Prepayment for service

By removing the complications inherent to the contract system, this allowed the mobile communications user base to grow incredibly fast.

This is not true when calling a toll free number from a land line, but with cell phones, air time is used.

The pseudonymity enabled by prepaid services has recently become a concern with law enforcement agencies that consider it a safe haven for criminals and terrorists.

As a result, a number of countries including Australia, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mozambique, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, and Thailand have passed laws to require that all prepaid customers register their personal information with their mobile carrier.

In some countries, the law requires that customers notify their mobile carrier when transferring ownership of a prepaid phone or SIM card.

In Australia, the prepaid registration policy is part of a larger law enforcement initiative that includes the creation and maintenance of an Integrated Public Number Database.

As a result, a handful of Texas companies are offering the ability to prepay your electricity, with the balance going toward the posted kilowatt hours rate.