“He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator.”

-Roger Bacon



Change has always been one of mankind’s greatest challenges. The forces of those who have a vested interest in keeping things the way they are, are locked in a perennial battle with those who want to make changes, presumably for the better. The key to success is adapting to the changes in increments, as they occur.

Long time readers of TPP will recognize that the January 2008 edition, or V7-01, as we call it, has a new structure that is subtle, but profound. We have five sections, just as we have had in the past, but they are different than before, reflecting the underlying changes in the prepaid industry. Let’s go through them, so you can see what is different, and explain why the industry itself mandated this change. The changes are probably not going to appear cataclysmic to anyone, but they will say a lot about the flow of the industry itself.

The first section is Prepaid Business. This section covers the general overall prepaid industry, and focuses on the common areas, like regulation. Editorial opinion, like the Retske Report, will appear here, as will Regulatory Rundown, Ed Maldonado’s monthly overview of the regulatory trends in prepaid. This section will also cover news that impacts the breadth of prepaid. 

The next three sections are modeled after the three major lines of business in the prepaid industry, which are nearly equal in importance and impact. For the time being, anyway.

Prepaid Calling will cover all of the news and critical information about prepaid calling products and services, most notably prepaid calling cards. The sections will include Ken Osowski’s column on prepaid calling technology, the Arbinet Spot Rate report on international calling rates, and Legal Line, our reader question and answer column.

Prepaid Wireless will focus primarily on prepaid cellular services, especially the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) market. The monthly Prepaid Wireless Roundup column, hosted by Joe Pawlikowski, of PrepaidReviews.com will anchor this section, which will feature the news that is current in wireless.

The Payments section will continue to concentrate on the exploding area of gift and debit cards, along with prepaid alternative payment products. News and views impacting the prepaid sub-sectors of prepaid across a fairly wide array of financial lines.

Finally, the new Retail Focus section will focus on the marketplace where the three major lines of prepaid business converge. If you want to see this in action, go to a retail drugstore or grocery chain and see what is happening with prepaid. The prepaid industry all comes together in the endcaps and prepaid malls, where calling cards sit next to prepaid debit cards and wireless top ups. This section will include Prepaid 101, consumer topics and merchandising/marketing ideas for retailers, along with the news, of course.

Dedicated readers will recognize that most of this redesign is merely shifting around existing elements. Of course, the Retail Focus section will have some new areas of discussion. As we said, the change is subtle, initially, at least. As it develops, the concentration on the lines of business will give rise to new areas of exploration. Like we said, TPP will continue to reflect the industry we cover.

You may have missed another notable fact in the beginning of this discussion. This issue is called “V7-01.” If you are not familiar with news publications numbering, the “V7” means this is seventh year of publication, and the “01” is the first edition, in this case, January. The Prepaid Press is in its seventh year of continuous publication, and is now considered by most as the preeminent prepaid publication. We enjoy wide circulation in the three major lines of business, and our content is carried on Factiva, the Dow Jones news retrieval service. This is a credit to our industry, and our ability to track the news and trends.

Our success in publishing has given rise to our newest venture, The Prepaid Press Expo, at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, August 19-21st. Just as TPP is organized along industry lines, so is the Expo.

But, our success is simply a reflection of the industry we serve. As it has grown, so have we grown. And, if we are able to meet the information needs of the prepaid industry as it continues to grow, we will also enjoy growth in the future. We would love to hear from you about our change. Write us at editor@prepaid-press.com.