The ubiquity of major phone carriers such as Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile has made the playing field rough for smaller companies, but as a result, these smaller providers typically provide plans that are far cheaper than their larger competitors.
One of those smaller providers, Republic Wireless, has announced that they will begin carrying the Moto X smartphone from Motorola as early as tomorrow, according to a report from Mashable. Another carrier picking up the Moto X wouldn’t necessarily be the biggest news in the world, if it wasn’t for the set of plans they’re offering for the Moto X, which start at $5 dollars a month. The device will retail at $299, and there will be four tiers of plans available in total:
$5 per month will give you Talk, Text and Data all via WiFi only. This relies heavily on the pervasiveness of WiFi Hotspots around your area, and you will only have connectivity for calls, texts and internet via an internet hotspot. $10/month, the next step up, gives a slightly more conventional setup, with unlimited voice calls and texting via Sprint’s Network, as well as unlimited data limited to WiFi. $25 per month is when it starts to look like your conventional plan, allowing 3G Data via Sprint’s Network, as well as the preexisting unlimited voice and texting. $40 per month will get you all of the above, as well as 4G Data via Sprint’s towers.
Depending on your situation and location, one plan might be better than the other – if you’re in a location that doesn’t offer 4G data yet, it would be smart to stick to the third tier, since paying for 4G would be superfluous. As someone who lives in a large Metro area, I would pick the most expensive option – which isn’t very expensive at all. When you consider individual plans offered by the larger networks, with AT&T’s coming in at $70 per month and Sprint’s at $50 per month, the value that Republic is offering becomes much clearer. Unfortunately, the Moto X sold by Republic will not work on any other networks.
With such a feature-rich phone available on such a cheap plan, will you be making the jump, or sticking with your current carrier and plan? Let us know your thoughts below!