US Mobile is the latest wireless provider to test the multi-month plan waters. The company's founder and CEO Ahmed Khattak disclosed yesterday in the BestPhonePlans podcast that it has been offering a 3-month wireless plan exclusively through Amazon. This follows a similar strategy taken by Boost Mobile last year which quietly sold 3, 6, and 12 months phone plans exclusively through the Stack Social network before later making them available in big box stores and through its own website. According to Khattak, the company's COO, Michael Melmed has been highly in favor of launching wireless in bulk multi-month discount plans. However, Khattak himself sounded a bit less enthusiastic wondering how they'll fit in technologically, and with all their other offerings. He did state consumers can expect to see them in some form later this year. Khattak also stated that last week they raised well over $11 million in capital funding. A formal announcement about the capital raise is due next week.
US Mobile's 3-Month Plan Option Details
The multi-month discount plan that US Mobile is currently selling on Amazon is priced at $30 for 3-months of wireless service. It gets consumers unlimited talk and text with 5GB of monthly high-speed data. Data is hard-capped each month. However, data top-ups are available. The plan works on the customer's choice of either the Verizon network (Warp 5G) or T-Mobile network. US Mobile T-Mobile-based customers with iPhones will not get 5G data access, but Verizon-based customers will. US Mobile normally sells this plan through its own website for $15/month plus taxes and fees. So buying in bulk will save customers at least $15 over the three-month time span vs paying for the plan monthly.
Update: For the time being, as it is a trial offering, the 3-month plan does not renew once the 3-months of service is up. Customers will have to renew by the month until more formal offerings are released later in the year.
US Mobile Raised Another $11 Million Plus In Capital Funding
Last July, Volition Capital and US Mobile announced a partnership. Volition Capital, a growth equity firm out of Boston, invested $11.5 million in US Mobile through Series A funding. Now Khattak has stated that his company has raised significantly more than $11 million in its latest round of funding that took place last week. Khattak did not mention if the funding also came through Volition Capital or another party, however, he stated US Mobile will make a formal announcement about the new funding on Tuesday.
Khattak also claimed US Mobile is growing rapidly. He stated the average customer pays US Mobile north of $30, while last year the number was in the $20s. The company expects to reach $100 million in recurring revenue next year. Doing a little bit of math, this would suggest a subscriber count of around 277,000 by that time.
Khattak also noted that his company will be launching into retail. He did not specifically name where exactly but did say it's not going to be at Walmart (although he'd like a presence there) or in dealer or master dealer channels. Aside from Walmart, Target and Best Buy are the two largest retail chains that sell the widest variety of wireless services so a launch into one of those stores may be the most likely. Smaller stores like Kroger also sell wireless products as do membership stores like Sam's Club.
Establishing a retail presence can have a significant impact on growth for the company allowing them to reach a different audience. It is not clear though if this retail presence will include selling phones in stores which can also be a big driver of growth.
US Mobile plans to announce two new updated "unlimited plans" in the coming days including a cheaper option than the $45 plan they currently have available but it will come with less high-speed data. Meanwhile, another unlimited plan will be available with 50GB of mobile hotspot at the same starting price as their current unlimited plan.
You can watch the full interview with Ahmed on the BestPhonePlans podcast below.