Red Pocket Mobile

Red Pocket Mobile is an MVNO which offers plans on the Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T networks.

They offer plans that can be used on any device that runs on a SIM card. Red Pocket has stated that they will not attempt to block or prohibit the use of any mobile devices.

Red Pocket offers both voice/text/data plans and data only plans.

Red Pocket's plans and plan terms tend to be confusing - but we'll try and explain them here.

Red Pocket's plan labeling correlates with the underlying network being used on the plan:

• GSMT = T-Mobile
• GSMA = AT&T
• CDMA = Verizon
• CDMAS = Sprint

They also offer International Data Plans for either $9/ first GB, then $8/GB for 30days or $15/ first GB then $14/GB for 30days - dependent on country of travel.

+-T-Mobile/Sprint Merger Notes

Last Update: November 18, 2020

Sprint is now part of T-Mobile, as per the merger that closed on April 1, 2020.  

New Sprint customers are directed to T-Mobile to sign up for their plans, however, some of Sprint's legacy plans are still available in-store or over the phone. Customers on existing direct Sprint plans will be able to retain those plans for the next three years without price increases or changes to features.

The two networks still operate mostly independently with their own towers and frequency bands. Some Sprint customers can have their Sprint phones coded to make the T-Mobile network the primary network for their phones instead of Sprint. Sprint customers with recent 5G phones such as the Galaxy S10 automatically use T-Mobile as the primary network since the combined company is shutting down Sprint's 5G service.

As of October, T-Mobile is offering most Sprint smartphone customers that use the Sprint cellular network the ability to choose the "T-Mobile Network Experience". In short, TNX allows Sprint network customers with compatible devices to trade in their Sprint SIM card for a T-Mobile SIM card and move their plan to the T-Mobile network while retaining the features, billing, and terms of their original Sprint plan. You can read more about what this means here.

Starting in late November, non-profit Sprint based plans have T-mobile roaming enabled via a PRL update pushed to devices. 

At present time - aside from Boost being sold to Dish Network - there are no changes to 3rd party, reseller or MVNO plans sold on the Sprint network. However, we are continuing to monitor the situation and will update as appropriate.

Plan Information

Currently Available Plans

Smartphone Plans

• 22GB - $40/month (Available on AT&T)
• 12GB - $40/month (Available on Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile)
• 10GB - $30/month (Available on all carriers)
• 3GB, 1GB, and 500MB plans available as well
• Annual plans are available on eBay

Data Only Plans (Available on AT&T only)

• 20GB - $40/month
• 5GB - $25/month
• Global Data Plans - 1GB - $9/month (50 countries) or 1GB - $15/month (150 countries); additional data can be purchased

Refer-A-Friend Program

In April 2020, Red Pocket introduced a Refer-A-Friend program. Current subscribers who refer a friend will receive an account credit up to $25 (depending on which plan they are on). The referred friend/new subscriber will receive an account credit as well. The referral program is only available on monthly plans, not on multi-month or annual plans. Current subscribers can find their unique referral code in their online account dashboard.

Plan Specifications:

• Carrier Networks Used: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint
• Carrier Relationship: MVNO
• Plan Types Available: Phone, Data Only
• Device Types Permitted: Any
• Unlimited: Technically - yes, but with high-speed data caps.
• High-Speed Mobile Hotspot Use:
  • CDMA (Verizon) SIM Cards:  Available on iOS Devices only.
  • GSMT (T-Mobile) SIM Cards, GSMA (AT&T) SIM Cards and CDMAS (Sprint) SIM Cards: Available on both Android and iOS Devices.
• Throttling: Data is throttled to 2G speeds after plan's data bucket is used.
• Network Management: yes - Red Pocket reserves the right to manage use at any time.
• Video Streaming Resolution: Not specified
• 5G Access: No
• Device Purchase Required: No. Red Pocket sells several models of iPhone, or you can bring your own device.
• Plan Period: Monthly, annual
• International Roaming: None - 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands only. They do offer separate plans with separate pricing for International travelers.
• Domestic Roaming: No
• Data Roll Over: No
• Overage Charges: None
• Lines permitted per account: 5
• Extras: None

FreedomPop

We have been tracking FreedomPop and its various plan iterations, since at least 2014.

