Updated 2018. Republic Wireless is a T-Mobile MVNO that reduces costs by using WiFi for calls and texts whenever possible. They have settled into the simple pricing structure below, with no contracts.
The best value plans allow a single user to pay $20/month for unlimited talk/text/1 GB LTE and $25/month for unlimited talk/text/2 GB LTE. The nice thing about these pay-for-what-you-use plans is that you save money on the months where you use very little data, as opposed to always buying the plan where you know you won’t pay for overages.
Buy new phone, get 3 free months of service (phones start at $89). Get 3 free months of service if you buy a new phone and activate a new line. This is with the Unlimited Talk/Text + 1 GB Data plan, so that’s $20 x 3 = $60 value for free. New phones start at only $89 for the Alcatel A30 Android phone. Moto E is $129.
Bring your own phone + Free SIM card + 1 free month of service. Right now, they are offering a Free SIM card + Free Shipping + Free 1st Month of Service. This is with the Unlimited Talk/Text + 1 GB Data plan ($20 value). If you use more data, you pay the difference. Taxes and telecom fees are not included. The idea is that you can swap out the SIM card in your phone and try them out with no obligation. You must activate by 6/30/18.
Phone options. You can either buy a phone from them or bring your GSM unlocked phone and use their SIM card. There are still no Apple phones on the list. Below is a partial list of eligible phones. The best thing to do is use their phone checker.
- Google Pixel
- Google Pixel XL
- Google Pixel 2
- Google Pixel 2 XL
- Samsung Galaxy S8
- Samsung Galaxy S9
- Samsung Galaxy J7
- Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
- Samsung Galaxy S7
- Samsung Galaxy J3
- Samsung Galaxy S6
- Nexus 6P by Huawei
- Nexus 6 by Motorola
- Nexus 5X by LG
- Moto X Pure Edition
- Moto X4
- Moto G5S Plus
- Moto G5 Plus
- Moto E4
- Moto E4 Plus
- Moto G4
- Moto G4 Plus
- Moto G4 Play
- Moto Z
- Moto Z Play
Bottom line. Republic Wireless now allows you to bring your own unlocked GSM phone for use on WiFi and T-Mobile LTE networks. Right now, they are offering a free SIM + free month of service to try them out for free. Apple phones are not eligible. The cost is straightforward: $15 for unlimited talk/text and $5 per GB of data used, making it best for modest data users.
If you are willing to buy several months of service at once (or have an Apple phone), also check out Mint Mobile (formerly MintSIM).
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US Mobile also offers low cost cell phone plans and allow you to choose between GSM or CDMA network coverage. Although they don’t say so, I assume that their GSM network is T-Mobile and the CDMA network is Verizon. See: https://www.usmobile.com/networks
One nice difference between Republic Wireless and US Mobile is that US Mobile offers 24/7 phone support in addition to email and chat support whereas Republic only offers online support.
US Mobile kind of reminds me of Ting, which also does pay-what-you-use and touts good customer service as a feature. They have real human phone support too, but not 24/7. (Monday to Friday from 8am to 1am ET and Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 8pm ET).
I currently am a Republic Wireless customer and especially like their Anywhere texting app which allows me to send texts from my cell phone as well as from my laptop. https://pwk.republicwireless.com/anywhere/
My best friend is a customer of US Mobile using their GSM network. Besides the 24/7 real human phone support, US Mobile also offers a free VPN service to their customers.
https://www.usmobile.com/vpn
T-Mobile native network sucks outside of metro areas. Better alternatives with broader coverage are RedPocket and H2O.
what are you switching to after the sprint 1-year free promotion expires?
I haven’t decided yet, but definitely not Sprint or Sprint MVNO. I’ll pay $6 a month for it, but I won’t pay an equivalent amount to other networks. I’ll probably try one of these T-Mobile MVNOs for a month and see how it is.
Hopefully you’ll write a post about what you switching to. I got 4 lines from Sprint last June and it has been nice to pay a nominal amount. That’s said I won’t stay with Sprint once the deal expires for two reasons. First, every single month the “taxes and fees” have been going up, and it’s not the local taxes or fees like 911. Second, spirit network does allow simultaneous use of voice and data. I can’t tell you how much I miss this feature when I need to look something up while on a phone call.
As of June 12, Republic Wireless just announced Free Access to 30 Million WiFi Hotspots:
https://pwk.republicwireless.com/free-access-to-30-million-wifi-hotspots/
How is Republic Wireless network in Phoenix Az? Is there anything else cheaper than Sprint ?