Want A $19/Month Mobile Plan?

A new wireless operator is gearing up to launch next week with plans offering unlimited data, voice and texting for $19 a month and no contract.

Republic Wireless, a division of Bandwith.com, will provide the service through Voice over IP using the nearest available Wi-Fi hotspot starting Tuesday, Nov. 8, a spokesman confirmed via email.

When a wireless phone user is traveling, the service will be provided through traditional cellular connections, initially over the Sprint network.

One important catch: Republic will require that its users have a new Android-based smartphone equipped with hardware and software that supports automatic switching from Wi-Fi to cellular. The device must have single phone number that works on both networks.

Republic hasn’t disclosed further details on phones the network will support. The company said more details will be made available on the launch date.

Republic calls its Wi-Fi and cellular mixture “Hybrid Calling,” a strategy it said reduces the costs for network services and makes the $19 flat monthly “membership” rate possible.

Republic estimates that smartphone users are within reach of Wi-Fi over 60% of the time, said the spokesman, Kevin LaHaise.

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Sprint Finally Gets The iPhone

Sprint Nextel confirmed that it will offer the next version of Apple Inc’s iPhone, ending months of speculation about whether it would become the third U.S. carrier to sell the popular device.

But the No. 3 U.S. mobile provider would not say whether its iPhone would come with a flat-fee service for unlimited data use – an offering analysts see as Sprint’s only hope for making its iPhone more competitive than rivals.

While selling the device should help Sprint keep subscribers from fleeing to other operators, some analysts worried whether the costs would outweigh the benefits because Apple phones come at a steep premium to other devices.

This is a huge gamble for Sprint and people are justifiably worried that they won’t be able to make any money doing it. It’s not a company that’s in great financial shape right now,” said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Chris King.

Analysts questioned how Sprint will be able to find the money to pay a premium to Apple on top of its obligations to pay back billions of dollars in debt and its plan to spend about $5 billion on an network upgrade in coming years.

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Verizon To End Unlimited Mobile Data Plan

If you have a smartphone with an unlimited data plan on the Verizon Wireless network, get ready to mourn the end of those good times.

Verizon will put the kabash on its unlimited smartphone data plan some time this summer, according to comments made by the carrier’s chief financial officer. Speaking at the Reuters Global Technology Summit on Thursday, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo stated the company will soon roll out new tiered pricing plans and altogether eliminate the current $30-a-month unlimited option.

According to Reuters, which reported the news, the move is designed to “force heavy data users to pay more for mobile data.”

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Free Mobile To Mobile Calling From AT&T

In what could be construed as attempt to curb potential subscriber loss due to Verizon’s impending iPhone, AT&T rolled out a mobile calling plan Wednesday that allows unlimited free voice calls to any wireless network in the U.S.

However, to be eligible for the new plan, Unlimited Mobile to Any Mobile, customers must still enroll in one of five qualifying mobile voice plans that charge for mobile calls to or from a landline phone.

Calling plans range from $39.99 a month to $109.99 a month, in addition to an unlimited messaging plan for $20 a month per individual or $30 a month per family…. Read More…..