America Movil, parent of the Tracfone group of prepaid service brands and the largest prepaid mobile service provider in the US has launched another prepaid service brand for US customers, with this one being powered by Verizon Wireless and focused on multi-line data sharing for families.
Total Wireless has quietly launched in select Walmart locations across the country and may be a competitive response to Virgin Mobile’s recently launched “Data Done Right” multi-line data sharing service also exclusively available through Walmart. Total Wireless currently features the following plan slate:
Of note is the $35 individual plan that features 2.5GB of monthly data access and the $10 additional shared data option that never expires as long as service remains active. In another first for Verizon-powered prepaid service, the $25 unlimited voice and text messaging plan can also be used with smartphones, where many such plans were usually limited to 3G-only feature phones.
As far as the availability of BYOD, the official sales portal for the service features multiple references and links to check eligibility for bringing phones to the service, but the links redirect back to the homepage, suggesting that the option has yet to go live. Currently, Total Wireless features a lineup of select Verizon smartphones, pictured below:
What is unclear at this time is whether the Samsung Galaxy S3 on offer is the 3G-only model previously offered through other Tracfone brands or the standard model with LTE support as originally released by Verizon. As the 3G-only Moto E is leading off the launch of the brand and service, it should be assumed that all of the smartphones are limited to 3G-only data service until stated otherwise. The official launch of the Total Wireless brand is expected sometime in the next two weeks.
