Virgin Mobile USA Launching iPhone on June 29 with Plans Starting at $30

[gwmacosx]

Whoa! How are you on $50/month? I'd sooner go Sprint if I could do that, but the cheapest I've seen is $70/month for 500 minutes.

Is this some old SERO type plan? Hang on to that!

And thanks for the info-so I take it they're finally taking down the Nextel network in pieces and using everything for Sprint? Makes sense...I hadn't thought about that, that that bandwidth could be used (and used more efficiently) by combining it with Sprint's other bandwidth.

Yep, SERO. Not really unlimited voice, only 500 minutes. But I do get unlimited calls to any mobile network and those 500 minutes are only used to call landlines M-F from 7AM to 7PM, so practically unlimited calling since I rarely use 200 of those minutes a month and well over 2,000 unlimited mobile.

Yes, the old 800Mhz IDEN spectrum will at first be used for CDMA 1x advanced for much better quality voice and EVDO data, then a little later in 2013 Sprint will also add LTE to 800 in addition to their PCS 1900 spectrum with LTE now. Once Network vision is complete in 2013, Sprint's network should be very comparable to Verizon and AT&T. A little bit of growing pains until then though, but very much worth it for the money I save.

 

[kazmac]

Thank you for posting this

Why would anyone do that? Because some people can actually do basic arithmetic (as in elementary school).

Here we go again.

AT&T and Verizon: $199 subsidized iPhone 4S, $36 activation fee, $120 per month ($70 unlimited talk, $20 unlimited text, $30 cellular data 3GB with AT&T at HSPA+ speed, 2GB with Verizon at EV-DO speed). Total cost of ownership over two years: $3115

Virgin Mobile: $649 retail iPhone 4S, $50 per month (unlimited talk/text/cellular data 2.5GB at EV-DO speed, throttled after 2.5GB). Total cost of ownership over two years: $1849

Cricket Wireless: $499 partially subsidized iPhone 4S, $55 per month (unlimited talk/text, cellular data 2.3GB soft cap at EV-DO speed). Total cost of ownership over two years: $1819

Straight Talk: $649 retail iPhone 4S, $15 SIM (one-time charge), $45 per month (unlimited talk/text, cellular data 2GB soft cap at HSPA+ speed). Total cost of ownership over two years: $1744

Monthly cost of ownership over two-year period:
AT&T/Verizon: $129.79
Virgin Mobile: $77.04
Cricket Wireless: $75.79
Straight Talk: $72.67

Straight Talk service is bare bones, but they are using AT&T's cellular towers. They don't tell you who you called, who sent you texts, how much data you've used, and you can't block numbers. But if you want HSPA+ speeds, they are a cheap dumb pipe.

And to the guys who say, "most people get corporate discounts of 10-25% from the big carriers", well, you still can't do math, can you? Even if you slash 25% off AT&T/Verizon's unlimited rate, that's still $97.34 per month.

If you opt for Straight Talk over a comparable plan from AT&T or Verizon, your break-even point is month six. If you were on AT&T or Verizon and wanted to walk away from the carrier at that point, you'd have to shell out an additional $260 or so in early termination costs.

People who can't do math are throwing hundreds of dollars away each year to the big carriers. AT&T stock dividend yields 8%. Thanks for putting money into my pocket, guys! You are partially paying for my Straight Talk cellular service!

Worse, if you have a postpaid plan, you are almost certainly paying a bunch of taxes that are added to the rates quoted by the carrier. The prepaid Straight Talk plan has a few mandated FCC charges, but no local sales tax. So someone using a postpaid AT&T/Verizon plan as quoted above is likely paying an additional $8-10 more in taxes than their next door neighbor on Straight Talk.

I can't do pricing analyses for every household's situation, but clearly, if you care about your money, you might spend a few minutes doing your own analysis to see if you can save hundreds a year.

I will point out that in most countries, people buy handsets at full retail prices and pay much less for monthly service (which is not locked to a long-term contract). Only the United States and a handful of other countries have popular subsidized/long-term contract cellular sales model. The rest of the world is smarter than that.

