There is a new player in the MVNO market that has been operating for a few weeks, US Mobile. US mobile appears to primarily operate on the T-Mobile network as they claim their network capacity covers 230 million people and their coverage map mirrors that of T-Mobile prepaid. Since it is a mirror of T-Mobile prepaid, it should be noted that they do not support roaming. US Mobile does claim they support any unlocked GSM phone and even mention you can bring an AT&T phone over to their network. I would be careful though if you are bringing an ATT phone over, particularly if it's an older model as it likely won't operate on the frequencies necessary for you to get LTE or HSPA+ on their network. Now let's get down to the nitty gritty of the plan details.
US Mobile operates in a way that is similar to Ting and Virgin Mobile Custom, albeit possibly a bit cheaper. There are no set prepaid plans that you purchase, the plans are all a la carte, so you get to choose your own data allotment, minute allotment, and text allotment. You pick what you need, and this allows for the possibility of a data only plan which is something that I encourage those of you looking to save the most money to try. Since apps like Google Hangouts and FreedomPop allow unlimited texting and phone calls over wi-fi and data, I feel the need for actual voice minutes and texts from the carriers is diminished. If you try and find out you burn through your data too quickly this way, which is very unlikely unless you like to talk a lot and don't have wi-fi access, you can always supplement with a small amount of actual voice minutes. As a lover of data, I suggest you try their 2 GB data plan for $25. Although for just $3 more T-Mobile's prepaid plan for $30 that includes 5 GB of LTE data may work well for you. A summary of US Mobile's rates can be found in the graphic below.
