You can finally get a decent phone with your cheap Republic Wireless plan

By Christian de Looper Updated July 28, 2016

Republic Wireless became known a few years ago for its innovative approach to the wireless industry — using Wi-Fi for calls and texts, letting customers choose how much data they need, and then refunding credit for any data that wasn’t used. The idea inspired Google’s Project Fi, but it was unfortunately stifled by a tiny phone selection, only offering a few Motorola phones.

Updated on 07-28-2016 by Williams Pelegrin: Included pricing information on upcoming phones, as well as information regarding the new Clear Choice plans and BYOD program.

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That finally changes, however, with Republic Wireless’ phone lineup expansion, with the carrier now offering a slew of flagship devices. Those phones, along with their outright and monthly installment prices, include the following:

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge — $800 (at least $48 a month)
Samsung Galaxy S7 — $700 (at least $42 a month)
Samsung Galaxy S6 — $550 (at least $33 a month)
Samsung Galaxy J3 — $180 (at least $11 a month)
Nexus 6P — $500 (at least $30 a month)
Nexus 5X — $350 (at least $21 a month)
Moto X Pure Edition — $350 (at least $21 a month)
Moto G4 — $200 (at least $12 a month)
Moto G4 Plus — $300 (at least $18 a month)

Overall, the new additions to Republic Wireless’ phone lineup include a mishmash of current and former flagship phones. Even so, they represent a huge boost to the lineup, since the carrier previously only offered the Motorola Moto G and Moto E — great phones for the price, but not exactly competitors to Republic Wireless’ current crop of flagships.

The carrier did not stop with new phones, however, as it also announced what it refers to as Clear Choice plans. Clear Choice plans take the place of Republic Wireless’ older refund plans, which returned unused data in the form of money to customers. The methodology is still the same, with the new plans combining Wi-Fi with cellular data to deliver greater network coverage.

The Clear Choice plans start at $15 a month with no cellular data, so it depends primarily on Wi-Fi either at home, work, or somewhere in between. Stepping up to $20 a month gets you 1GB of data, while paying $30 and $45 a month get you 2GB and 4GB of cellular data, respectively. All plans include unlimited talk and text, along with Wi-Fi access when walking out and about.

The company had another exciting announcement to make: the addition of a new network. To date Republic Wireless has only run on Sprint’s network, but now there’s another one in the mix. The company didn’t mention the new network by name, but it did say that it was the “nation’s fastest GSM carrier” and that it was the “fastest growing in terms of net adds.” In other words, it’s T-Mobile.

Sure, it won’t have coverage to match the likes of Verizon, but with both Sprint and T-Mobile’s networks available, the vast majority of people in the U.S. should be able to use Republic Wireless with no issues. Not only that, but most of the time it shouldn’t even matter what network is strongest in your location — most of what you do will be handled over Wi-Fi anyway.

Finally, starting August 11, customers can buy SIM cards and activate their Republic Wireless account on a phone of their choosing, essentially acting as a bring-your-own-device program.

Christian de Looper

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Christian de Looper is a long-time freelance writer who has covered every facet of the consumer tech and electric vehicle…

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