This was a very helpful post > Much appreciated

I'm not going to jump ship for Straight talk or Cricket just yet, but I am glad more pre-paid and cheaper options are slowly becoming available.

 

[nburwell]

This is actually pretty tempting. I don't use more than 300 minutes a month, so the $30 plan would be perfect for me. Plus I would be saving $45/month over what I'm currently paying with VZW. My only two concerns are the coverage map and if they're going to carry the 64GB iPhone. I did not see it mentioned in the initial thread.

 

[Medic311]

my neighbor's mother made $16059 last week. she is working on the computer and got a $509600 home. All she did was get blessed and follow the information shown on this site http://b23.ru/pn3v

come on dude, really? go somewhere else

 

[Tiger8]

Love it!

I think I am switching to Virgin with the iPhone 5/6.

This is such a big BLOW to AT&T and Verizon, $30 iPhone plan? Insane!

 

[gwmacosx]

I think I am switching to Virgin with the iPhone 5/6.

This is such a big BLOW to AT&T and Verizon, $30 iPhone plan? Insane!

Virgin likely won't get the new 2012 iPhone until about June of next year. That is the price of pre-paid, new phones take a while to trickle down and they rarely if ever have the latest and greatest models. The 4S is only now about to be released so expect the next one to take about a year as well.

 

[Wolfpup]

Yep, SERO. Not really unlimited voice, only 500 minutes. But I do get unlimited calls to any mobile network and those 500 minutes are only used to call landlines M-F from 7AM to 7PM, so practically unlimited calling since I rarely use 200 of those minutes a month and well over 2,000 unlimited mobile.

Yes, the old 800Mhz IDEN spectrum will at first be used for CDMA 1x advanced for much better quality voice and EVDO data, then a little later in 2013 Sprint will also add LTE to 800 in addition to their PCS 1900 spectrum with LTE now. Once Network vision is complete in 2013, Sprint's network should be very comparable to Verizon and AT&T. A little bit of growing pains until then though, but very much worth it for the money I save.

OH wow wow wow. That's great/awesome news! Thanks so much! I hadn't really heard anything about what Sprint was doing since they were doing Wimax that didn't pan out. Glad to hear that they've got a really good sounding plan.

 

[malman89]

$30 for unlimited data (albeit throttled after 2.5GB) and 300 minutes talk time? This is incredible!

Any bets on how quickly they'll get the next iPhone? If they have it at or around launch, I'm signing up immediately. I suspect that part of the major carriers contracts stipulates that the prepaids won't get new phone releases for 6 months, or something.

Bet from launch.

While tempting for $30 a month, Sprint coverage in the Chicago area is pretty ******.

Personally, I found Sprint equal to or better than Verizon in Chicago. Lived in Chicago the last 5 years - Rogers Park and Lincoln Park and worked in the Loop. Had no issues. In fact, along the lake, Sprint/VM is much better. Most lake area (esp. RP area) are VZW dead zones.

Doesn't Virgin Mobile use Sprints wireless network?

Yeup.

I just might need to finally get an iPhone now to replace my LG Optimus V. VM is the best.

 

[Diode]

AFAIK, all three pre-paid carriers that you mention (ST, Cricket, and Virgin) rely on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint's networks to provide their customers coverage.

It'll be interesting to me to see what happens to the pre-paid carriers when their contracts with the big carriers are up. You'd think that if the big carriers end up losing a ton of customers to the pre-paids, they're definitely going to up the rates that they charge the pre-paid carriers to use their network.

I believe the FCC mandates that carriers have to give wholesale rates to MNVO's - which is how they exist in the first place. Unless they can show that their costs are rising (which would be hard to do as data prices fall), then prices shouldn't rise.

Carriers could come up with some clever way to circumvent this, but it's one of those risk vs. reward things.

I'm just hoping that this will force AT&T and Verizon to offer reasonable pre-paid rates. They're getting better, but still atrocious considering what you are giving up from switching from a contract.

