Bellevue, Wash. – Walmart is rolling out a prepaid plan with
T-Mobile that will provide unlimited data and text and 100 minutes of talk for
$30 a month.
The plan, which is expected to launch Oct. 16, will be sold
exclusively through Walmart’s stores and website, as well as at T-Mobile.com.
Customers will be allotted up to 5GB of data over T-Mobile’s
HSPA+ 4G network, but throughput will be throttled back to 2G speeds thereafter
for the remainder of the month.
Talk is priced at 10 cents per minute after the first
100-minute allotment.
As part of the
rollout, Walmart is expanding its T-Mobile handset assortment to six models,
including what will be the chain’s first 4G prepaid handset.
The program joins Walmart’s other exclusive prepaid plan
Straight Talk, which provides unlimited talk, text and data for $45 a month
through TracFone.
Walmart said 60 percent of its customers cited having a
high-speed data network as a key factor in the purchase of a wireless service
plan.
“Walmart is proud to offer our customers fast and affordable
mobile options, especially as texting and social networking become a regular
form of
communication,” said Seong Ohm,
senior entertainment VP, Walmart U.S. “Together with our suppliers we continue
to ensure the products our customers want and need — from the latest smartphone
and TV to groceries and toys — are available at every day low prices.”
“T-Mobile is thrilled to offer this exclusive, affordable
service plan, designed specifically with heavy text and data users in mind, to
meet the demand for prepaid, which is expected to double by 2015,” added Amy
McCune, national retail VP, T-Mobile USA.
