Beginning on June 22nd, a new carrier will be offering the iPhone to it’s customers. No it’s not T-Mobile, it’s regional prepaid wireless provider, Cricket, that’s getting the phone that’s making laptops redundant.
Sure the iPhone has been around for five years now and has expanded its availability to the three major carriers but the iPhone on Cricket means that for the first time in the U.S., you can get a truly no-contract iPhone (Apple will sell you an unlocked iPhone, carriers won’t sell you service without a contract).
Cricket’s offering seems to be a fairly sweet deal: for $55 per month you get unlimited talk, text, and web (up to 2.63 GB of data) plus the one-time purchase of the phone ($500 for a 16GB iPhone 4S or $400 for an 8GB iPhone 4). It’s a deal that’s tough to beat, even if you bought an unlocked iPhone from Apple which will run you $649 for the 16GB iPhone 4S. Hopefully this report in the Chicago-Sun Times doesn’t apply to you if you’re looking make the switch. (UPDATE: We just got confirmation from a Cricket Communications rep that the iPhone will not be “initially available in New York City” citing the spectrum band that the iPhone operates on. So maybe my loss is your gain.)
Check the full press release below.
Cricket Wireless to Offer iPhone on June 22
Unlimited Talk, Text and Data for Just $55 a Month
SAN DIEGO, May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Cricket Communications, Inc., a leading provider of innovative and value-driven wireless services, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leap Wireless International, Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP), announced today that it will be the first pre-paid carrier in the US to offer iPhone to its customers. Beginning on Friday, June 22, Cricket will offer iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 with its $55 per-month, all-inclusive unlimited talk, text and data plan.
iPhone 4S is the most amazing iPhone yet, packed with incredible features including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all-new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. iPhone 4S comes with iOS 5.1, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system; and iCloud, a breakthrough set of free cloud services that work with your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices.
“Our customers want the best products available and we are excited to bring iPhone to our pre-paid consumers with an industry leading $55 per-month service plan,” said Doug Hutcheson, president and chief executive officer, Leap Wireless International, Inc. “Launching iPhone is a major milestone for us and we are proud to offer iPhone customers attractive nationwide coverage, a robust 3G data network and a value-packed, no-contract plan.”
iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 will be available in Cricket company-owned stores and select dealers in nearly 60 markets, online at www.mycricket.com/iphone and over the phone at 800-853-7682. Starting today, customers can receive more information on the launch by registering at www.mycricket.com/iphone. iPhone 4S will be available for $499.99 for the 16GB model and iPhone 4 will be available for $399.99.
Cricket’s service plans feature all-inclusive pricing and easy-to-understand pricing packages with no service fees or overage charges. For customers, that means a bill that doesn’t fluctuate based upon monthly usage. Cricket’s all-inclusive pre-paid smartphone service plan includes:
| Monthly Fee | $55 |
| Voice (minutes) | Unlimited |
| SMS | Unlimited |
| Data | Unlimited* |
| iPhone 4S 16GB | $499.99 |
| iPhone 4 8GB | $399.99 |
* Fair usage policy of 2.3GB per month.
For more information about Cricket’s dynamic service and to check for availability, visit www.mycricket.com. To follow Cricket’s latest news and updates online, visit Facebook at www.facebook.com/cricketwireless and Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cricketnation.
For more information on iPhone 4S, please visit: www.apple.com/iphone
About Cricket
Cricket is the pioneer and leader in delivering innovative, value-rich prepaid wireless services with no long-term contracts serving 6.2 million customers. Cricket offers wireless voice and mobile data services over the latest, high-quality, all-digital 4G (LTE) and 3G CDMA wireless networks. In 2011, Cricket launched its award-winning Muve Music® product, the first music service designed for a wireless phone that now has more than 600,000 customers. Cricket’s innovative products and services are available at Cricket branded retail stores, dealers, national retailers and at www.mycricket.com. For more information about Cricket, please visitwww.mycricket.com.
