Phone companies of all sizes are using different angles and gimmicks to hook new subscribers. And the regional, Houston-based Everybody’s Phone Company (Pink Sheets: EVPH) is no different.
“We have spent the past 12 months conducting a study to determine the feasibility of offering pre-paid home telephone service to the sub-prime credit market; we have come to the conclusion that there is enough room in the market for another service providers,” the company’s President, Steve Bethke said in a statement. “We plan to begin offering services soon through a variety of outlets which specialize in serving the needs of the credit-disadvantaged.”
The company’s plan focuses on developing relationships with the owners and companies that operate sub-prime apartments in Texas. EVPH will pay compensation based upon a percentage of the revenues collected from residents. EVPH is also currently forming marketing partnerships with independent owners of pawnshops, check cashing facilities, local grocers, and convenience stores to sell prepaid services to new customers as well as accept monthly payments from subscribers for per-customer commission incentives.
The company’s partnership plans are projected to earn EVPH upwards of $20 million in revenues including a projected $10 million in net profit, according to Thursday’s news release.
EVPH offers a pre-paid service that is a relatively new but fast-growing concept in the telecommunications market, to compete with the Verizon’s and the baby Bells. Legislation in the 1990s permitted small companies like EVPH to provide these customers with a service that is pre-paid and is renewable on a monthly basis.
Thursday’s news created a lot of frenzy in the market. Shares of EVPH closed Thursday’s session up 104 percent to $0.0245, from Wednesday’s closing price. A total of 13,478,703 shares were traded.