Red Pocket Mobile has put out a new phone plan that is available exclusively through the MVNO's eBay store. The plan includes unlimited everything with the first 5GB of data each month at 4G LTE data speeds for $240/year. This works out to an average cost of $20/month.
The plan also includes unlimited international calling and texting to over 70 countries.
Red Pocket's new plan is available for use on either their GSMA or CDMAS partner networks. For legal reasons the company cannot identify the underlying networks by name, but at BestMVNO we know GSMA to be AT&T and CDMAS to be Sprint.
Red Pocket Mobile's eBay Plans Compared
Besides the newly offered plan, Red Pocket Mobile sells quite a few other eBay exclusive plans that will work on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon. The plans are highlighted below.
Basic Monthly Plan
Includes 100 minutes, 100 texts and 500 MB of LTE data to use each month priced annually at $60 which averages out to just $5/month.
Essentials Monthly Plan
Includes 500 minutes, 500 texts and 500 MB of LTE data to use each month priced annually at $99 or $8.25/month. The same plan is available with service for 90 days priced at $29 or $9.67/month.
Standard Monthly Plan
Includes 1,000 minutes, unlimited texting and 1 GB of LTE data priced annually at $179 or $14.92/month.
Unlimited Monthly Plans
Unlimited monthly plans include unlimited talk and text but come with varying amounts of data as follows:
- 1GB of data priced annually at $205 or $17.08/month. Priced at $69 or $23/month for 90 days of service.
- Pro plan with 4GB of data priced annually at $360 or $30/month. Also available for $109 or $37/month for 90 days of service.
AT&T Network Exclusive Plans
- 90 days of service with unlimited talk, text and data with the first 5GB at LTE speeds for $90 or $30/month.
- 90 days of service with unlimited talk, text and data with the first 10GB at LTE speeds for $135 or $45/month.
- New! 365 days of service with unlimited talk, text and data with the first 5GB at LTE speeds for $240 or $20/month (also available on Sprint).
Shop Red Pocket Mobile At eBay
Analysis
Red Pocket Mobile's new plan will provide great value to the cost conscious consumer. Of course to get such a great value you have to invest for a whole year of service up front and hope that a cheaper and better plan doesn't come along that could save you even more. You also have to cognizant of the fact that MVNO's often come and go in the blink of an eye, and a long term commitment to one could come with the risk of you not getting everything you paid for. In the case of Red Pocket Mobile, they have been in business since 2006, and the risk of closure a year from now would seem to be extremely low.
The idea of an annual plan is nothing new. For a long time that was the basis of the pay as you go model that was perhaps first popularized by TracFone. However, the idea of an annual plan with monthly allotments of talk, text and data is relatively new. The practice has been growing in popularity quite a bit over the past 1-2 years. The MVNO's like it because they can guarantee themselves revenue over the course of that time span, while consumers like the cheaper costs that they provide.
MVNO providers such as FreedomPop and Mint SIM also offer annual plans.
FreedomPop just recently launched a plan with 10GB of data on the AT&T network at an average cost of $19.99/month. Mint SIM's whole business model is based on offering multi-month and annual plans. The T-Mobile powered MVNO offers an annual plan with 5GB of monthly data at an average cost of $20/month.
If multi-month and annual plans prove to be successful business models, we can expect more providers to jump on that bandwagon and perhaps prices will drop just a little further.
||See also: my review of Red Pocket Mobile