AT&T’s Cricket Wireless brand issued plans to allow all customers with 5G devices to access the parent’s network where available, joining rivals T-Mobile US, Verizon and Dish Network in aggressively promoting prepaid services.

Cricket Wireless stated it will remove speed caps on its $30, $40, and $55 per month plans but conceded customers on its unlimited plan may may experience slower speeds when the AT&T network is congested.

The US prepaid market has seen a flood of promotions this year, including Metro by T-Mobile’s unlimited 5G service and discounted phones, Party Pay plans from Verizon’s Visible and a blockchain-based loyalty points programme by Dish Network’s Boost Mobile.

AT&T claims its prepaid brands have outpaced rivals despite these promotions, stating it was the nation’s “fastest growing prepaid carrier” since 2019 and now boasts 19 million prepaid subscribers, 12.4 million of which are Cricket Wireless customers.

America Movil’s Tracfone reported 20.3 million subscribers in July 2021.