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  • Helio's cellphone service comes back to life with a $29 plan

    by 
    Jon Fingas
    Jon Fingas
    07.06.2015

    Remember Helio, the virtual carrier that tried to cater to the tech-savvy young crowd (not so successfully) with data-centric plans and rebranded basic phones? It's baaaack. Ubi Telecom, a mobile company focused on Korean-speaking Americans, has quietly revived the brand as a mostly bring-your-own-device service on Sprint's network, with Verizon* as a roaming partner. However, it's definitely not the provider you remember from a decade ago. Service is much cheaper at $29 (tax included!) for unlimited data, text and voice, but that data is capped at a paltry 128Kbps -- you won't be checking out Netflix. The ready-to-go phone catalog is old, too, with the Galaxy S4 being as good as it gets. The resurrected Helio makes sense if you think that even Virgin Mobile's $35 plans are too rich for your blood, but it won't trigger those warm, fuzzy nostalgic feelings.