 

[Wolfpup]

I believe the FCC mandates that carriers have to give wholesale rates to MNVO's - which is how they exist in the first place. Unless they can show that their costs are rising (which would be hard to do as data prices fall), then prices shouldn't rise.

Carriers could come up with some clever way to circumvent this, but it's one of those risk vs. reward things.

I'm just hoping that this will force AT&T and Verizon to offer reasonable pre-paid rates. They're getting better, but still atrocious considering what you are giving up from switching from a contract.

That's interesting, and makes sense.

I wonder though, I read recently that Cricket's contract with Sprint is through 2015, and that they have to pay them some minimum level regardless of whether they're using that.

Could that mean Sprint's giving them a BETTER deal than what's required?

Seems like AT&T and Sprint sure get used a lot by other carriers!

 

[btcutter]

So I have a sprint 4S currently. will i be able to activate that on the VM plan thats coming out? Theres currently no phone number attached to this phone

Nope. VM doesn't convert Sprint phones. You'll need a new phone.

 

[Tiger8]

Virgin likely won't get the new 2012 iPhone until about June of next year. That is the price of pre-paid, new phones take a while to trickle down and they rarely if ever have the latest and greatest models. The 4S is only now about to be released so expect the next one to take about a year as well.

Virgin Canada and UK seem to have gotten the iPhone at the same time, no? Why would Apple not want to launch it on all carriers at the same time? No exclusive agreement prevents them from doing so.

Not only do I expect that Virgin/Cricket/the rest will get it the same time, I think this will allow them to have 'three models' feature that only AT&T currently enjoys: 4 @ $399, 4s $550, new iPhone $650, or something

 

[btcutter]

Personally I believe the iPhone sold by VM will have unlocked GSM so you may switch to gsm carriers if you like. The reason is that Sprint is bleeding customers like crazy give how slow they are rolling out LTE. They are also committed to purchase certain number if iPhones ALREADY so they got to find a way to either sign new customers to Sprint or sell full price iPhone via VM.

I think this VM opportunity is fantastic for consumers!

Remember VM's $30 per month is just $30. There's no additional fees unlike AT&T or Verizon!

 

[gwmacosx]

Virgin Canada and UK seem to have gotten the iPhone at the same time, no? Why would Apple not want to launch it on all carriers at the same time? No exclusive agreement prevents them from doing so.

Not only do I expect that Virgin/Cricket/the rest will get it the same time, I think this will allow them to have 'three models' feature that only AT&T currently enjoys: 4 @ $399, 4s $550, new iPhone $650, or something

It just doesn't make sense that Virgin will start selling the 4 and 4S in a few weeks and then a few short months after that also start selling the next iPhone as well. Sprint would also want customers to sign up with them directly as post-paid to get the next iPhone since they make far more money off of those customers than Virgin Mobile customers. VM will probably not get the newest iPhone until it has been out around 9 months.

Don't forget that Virgin Canada and Virgin U.K. are very different from Virgin Mobile in the U.S. which is pre-paid and owned by Sprint.

 

[gwmacosx]

FAQ


Q&A: iPhone Coming to Virgin MobileBasic Product & Plan InfoQ: Which devices will be available on Virgin Mobile? How much do thedevices cost?
Here are the prices for Virgin Mobile’s iPhone products:
• iPhone 4S with 16GB will cost $649.99
• iPhone 4 with 8GB will cost $549.99With our unlimited data plans ranging from $35 - $55 per month, customers canrealize true cost savings in the long run. Customers who register a payment vehicle[credit/debit card or PayPal] and set it for automatic payment will receive a $5 permonth discount on the monthly plan

