TextNow In 2023: What You Need To Know

TextNOW is an MVNO that previously operated on the Sprint network.  The company was founded in 2009 in Ontario, Canada and originally operated as a text messaging app.  In 2013 the company expanded into the USA where it began to offer phone service as a Sprint MVNO ((Gigaom)).  In 2016 TextNOW added T-Mobile as a network partner, however, service on T-Mobile was discontinued in the middle of 2019. In 2021, due to T-Mobile’s acquisition of Sprint, TextNow once again became a T-Mobile MVNO. In June of 2021, TextNow announced the availability of its free plan on the T-Mobile network.

TextNOW does not offer MVNO service in Canada due to the companies inability to find a willing partner to sell it network access ((Techvibes)).  Instead it offers an app available on both iOS and Android that allows free calling and texting over Wi-Fi and data networks.

Unlike a majority of MVNO’s, TextNOW uses what it calls “Elastic Calling Technology” to monitor and select the best network to use for service.  With Elastic Calling, phone calls and text messages are automatically routed over Wi-Fi or the parent networks data pipeline.  Phone calls can even be routed through the parent network’s cellular voice network.  TextNOW automatically transitions to use whichever type of network is providing the best service, and it can even change from Wi-Fi to a cellular voice network mid-call without the end user having to do anything on their end.  This type of functionality is similar to how Google Project Fi, and Republic Wireless work.  Subscribers to the network can also use the service with their PC and tablets.