Black Wireless, FreedomPop, Mango Mobile, and Unreal Mobile are all cellular MVNO service providers owned by Red Pocket Mobile.
Red Pocket Mobile is, itself, an MVNO that has been around since 2006.
Until late June of 2019 UNREAL Mobile and FreedomPop were 'sister' companies, but not under Red Pocket's umbrella. While UNREAL and FreedomPop continue to act as their own virtual storefronts, they are now owned by RedPocket.
Mango Mobile and Black Wireless act as 'direct subsidiaries' of RedPocket - and you will note Red Pocket branding on their virtual storefronts.
For Our Comparative Pricing Grid:
Guide to Cellular Data Plan Pricing
Table of Contents
Testing Status
We do not keep a Red Pocket, Black Wirelesss, FreedomPop, Mango Mobile, or UNREAL Mobile plan in our testing arsenal.
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
Tethering/Mobile Hotspot ability depends historically depends on the plan, network and device.
- CDMA (Verizon) SIM Cards: Tethering is supported on iOS Devices. Tethering/Hotspot will not work on Android Devices.
- GSMT (T-Mobile) SIM Cards, GSMA (AT&T) SIM Cards and CDMAS (Sprint) SIM Cards: Tethering/Hotspot is supported on both Android and iOS Devices.
Red Pocket offers annual plans, which can be found on eBay.
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.
Red Pocket Unlimited Plans
Red Pocket began offering 'Unlimited' plans in early January 2020 on all four carriers. As of March 2020, they are no longer offering an unlimited plan on T-Mobile, though there are other capped plans available on that network.
While their fine print in terms of high-speed data for Verizon based unlimited plans is pretty obvious (10GB) - their AT&T and Sprint based unlimited plans are 'seemingly' unlimited.
However, it has been impossible for us to get clarifying info on what network management - and of further concern - throttling - practices Red Pocket is deploying on these specific plans.
Troubling wording in their TOS states:
"Users on our Unlimited Plan may notice reduced data speeds when data usage exceeds an average of 1GB of usage per day during the current billing month for an extended period of time."
When we reached out to both Customer Service reps - and later, directly to their media contacts - we got conflicting answers or straight-up non-answers. At one point, we were informed that there is a hard throttle on Red Pocket 'Unlimited' plans on the AT&T or Sprint network at 1GB per day. Another rep informed us that the throttle is at 30GB/month. Another insisted that there wasn't a throttle - but to read the TOS.
We recommend caution if thinking about using Red Pocket as a main source of cellular data as these plans are presumed to really be 30GB/mo plans.
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.
Policies & Perks:
- Carrier Networks Used: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint
- Carrier Relation: MVNO
- Plan Types Available: Phone, Data Only
- Device Types Permitted: Any
- Device Purchase Required: No. Red Pocket sells several models of iPhone, or you can bring your own device.
- Mobile Hotspot Use: Tethering/Mobile Hotspot ability depends on the plan, network and device.
- CDMA (Verizon) SIM Cards: Tethering is supported on iOS Devices. Tethering/Hotspot will not work on Android Devices.
- GSMT (T-Mobile) SIM Cards, GSMA (AT&T) SIM Cards and CDMAS (Sprint) SIM Cards: Tethering/Hotspot is supported 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.
- 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
- Plan Period: Monthly, annual
- Data Roll Over: No
- Overage Charges: None
- Streaming: No streaming services bundled
- Unlimited: Technically - yes. But most plans have a high-speed allotment, and speeds drop to 2G after data threshold is reached.
- Lines per account: 5
Related News:
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 - it was "temporarily sold out."
T-Mobile 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.
UPDATE as of 4/6/2020:
We have received many reports of customers on Black Wireless T-Mobile based plan having been canceled effective April 10th. Apparently Black Wireless will no longer be able to offer plan on T-Mobile, and we have confirmed with their support staff that they only currently offer plans on AT&T that are more expensive and provide less data.
Multi-Month Plan Policies & Perks:
- Carrier Networks Used: T-Mobile
- Carrier Relation: MVNO
- Plan Types Available: Phone
- Device Types Permitted: No restrictions noted
- Device Purchase Required: No
- Mobile Hotspot Use: Yes, an additional 20GB of data
- Throttling: Data is throttled to 128kbps after high speed allotment
- Network Management: Yes
- International Roaming: None
- Domestic Roaming: None
- Plan Period: 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, or 12 months
- Data Roll Over: None
- Overage Charges: None
- Streaming: No streaming services or benefits are provided.
- Unlimited: Yes, but only 50GB at high speed
- Lines permitted per account: 1
- Extras: None
Related News:
Mango Mobile
Mango Mobile currently offers plans with very small high-speed data buckets on the
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 - he multi-month plan had disappeared from their site completely, leaving the the largest data bucket available on any plan at 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.
Related News:
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:
Related News:
UNREAL Mobile
UNREAL Mobile is an AT&T based MVNO which first began service in June 2018. They were purchased by RedPocket in 2019.
UNREAL offers smartphone-based plans with tetherable data, and permits use of their SIMs in hotspot devices also.
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, UNREAL does not offer month-to-month plans. All plans are 3, 6, or 12 month commitments.
Be careful when selecting a plan - there is often a 'promo' pricing period, after which costs go up to 'regular' pricing.
Hotspot data use requires an iOS device.
Unreal Mobile sells new phones but also allows you to bring your own AT&T compatible phone or hotspot for use with their SIMs.
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.
Policies & Perks:
- Carrier Networks Used: AT&T
- Carrier Relation: MVNO
- Plan Types Available: Phone
- Device Types Permitted: Can use SIM in any device
- Device Purchase Required: No, but can purchase a device
- Mobile Hotspot Use: Yes - for iOS
- Throttling: Data is throttled to 2G (~80kbps) speeds after plan's data bucket is used.
- Network Management: None
- International Roaming: None - 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands only
- Domestic Roaming: None
- Plan Period: 3, 6 or 12 month plans available
- 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.
- Streaming: No streaming services are provided.
- Unlimited: No true unlimited plans - all plans have high-speed data caps - then unlimited 2G speed data.
- Lines permitted per account: 1
- Extras:
Related News:
Potential Alternatives to Consider:
For other featured cellular data plans ideal for RVers and Crusiers - here's some other options to consider:
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Purchasing Options
Red Pocket | Mango Mobile | Black Wireless | Unreal Mobile | FreedomPop
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