Q: What are the monthly price plans for Virgin Mobile’s iPhone devices?
iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 will work on Virgin’s Beyond Talk plans which includeunlimited data and messaging, without a contract.
Beyond Talk PlanAnytime MinutesMessaging & Data*
$35 / month300Unlimited$451200Unlimited$55Unlimited Unlimited*Beyond Talk Plans include 2.5GB/month of full-speed data per month.
However,
customers who register a payment vehicle [credit/debit card or PayPal]and set it for automatic payment will receive a $5 per month discount on themonthly plan, bringing the iPhone plan on Virgin Mobile available for as low as $30per month with unlimited data and messaging. That could mean a savings of morethan $1000 vs. a two-year contract plan, and a savings of more than $400 vs. theother prepaid carrier
Q: Is there a mobile hotspot option?
Yes, customers can add a Mobile Hotspot for an additional $15 per month. Itprovides 3.5GB/month of 3G service, supporting up to five Wi-Fi enabled devicessimultaneously (pricing excludes taxes and surcharges).
Q: Will 4G service be available on the iPhone or will it just be 3G?
iPhone 4S on Virgin Mobile will operate on Sprint’s Nationwide 3G Network whichreaches more than 276 million people for data services and more than 280 millionpeople for voice services. The network is widely recognized for its enduringdependability and very strong performance. When our 3G network dependability ispartnered with our unlimited data plans, we believe we are offering the winningiPhone combination to consumers


Q: Is the International SIM locked or unlocked for Virgin Mobile iPhone 4Scustomers?
iPhone sold by Virgin Mobile will be locked to their network and will not be able tobe used when located outside the US.
Q: Can I upgrade to an iPhone 4S from Virgin Mobile and keep my existingplan?
The iPhone 4/4S will only be available on Virgin Mobile’s current Beyond Talk planswhich start at $35/month. Any existing customer who upgrades to any smartphonereleased after May 27, 2012 will be put on the Beyond Talk plans regardless of what plan they may have been on an earlier device.
Q: Can I port my existing cellphone number to a new iPhone?
Of course, bring your Virgin Mobile phone number or existing number from anycarrier over.
Q: What are your international rates?
International rates on iPhone are the same as our Beyond Talk international rates,low international talk rates to over 200 countries
1
.
International Text rates are
$0.15 per international SMS message inbound/outbound. More information isavailable athttp://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-phone-plans/beyond-talk-plans.jsp
Q: Will Virgin Mobile’s iPhone devices allow simultaneous voice and data?
Yes, Virgin Mobile’s iPhone devices will allow it over Wi-Fi.
Q: What kind of data speeds can be expected on Virgin Mobile’s iPhone?
All Beyond Talk plans include 2.5GB/month of full speed 3G data. After thatmilestone is marked, customers may experience reduced speeds.
Q: When and where will Virgin Mobile customers be able to buy iPhone 4Sand iPhone 4?
iPhone will become available atwww.virginmobileusa.com, Best Buy, Radio Shackand select local retailers on June 29, 2012.
Q: Will the iPhones on Virgin Mobile be available in Sprint stores? Or Applestores.
No
Q: Why would I spend over $500/600 for an iPhone that I can only use onVirgin Mobile?
•
Some customers may choose to purchase an iPhone without a contract in orderto pay less each month. Others may be unable to pass the necessary creditchecks for a contract plan. With Virgin Mobile USA’s Beyond Talk unlimited dataplans starting at $35/month, customers can realize real savings over time.
•
With the $5 per month discount, unlimited data and messaging plans starting
1

International calls are charged at the international per-minute rate for the country you're calling plus your standardairtime rate.



HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE EXCEPT TO AERO
at $30 per month with this phone are an outrageous value.
•
Virgin Mobile USA was recently ranked “Highest Ranked Customer ServicePerformance among Non-Contract Wireless Providers” by J.D. Power andAssociates.
2

