Virgin Mobile USA is set to increase pressure on rival no-contract offerings with the upcoming addition of Apple’s iPhone 5 handset to its lineup.
The device, which will sell for $550 beginning June 28, is set to run across the provider’s Beyond Talk plans that offer unlimited data, messaging and 300 anytime calling minutes for $35 per month. It should be noted that the data service provides for up to 2.5 gigabytes of data transmission at full speed before speed throttling is implemented, though the device will have access to Sprint Nextel’s growing LTE network.
Virgin Mobile USA, which is a division of Sprint Nextel, added that customers can sign up for an auto-pay service that will cut $5 per month from that price, thus offering customers access to the iPhone 5 beginning at $30 per month. The carrier will also offer the 32 GB and 64 GB versions at the un-subsidized price of $650 and $750 respectively.
Virgin Mobile USA initially began offering Apple products one year ago with the launch of the iPhone 4 and 4S devices to its no-contract service offering. Those devices continue to be available, though the carrier is now offering both models with a 15% discount, this the 4S is selling for less than $385, while the 4 is selling for under $300.
One carrier looking to counter the impact is Leap Wireless, which is currently offering the iPhone 5 beginning at $400, the 4S for $300 and the 4 for $200. Leap, which last year committed $900 million to carrying Apple products, recently updated rate plans for the device to begin at $50 per month for unlimited voice, messaging and 1 GB of un-throttled data service. The carrier’s previous entry-level rate plan for the iPhone was priced at $55 per month for unlimited voice, messaging and un-throttled data services up to 2.3 GB per month.
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