TL;DR: Simple Mobile won Wave7 Research’s 3Q26 prepaid dealer survey after being activated at 25 of 30 independent multi-carrier prepaid dealers interviewed in the United States during August and September 2026. Ultra Mobile ranked second with 20 dealer mentions, and Verizon Prepaid rose to third with 19.
Simple Mobile won Wave7 Research’s 3Q26 independent prepaid dealer survey in the United States, marking its second consecutive quarterly win and its 44th win across 47 surveys conducted since 2015. Wave7 Research interviewed 30 independent multi-carrier prepaid dealers during August and September 2026.
Simple Mobile was being activated at 25 of the 30 dealers interviewed, compared with 20 for Ultra Mobile and 19 for Verizon Prepaid. Simple Mobile also led first-place dealer rankings with 11 top-seller mentions, ahead of Ultra Mobile’s eight, while Ultra Mobile recorded 18 top-two finishes compared with 15 for Simple Mobile.
|
Provider |
Dealers |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Also-ran |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Simple Mobile |
25 |
11 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
|
Ultra Mobile |
20 |
8 |
10 |
1 |
1 |
|
Verizon Prepaid |
19 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
11 |
|
T-Mobile Prepaid |
16 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
|
Gen Mobile |
15 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
6 |
|
H2O Wireless |
13 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
7 |
|
AT&T Prepaid |
11 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
6 |
|
MobileX |
9 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
|
Lyca Mobile |
7 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
|
Boost Mobile |
5 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
|
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
|
LinkUp Mobile |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Verizon Prepaid displaced Gen Mobile as the third-most widely activated brand in the survey and received Wave7 Research’s Momentum Award for 3Q26. Verizon Prepaid’s dealer mentions increased from 14 in 1Q26 to 15 in 2Q26 and 19 in 3Q26, while T-Mobile Prepaid rose to 16 dealer mentions and six first-place rankings.
Wave7 Research also reported dealer concerns about AT&T Prepaid activation issues tied to IMEI eligibility. In the same survey period, two dealer representatives named Spectrum as their store’s top seller, but Spectrum was excluded from the results table because the survey tracks prepaid wireless and those comments included broadband activations.
Relevant questions
Who won Wave7 Research’s 3Q26 prepaid dealer survey?
Simple Mobile won Wave7 Research’s 3Q26 prepaid dealer survey. It was being activated at 25 of the 30 independent dealers interviewed in the United States.
How did Verizon Prepaid perform in the 3Q26 Wave7 dealer survey?
Verizon Prepaid ranked third in the 3Q26 survey with 19 dealer mentions. Wave7 Research also gave it the Momentum Award after its dealer mentions rose from 14 in 1Q26 to 19 in 3Q26.
How many dealers did Wave7 Research survey for 3Q26?
Wave7 Research interviewed 30 independent multi-carrier prepaid dealers for its 3Q26 survey. The interviews took place during August and September 2026 in markets across the United States.
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