Q: Why is Leap’s iPhone cheaper?
We can’t address why one carrier’s devices or plans are more or less than ours.The handset may cost less upfront but Virgin Mobile’s Beyond Talk plans withunlimited data and messaging start at $35…and with our special $5/mon discountfor registering a payment method, that starts at $30/month…for unlimited* dataand messaging service on the iPhone on a nationwide network.*Beyond Talk Plans include 2.5GB/month of full-speed data per month.
Q: Is Virgin Mobile USA’s service available nationwide?
Yes, on the Nationwide Sprint 3G Network serving more than 276 million people fordata services and more than 280 million people for voice services.
Q: I know Virgin Mobile currently throttles its 3G phones and mobilebroadband devices. Will the iPhone service be throttled as well?
•
Virgin Mobile USA’s unlimited 3G data services include 2.5GB of full speed data.Once the 2.5GB of data is reached, your data speeds may be reduced to256kbps or below for the rest of that monthly cycle. During this time, you mayexperience slower page loads and file downloads, and lags in streaming media.Data speeds will return to normal as soon as your next plan month starts.
•
Beyond Talk plans have no cap or limit per se on how much you can consume inany given month before you get charged overage fees. Most Beyond Talkcustomers will not experience a change in the performance of their Virgin Mobileservice or notice any difference. If you use this service for typical email,internet surfing and downloading, your throughput speeds should not benoticeably impacted. For Beyond Talk subscribers who are using more than2.5GB during a monthly plan cycle, limiting throughput speeds for the remainderof their monthly plan cycle enables us to preserve overall network performanceand customer experience

 

[Codyak]

FAQ's

Dammit, they just glazed over the reasoning behind not being able to buy unlocked phones.

 

[andyx3x]

It will be interesting to see how Virgin does for the first few months offering the iPhone. I have my doubts as to how many people are going to be willing to pay those kind of prices up front for the phone. The numbers will tell.

Just look at Craigslist and Ebay and all the phones with bad ESN's that are for sale. Many people can barely afford the service plan each month. How are they going to be able to shell out over $500 for a new phone?

 

[blackhand1001]

But unfortunately you can't use MMS without jailbreaking.

The unlocked nexus is a better route to go for straight talk imo anyway. Its hspa+ 21 vs hspa+14 in the 4s. Its also several hundred dollars cheaper and all the features work without hacking on straight talk.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Old prepaid phones were simple... you loaded them up with minutes and you didn't have to pay again until those minutes ran out.

What exactly is "prepaid" about paying $30 every month?

Shouldn't the correct term for this be "contract free" ?

 

[quickmac]

T-Mobile needs to get on the ball!

 

[andyx3x]

At these prices, I would buy this phone on Virgin before I would buy the iPhone.

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-phones/htc-evo-v-phone.jsp

 

[blackhand1001]

At these prices, I would buy this phone on Virgin before I would buy the iPhone.

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-phones/htc-evo-v-phone.jsp

That's a crazy good deal. dual core 1.2 ghz, android 4.0 out of the box, and good build quality. Also has the cool 3d camera and a large 1750mah battery. Also supports wimax and not just sprints 3g which is pretty slow.

 

[nburwell]

Virgin Mobile's PR explicitly states that the unlimited text plan is "SMS texting." I'm assuming that means no MMS, so it looks like there's no way to send pictures or videos via text. Is that an accurate assumption?

Has anyone addressed this question? I would love to know the answer.

 

[Tiger8]

It just doesn't make sense that Virgin will start selling the 4 and 4S in a few weeks and then a few short months after that also start selling the next iPhone as well. Sprint would also want customers to sign up with them directly as post-paid to get the next iPhone since they make far more money off of those customers than Virgin Mobile customers. VM will probably not get the newest iPhone until it has been out around 9 months.

Don't forget that Virgin Canada and Virgin U.K. are very different from Virgin Mobile in the U.S. which is pre-paid and owned by Sprint.

I see what you are saying, but Sprint will be basically shooting themselves in the foot if they do that; Cricket will probably get it, more importantly, the can of 'pre-paid' has been opened. I for one never thought of a viable prepaid option for the iPhone, but I can get the unlocked one in November and get StraightTalk or any other prepaid carrier.

I am just so sick of paying a premium for 'unlimited' services that I barely need, plus over-subsidizing (talk about approx 25% interest rate), and being tied to a contract. No thanks

 

[Code.Red]

Virgin Mobile's PR explicitly states that the unlimited text plan is "SMS texting." I'm assuming that means no MMS, so it looks like there's no way to send pictures or videos via text. Is that an accurate assumption?

That's weird wording on their part; the way the plans work right now, MMS are supported and are unlimited.

As a side note, iPhone-to-iPhone texting will use iMessages, which is technically data.