Newsflash: anything a cell network can do, the Internet can do better and cheaper

PeterWallace

Ok we have seen the ads for Magic Jack Phones (19.99 for the year) and Vonage about cutting the cord with your regular phone company, well now it is time to say goodbye to your cell company. Republic Wireless is unveiling a super cheap, $19-a-month, no-contract, unlimited-talk, data, and text cell phone plan meant to blow away the mobile market. Having used both Magic Jack and Vonage I was impressed that a Cell company was going to push the talk over the internet. Works well for the Land Lines.

Republic Wireless is a mobile network startup is based in Cary, N.C., and is owned by Bandwidth.com , a growing telecommunications provider . The company can provide such low rates because it expects most calls to be carried over Wi-Fi networks, in customers’ homes and elsewhere. It requires customers to have access to at least one Wi-Fi network. Calls get carried by Sprint’s cellular network only when a Wi-Fi network isn’t available. According to Republic Wireless, most people are around Wi-Fi networks 60% of the time.

Republic wireless is offering The LG Optimus (for $199), running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) for 19.00 a month. It is a hybrid of phones and will use the internet while you have an available wireless connection. For roaming they are buying blocks of time from Sprint. Looks interesting so I started to look a bit deeper. They claim it is unlimited but you could consume 550 minutes, send 150 texts, and download 300 megabytes of data without crossing the community’s fair use threshold. Anything over that on Cell Usage you will be reminded of the guidelines and to what extent you’ve crossed the fair use threshold. Republic Wireless will provide you with tips for reducing your cellular footprint and plenty of opportunity to get back on track. When they contact you about your usage, they will let you know how much time you have to correct your problem. But if you look closer at that they are not talking about the usage on the Wireless Internet.

I’m ready to give it a try as they have a 30 day guarantee but so many people are jumping to give it a try that I’m on a waiting list. Maybe by January I will hear something from. Hope this catches on and that they can make a go of it. What do you think the other mobile phone vendors are thinking about them? Are you ready to try it?

http://www.republicwireless.com

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