Grocery Chain Kroger has rebranded its MVNO service "i-wireless" to "Kroger Wireless." The i-wireless brand had been operating since 2006. Kroger will continue to offer wireless services under the new name through an MVNO partnership with Sprint. Plans start at $25/month for unlimited talk and text with 2GB of data.
Kroger announced the brand name changeover took place on May 29, 2019. The company stated that beginning in June, airtime cards, phones, and bring your own phone kits would become available in stores nationwide.
Wave7 Research confirmed the in-store launch of the brand in two different states by noting the appearance of displays and advertisements for the service in Kroger owned stores in early June.
The rebranding of i-wireless is also a relaunch into the MVNO market by Kroger. According to in-store checks by Wave7 Research, the i-wireless brand had been unavailable in stores for quite some time although legacy customers had been allowed to keep their plans.
Kroger Wireless Phone Plans Highlighted
Kroger Wireless is currently offering 3 phone plans. All plans include unlimited talk and text. The available plans are as follows:
- $25/month - 2GB data of hard-capped data
- $35/month - 5GB data of hard-capped data
- $45/month - unlimited data with the first 20GB at 4G LTE data speeds. Once the high-speed allotment is reached, data speeds are reduced to 64kbps.
Taxes and fees are not included in the prices shown and cost extra. Mobile hotspot usage is available on all plans.
In stores, shoppers will have a selection of budget devices to choose from. Some currently available options include the ZTE Prestige 2 ($39.99), ZTE Blade Force ($59.99), and the BLU Hot Pepper Pablano ($29.99). Pricing shown is with a Kroger Plus Card. Bring your own phone SIM card kits are available for $1.00 with a Kroger Plus Card or for $13.99 without.
A total of 48 phones are available for purchase online, likely through a 3rd party. The cheapest offering is the Alcatel GO Flip for $34 while the most expensive is the iPhone XS Max for $1199.00. Device financing is available for nearly all phones starting at a rate of 0% APR.
The Kroger Wireless brand is being sold as a prepaid option alongside many other prepaid brands that the chain carries. Other brands sold in Kroger stores include Total Wireless, Simple Mobile, TracFone, Net10, and AT&T Prepaid. Wave7 Research checks in May noted that Ting is also a new offering at the store.