defensemobile
Latest
Defense Mobile to offer Sprint-based cellular service to soldiers and veterans (updated)
While the US military can devote many resources to putting smartphones on the battlefield, it can't do the same for soldiers' private lives. A new carrier, Defense Mobile, wants to fill that void: it just announced a deal to use Sprint's CDMA and LTE networks for cellular service devoted to active-duty forces, reserves and veterans. The provider will offer plans at enlisted rank budgets, ranging from $20 for the basics to $60 for a family plan. It won't skimp on the handset selection, though -- the company already promises the Galaxy S 4, HTC One and iPhone 5. Defense Mobile hopes to go live in 2014, and it should arrive with both apps and branding tailored to each military branch. Update 7/2/2015: A lot has changed in the past two years. Defense Mobile is now partnering with AT&T as well, and hopes to integrate Verizon by late 2015. Pricing is also very different -- it starts at $30 per month for 300 minutes, 300 messages and 300MB of data, with higher tiers giving you unlimited voice and texting along with larger data buckets (up to 12GB individually, or 36GB on a family plan). The base price is higher, then, but you'll also get a plan that's better suited to your smartphone.
