Walmart To Stoke Q4 Cellular Competition
By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 10/15/2009
Bentonville, Ark. - Walmart, which already sells TracFone-branded prepaid cellular on a nationwide basis, will now add Straight Talk-brand prepaid services, also provided byTracFone, on an exclusive basis beginning Oct. 18.
A $30/month Straight Talk plan offers 1,000 voice minutes, 1,000 texts and 30MB of mobile Web access nationwide with free 411 calls. An unlimited 30-day plan at $45/month offers unlimited voice, text and Web access nationally, also with free 411 calls. The plans, which will also be available at Walmart.com and StraightTalk.com, follow a successful 234-store pilot program that began last summer, Walmart said.
By switching to the $30 Straight Talk plan, the company contended, "the average 1,000 minutes-per-month consumer could save more than $500 per year and still be on a reliable [Verizon Wireless] nationwide network."
To extend service, consumers will buy monthly refill cards at Walmart or buy online at Walmart.com or StraightTalk.com. Phones tied to the service include an entry-level LG 220 flip phone at $39.98, LG Slider 290 at $79.98 and Samsung 451 with QWERTY keyboard at $99.88.
For now, the service is branded only as "Straight Talk, exclusively at Walmart" in ads, "but there is discussion about packaging changes in the future that will include the Walmart branding," a spokesperson said.
Walmart also offers TracFone's Net10-branded prepaid service.
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Hooray for Walmart. I've been a customer with Verizon for 10 plus years and now that I'm retired, I can't afford $100 a month for both my wife and myself. Verizon has excellent customer service and very good quality with calls, but they are "expensive". They charge for every little thing. They don't give you any breaks, no discounts for being a loyal customer, nothing.
When my contract runs out, I'm going to have to give up Verizon, I just can't afford them anymore. I will check out Walmart cellular phone plans.
bruce margolis - 2011-3-9 18:59:47 EDT -
I have alot of family that has verizon plan, can they call me on straight talk free or uses there minutes up?
Darcie White - 2011-8-4 20:32:08 EDT -
It's about time someone came up with a affordable plan even if it is prepaid! I have always used prepaid but this takes the cake. If only the service could used with other sim based phones....? But then again W/M has done something almost just as good,not 1 but 2 smart phones! I will buy the nokia surge as soon as possible or when W/M gets another shipment of them as they sold out before I got there. Look out AT&T and Verizon a new sheriff is in town!
Kenneth Arthur Flowers Jr. - 2011-13-1 09:28:07 EST -
WELL I WENT FROM HAVING 2 LINES THAT COST ME ABOUT $180.00 WITH A CONTRACT TO THE STRAIGHT TALK WHICH COST ME ONLY $90.00 A MONTH AND CAN TALK BETTER WITH IT AND TEXT BETTER THAN WITH MY CONTRACT PHONE. SO THE ONLY OTHER THING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IS FIND A WAY THAT WE CAN GET A RINGBACK TONES SO OUR CALLERS HAVE SOME MUSIC TO LISTEN TOO WHEN THEY CALL ME. LOL. AND HAVE THE SERVICE CALLED CITY I.D. SERVICE, I REALLY LIKE THAT. AND ALLOW THE WEBSITE TO LET US DO SOMETHINGS WITH OUR ACCOUNT, BUT OTHER THAN THAT WE ARE HAPPY. LOL. GOOD JOB. WAL MART IS GOING TO OWN EVERYTHING BEFORE LONG. SAM DID SOMETHING RIGHT HUH? GOOD JOB......................
NICHLOUS D. WILKERSON - 2010-6-6 14:58:46 EDT -
Straight Talk truly is a great buy and one I am happy to say I made. Despite the negative comments I have heard, I have had nothing but a positive experience since I purchased it at Walmart. I went from paying over $100 a month for terrible service to paying $45 on the Verizon network - the difference is incredible. What's even better is that I have all these benefits (including choosing a quality phone) without dealing pages of bills or an annoying contract. Straight Talk might not appeal to everyone, but it fit me prefectly.
Kimberly Gomez - 2010-11-2 21:57:55 EST
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