Sprint-owned prepaid carrier Virgin Mobile now offers data share plans for families at a relatively low cost. The new plans are available on the carrier’s phone selection at Walmart across America. The announcement comes just one day after T-Mobile showcased its new prepaid plans with data buckets.
Virgin Mobile’s new plans are aimed at those who are leery of a contract, want to pay less for cell service, but still need high speed data. The prepaid carriers’ Data Done Right Plans start at $30 per line, and go up from there, based on how much data you want. A family of two can pay $65 a month for unlimited talk and text, as well as 4GB of shared 3G/4G LTE data. A family of three pays $90 a month for the same unlimited talk and text, and 8GB of shared 3G/4G LTE data. And finally, a family of four will pay just $115 for unlimited talk and text, in addition to 12GB of shared 3G/4G LTE data.
Of course, once you run out of your chunk of 3G/4G data, Internet speeds drop to slower speeds for the rest of the month. The press release says 2GB speeds, but we’re pretty sure they mean 2G. You can purchase more high-speed data, but your bill will increase substantially, as Virgin charges $10 for 1GB of extra 3G/4G LTE data a month. However, if all you do is check Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pandora you can pay $5 a month to get unlimited data for those apps that doesn’t count toward your data allotment. Again, this service just adds more money to your bill, so be weary of these little add-ons — they can mount up fast.
Virgin Mobile also has new single line plans for individuals who shop at Walmart. You can choose between two: One for $35 a month and another for $45 a month. The $35 plan offers 300 minutes of talk, unlimited texts and data, as well as 2.5GB of high-speed data. The $45 plan gives you the same things, but adds unlimited talk. A $20 starter kit activates the service, but you get two months of unlimited music streaming thrown in as a perk. The biggest downside is that you’re on Sprint’s network, which is notoriously spotty and your data speeds may not always be up to 4G LTE standards.
