On the Internet there are hundreds of thousands of companies we've never heard of, and some of them are quite large. But I've never thought of the wireless phone industry as being in that horde. A handful of large companies and a handful of small companies are competing for your business -- and I thought I'd encountered most of them.

Yet, after writing about a simple phone for older people, I was approached by Oregon-based carrier Consumer Cellular. Consumer Cellular concentrates on simple phones for older individuals and has signed an exclusive contract with AARP to provide cell service to AARP members.

John Marick, Consumer Cellular's CEO, said the company emphasizes affordable convenience and safety, not long-term service plans. Although his company has partnered with Motorola and Nokia to provide phones in the past, he recently found a Swedish company, Doro, and now offers two of its phones in the United States, one flip model and one bar phone. Consumer Cellular subsidizes both, so consumers pay $40 to $50.

His plans also are on the affordable side, ranging from $10 to $60. The lower-cost plan would be considered an emergency plan for consumers who need a phone just in case and are willing to pay 10 cents a minute; while the $60 plan includes 2,000 minutes.

Although his agreement with AARP gives Consumer Cellular an advantage in his core market, Mr. Marick's company does face competition. To my surprise, his biggest competition isn't from Boost Mobile or Cricket, two other cellular services at the low end cost level. The biggest threat he faces is from family plans from the larger vendors such as Verizon Wireless and AT&T. They gobble up extra users that might be available for specialized services like his.

Mr. Marick's 500,000 customers are not heavy cell phone users, so they don't need unlimited plans -- just affordability, convenience and safety. Having the phone without the burden of a contract is a big decision factor to his customers. Consumer Cellular does not penalize customers who leave; and they offer a money-back guarantee. They even provide a postage paid label so you can return the phone. The company uses the AT&T Network to provide its service so it can provide a national footprint.

Currently Consumer Cellular concentrates on basic services -- voice and text -- but expects the market to get savvier as seniors become more adaptable to technology. And as we all start to get gray, that seems like a logical assumption. After all, those of us who are in our 30s and 40s today are fairly astute technically. We use Facebook, LinkedIn and other social services on a regular basis.

And we'll be joining the AARP generation in no time. That may create some additional challenges for Mr. Marick's company, as he'll need to provide a higher level of technical services for generations who grew up with computers.

With 500,000 current members, he's got a good start. Now he has to hope that the next generation needs the types of services he'll be offering.

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