WAKEFIELD, N.H.—Prepaid reseller Freedom Phone Services introduced a new prepaid phone plan that starts at $10 per month. Customers must pay ahead of time and essentially have a month-to-month arrangement; they have a month to use their allotted minutes and then can choose whether or not to replenish their minutes the following month. Within that month, customers get seven days of night or weekend calling, free long distance, 45 minutes of peak calling and access to text messaging and data services for an additional fee.
According to its Web site, Freedom allows customers to choose phones and plans using both Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Wireless’ CDMA networks. The service offers phones ranging from $30 to $150 for use on Sprint Nextel’s network, and one phone priced at $40 for service on Verizon Wireless’ network.
Plan prices range from the $10 mark to $200 for 2,000 anytime minutes plus 30 days of night and weekend calling on Sprint Nextel’s network. For Verizon, plans range from $80 to $240 and limit off-peak calling to 3,000 minutes, regardless of the plan; anytime minutes range from 1,000 to 5,900.
Freedom has no contracts or credit checks, and the phones are available through the Internet to keep costs low, according to the company. Freedom says its phones are delivered within three days.
In comparison, Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. offers a month-to-month prepaid plan starting at $30 for 150 anytime minutes and 150 off-peak minutes, and estimates that the cost of its traditional minute-to-minute plan would cost $12 per month for someone who uses it for only 50 minutes. Cingular Wireless L.L.C. customers can arrange a Go Phone month-to-month service starting at $30 per month for up to 200 minutes, or choose a pay-as-you-go option for $1 per day and 10 cents per minute, or 25 cents per minute without the per-day charge.
Freedom Phone Services has been in operation since 1998 and offers other telecommunications services through Web sites under various brands, including Voice over Internet Protocol and long distance.
