It has been a long time, but on the 22nd of June, United States smartphone fans will be able to benefit from America’s first prepaid iPhone package thanks to Cricket Wireless. The company, who trade independently but are owned by Leap Wireless will start to offer the deals at the back end of next month with an "unlimited" plan, setting consumers back $55 each month.
When launched, the company will offer the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, both of which will be available on the all-you-can-eat plan, bringing talk, text and data services to customers. As is usually the case with "unlimited" plans, the usage does need to fall within the stipulated fair usage policies, which in this case will peak out at 2.3GB of data per month. Cricket Wireless are a relatively small carrier in the United States, with little over six million customers using their services. However, they are by no means the smallest provider to be in a position to offer Apple’s devices, with the thing making them unique being the fact that they are first to offer the iPhone as an entirely prepaid option in America.
The prepaid news could be perfect for a large portion of customers in the United States who have been itching to get their hands on an iPhone, but don’t like the idea of being tied to a long term cellular contract or paying the entire contract up front, something that represents a huge financial outlay. Doug Hutcheson, President and Chief Executive Office of parent company Leap Wireless International, had this to say in the official press release:
Our customers want the best products available and we are excited to bring iPhone to our pre-paid consumers with an industry leading $55 per-month service plan. Launching iPhone is a major milestone for us and we are proud to offer iPhone customers attractive nationwide coverage, a robust 3G data network and a value-packed, no-contract plan.
I don’t think anyone can argue with the value that a $55 a month deal represents for all you can eat talk, text and data, and the offering should certainly claw in a substantial amount of new subscriptions for Cricket. When the deal goes live on June 22nd, customers will be able to grab the 8GB iPhone 4 for an initial outlay of $399.99 with the 16GB iPhone 4S costing $499.99. Both handsets will be available in black or white from official Cricket branded retail stores as well as select dealers and over the phone through the telesales department.
For those who are interested in grabbing the deal from Cricket, an initial registration page has been made available for those who want a little more information. Get in fast before stock becomes an issue as this is likely to be a popular deal in the months to come, unless someone else jumps in with a better offering.
You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the Web.