As such, we have a Gear Center Guide dedicated to FreedomPop and their plans.

FreedomPop was purchased by RedPocket in 2019, along with their sister company, UNREAL Mobile.

More info on FreedomPop:

FreedomPop Gear Center Guide

UNREAL Mobile

UNREAL Mobile is an AT&T based MVNO which first began service in June 2018. They were purchased by RedPocket in 2019.

Plan Information

UNREAL offers smartphone-based plans with hotspot data and permits use of their SIMs in hotspot devices.

UNREAL tends to advertise 'unlimited data', but that advertisement really means unlimited 2G speed data. You still need to select a capped amount of LTE speed data and add that cost to the base $10 'unlimited 2G data' price.

Currently Available Plans

UNREAL offers single month, 3-month, or 12-month plan commitments. Plans are available on the AT&T or T-Mobile networks.

• 1-Month Plans
  • 12GB - $35/month
• 3-Month Plans
  • 12GB - $30/month
• 12-Month Plans
  • 12GB - $25/month

Be careful when selecting a plan - there is often a 'promo' pricing period, after which costs go up to 'regular' pricing. 

History

Prior to acquisition by RedPocket, UNREAL offered a choice of refurbished Sprint based hotspots for use with plans offered on the Sprint network. When UNREAL was acquired by RedPocket, Sprint customers were migrated to Ting - and offered a promo pricing scheme on Ting. 

Plan Specifications:

• Carrier Networks Used: AT&T, T-Mobile
• Carrier Relationship: MVNO
• Plan Types Available: Phone
• Device Types Permitted: Can use SIM in any device
• Unlimited: No
• High-Speed Mobile Hotspot Use: Yes
• Throttling: Data is throttled to 2G (~80kbps) speeds after the plan's data bucket is used.
• Network Management: None
• Video Streaming Resolution: No streaming services are provided.
• 5G Access: No
• Device Purchase Required: No, but can purchase a device
• Plan Period: 1, 3, or 12-month plans available
• International Roaming: None - 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands only
• Domestic Roaming: None
• Data Roll Over: Roll-over of 500MB is included in plans over 5GB. Roll-over data feature for 1GB roll-over can be added for $$.
• Overage Charges: There are no overage charges for these plans. Once you use your data speeds are slowed to 2G until the next billing period.
• Lines permitted per account: 1
• Extras: 
  • Adblocking on Android phones
  • Free VPN service (PC, MAC, and Android only)
  • A companion app that allows VOIP voice calls on other devices (like tablets)

Mango Mobile currently offers plans with very small high-speed data buckets on the T-Mobile network. 

History

In early February of 2020, it was noted that Mango Mobile was offering a multi-month plan on the T-Mobile network.

This plan offered 50GB of on-device high-speed data and an additional 20GB of mobile hotspot data on top of that.

However, the plan was only available for a few weeks. As of 2/26/2020, Mango Mobile's multi-month plan was no longer available on their site - the multi-month plan had disappeared from their site completely, leaving the largest data bucket available on any plan to be only 2GB.

Multi-Month Plan Details 

This plan is no longer available.

While available, this multi-month plan was could be purchased in increments of 3-months, 6-months, 9-months, or 12-months and was offered with a promotional price of $25/month (normally $40/month). An additional discount on their 6-month plan, brought the monthly cost to only $16.67/month ($100 total). Data on this plan was partitioned - 50GB was available for on-device data, and 20B was available at hotspot data.The multi-month plan also came with unlimited talk/text, and international calling to 50 countries.

Black Wireless

Currently, Black Wireless does not offer any plans that we consider of interest to those seeking mobile internet options. They currently offer multi-month plans with up to 5GB of data on the AT&T network.

History

In early February of 2020, it was noted that Black Wireless was offering a multi-month plan on the T-Mobile network.

These plans offered 50GB of on-device high-speed data, and an additional 20GB of mobile hotspot data on top of that.

However, the plan was only available for a few weeks. As of 2/26/2020, Black Wireless' Multi-Month plan was no longer available on their site.