VoicePlan
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Cricket offers global local numbers for $10 per month
There are plenty of ways to call up your personal diaspora on the cheap, but why should it always be you who initiates? So-called "global local" numbers have been around for a while, but now Cricket has decided to offer them as a straightforward $10 per month option to its customers. You get a local number in any one of 40 countries, which your peeps can ring at their local rate and which gets forwarded to your US cell. Mexican numbers are half-price and you'll find full details in the PR after the break. It's local, it's global, it's glocal -- say it often enough and together we'll make it a word. Meanwhile, we're still waiting on Google Voice to take over the planet.
T-Mobile lauches new individual and family plans right on schedule
As rumored, T-Mobile overhauled its individual and family plans today and simplified your options to just three tiers of voice service. Individuals can choose between 500, 1,000 or unlimited minutes, with unlimited text messaging adding $10 and data add-ons ranging from $10 for 200MB to $60 for 10GB. Family plans come in 1,000, 2,000 and unlimited minute varieties while the sharable data and text services cost twice as much as their individual counterparts. There are some odd restrictions, such as the inability to add texting or data to the mid-tier plans and no choice for unlimited voice service without SMS tacked on. We do, however, like the overage-free data options that simply drop to 2G speeds when you reach your plan's threshold instead of shocking you with huge fees at the end of the month. We can also confirm that restocking fees have been bumped from $10 regardless of device to $50 for smartphones, $75 for tablets, and $25 for USB modems and "basic phone devices." Check out the sources for all the details and fine print. Update: Just a few hours after debuting its new individual and family plans T-Mo unleash a pair of new no annual contract choices. $50 gets you unlimited voice, text, and 100MB of 4G or 3G data while $70 pushes the high-speed data cap to 5GB. And, just like the on-contract options, these are overage-free. PR is after the break. [Thanks, Neal]
WIND Mobile outs $40 unlimited plan, but you better act fast
Not to be outdone by fellow Canadian upstart carrier Mobiilicity, WIND Mobile has cobbled together its own special holiday plan that more or less matches its competitor's offering: unlimited voice, messaging, data, and long-distance calling and messaging to the US, all for $40 Canadian (a little over $39 in American currency). That's a pretty fantastic deal, but as you can probably gather from the plan's name -- "Holiday Miracle Plan" -- it's not going to be around for long: you've got to get activated on it by December 24th. No better way to celebrate Christmas than with a crazy cheap all-you-can-eat package for your phone, right? [Thanks, Dave]
MetroPCS turns attention away from unlimited momentarily, launches Walmart-exclusive bucket plans
A quick check of MetroPCS' site reminds us what these guys are all about -- unlimited voice, data, and messaging for less than you'd pay with any of the big guys -- but it looks like they might be exploring a shift in strategy with a handful of new prepaid packages that have launched exclusively through Walmart stores. For $20 you can get 500 minutes and 500MB of data, while moving up to $30 gets you 1,000 minutes and just 100MB of data -- both plans include unlimited messaging -- while a third plan for just $10 nets 200 voice minutes and unlimited incoming texts. Unsurprisingly, the packages aren't available with either MetroPCS' smartphones nor with the Craft, its just-launched LTE handset -- but considering how modern phones of both the smart and not-so-smart variety are emphasizing data and text features over voice, we wouldn't be surprised to see the regionals start to experiment more and more with interesting buckets.
Virgin Mobile offers up $50 unlimited voice plan
Hey Boost Mobile -- Where U At? Just kidding, we know where you are, but you should probably be aware that Virgin Mobile USA is encroaching all up in your territory. In a move that was undoubtedly made to rival Boost's $50 per month unlimited plan, Virgin Mobile has announced a $49.99 Unlimited Plan with zero roaming charges. Said plan will be available for talkative individuals starting on April 15th, though you should know that unlimited texting will run you an additional $10 per month -- something that Boost includes at no additional charge. Unique to VM's option, however, is the automaker-like "Pink Slip Protection," which offers to pay mobile bills for up to three months if you lose your job (and meet lots of requirements, of course). In related news, the operator is also introducing a new suite of "Texter's Delight" plans, obviously aimed at consumers who don't even understand that they can "speak" into their phone and "hear" other voices from the top.
T-Mobile brings $50 unlimited voice plan to rest of America
Well, that "trial" didn't last long at all, now did it? Just days after teeing up a $50 unlimited voice plan in the great city of San Francisco, T-Mobile USA has reportedly taken said plan nationwide. Users are already buzzing about the widespread availability, though it should be noted that the same "loyalty requirements" from the San Fran pilot are still in effect for the rest of the nation. In other words, you have to have been a T-Mob subscriber for at least 22 months and have been in good standing the whole time. Oh, and being cute probably helps.
T-Mobile rumored to be queuing up cheap unlimited voice plans
We'd ingest this one alongside a heavy dose of salt, but rumor has it that T-Mobile USA is getting ready to counter the economic crisis with some stellar deals. Reportedly, the carrier will introduce a number of low(er)-cost unlimited voice plans for those customers it deems "loyal," which will purportedly equate to having an account that's at least 22 months old and in good standing. Of course, anyone looking for data or SMS will probably not even bother giving the read link a look, but if all you do is yap, yap and yap, you might as well give it a peek. Remember, just keep your expectations low until further notice.[Via Boy Genius Report]
