe have a great reputation throughoutthe industry for being a dynamiccompany,” he says. “Pocket offers a greatservice at an affordable price, and peopleare realizing that they can get incrediblevalue and terrific wireless service withouthaving to spend a lot of money.”
Pocket has no particular demographic,no customer profile and no targetaudience because it’s just as basic asPosner put it – Pocket is for consumers.
