The downturn has been good to prepay carriers such as MetroPCS. Following a note sale that raised half a billion dollars in cash, pay-as-you-go mobile firm MetroPCS is mulling over what to do with the money, which may include acquisitions of smaller firms, or investing into a fourth generation network, according to Bloomberg, which interviewed its CEO Roger Linquist. It will also allow the company to stay independent, or as Linquist put it, “We’re going our own way.”

The regional carrier was one of the first prepay wireless firms to offer a flat rate $50 unlimited plan, that includes both voice and data, something that has resonated with consumers more careful with their cash. In the past year, its subscriber base has surged 37 percent to give it a total of 6.1 million customers, and has grown more than 20 percent each quarter since 2007.

Linquist said the funds put them in a “sweet spot,” allowing them to “go out and do something” other companies might not be able to do in the downturn, such as acquiring smaller rivals. Linquist, however, did not specify what exactly it was looking for. The story says that the carrier expects to roll out LTE service to customers in 2010, around the same time that its larger more powerful rival Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) rolls out theirs. The company, like practically every other carrier, is also eying up the possibility of hosting other wireless consumer devices other than phones, similar to Sprint’s successful deal to host Amazon’s Kindle e-reader device.