The latest Sprint MVNO to throw itself into the increasingly competitive and growing prepaid service market will be Voyager Mobile, who have announced that they will launch their branded service beginning tomorrow in select states ahead of a full national launch later this summer.
Voyager Mobile will launch with 3G and 4G service across its own lineup of phones which range from entry-level devices to its own branded version of the Epic 4G Touch, with all manner of smartphone supported. Rates for the new provider should also make incumbent flat-rate carrier MetroPCS take notice, as the provider will begin with two service plans that will prove to be attractive to fans of prepaid unlimited monthly service.
The first monthly rate plan will begin at $19 per month with unlimited voice and SMS messaging while its second monthly rate plan will undercut just about everyone else for unlimited voice and data access at $39 monthly, which includes 3G EVDO Rev A and 4G WiMax access. Voyager Mobile will be tying both of these service plans to a new rewards program that gives users an incentive to use the voice part of the the plan to its fullest by giving them points to use towards prizes such as free phone upgrades, airline miles and other types of rewards.
As mentioned, the service will launch in select states tomorrow, with Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia being the first to take advantage of the new service while other states and markets will be rolled out in time.
The fact that a Sprint MVNO is offering unlimited service at such a low rate is also cause for concern as even Sprint’s own prepaid brands in Virgin and Boost Mobile have had issues with data speed and reliability ever since rolling out their own more expensive service plans, with Virgin focusing on unlimited data access and Boost focusing on flat-rate monthly access with discounts for loyalty. What remains to be seen is how Voyager Mobile will be able to sustain access at such low rates and for how long before complaints of poor data service pop up.
