New operator promises cheap wireless service

In these tough economic times, everyone is looking for a good deal.

And Sascha Segan at PC Magazine seems to have found a darn good bargain if you're looking for a cheap wireless plan that offers unlimited data and voice calling. The service, which costs only $70 a month with no monthly contract, is offered by a new mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, called Zer01 Mobile.

The company also offers unlimited international calling to 40 countries for an additional $10 a month.

Segan reports in his story posted on Thursday that the company is using a form of a roaming agreement with AT&T and T-Mobile to provide access to their cellular networks. But instead of using the 3G wireless network to carry voice and data traffic, Zer01 sends the voice and data traffic over its own IP backbone.

The company's CEO explained to Segan that instead of buying wholesale cellular minutes from AT&T and T-Mobile the way other MVNOs have done, it has bought its own IP backbone and only uses the carriers' networks to interconnect or roam. Carriers throughout the world, such as Verizon Wireless or Sprint Nextel, use these interconnection agreements to provide coverage to their customers when they are not in their own coverage area.

The devices on the Zer01 network get fixed IP addresses and they each open a separate VPN session to the company's servers when a call is placed, according to the article. By using interconnect agreements, Zer01 can keep costs low and get around the carriers' 5GB per month data caps, Segan points out.

The service uses a proprietary voice over IP application that today only works with Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6 phones. But the application will eventually work on other phones such as Google's Android devices, Research In Motion's BlackBerry, Symbian phones, and perhaps even jailbroken Apple iPhones.

Unlike other mobile VoIP services, the Zer01 service allows users to dial from the phone's keypad without launching a separate VoIP application.

The service isn't yet available to the public. But the company is expected to provide details about a launch date around the wireless industry's CTIA tradeshow in Las Vegas, which starts April 1, so stay tuned.

Zer01 is expected to sell three HTC phones for the service: the HTC Tilt, which was made for AT&T, the Touch Diamond, and the Touch 3G. But users will be able to bring their own unlocked GSM phones to the network.

[trueyou]

I am confused why I would use this service? When I have unlimited, unlimited now from t-mobile for 50.00

[skillingssucks]

You don't have unlimited data.

[xZero2007x]

Or speedy data.
However, I will admit that when I read "cheap wireless service" in the article title, I was a bit confused when $70/month popped up in the second line. I guess its cheap relative to Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon offerings, but still...

[stigmattaman]

@trueyou - This would be unlimited voice, text, and 3G(?) data - which doesn't happen on T-Mobile's. Additionally, they're saying there's no limit on the data, which means you can tether it and use it for your laptop as much as you want. It's a very big disruption if they can deliver.

Great idea, but the day will come--and it may not be far off--when all of the telcos are using VoIP. Packet switching is just too efficient, particularly as data and digital media become an increasingly important part of the telcos' revenue stream.

[paulimusmaximus]

Doesn't Boost Mobile already do that for $50 per month? I know someone will say it's not unlimited data, but honestly, it's pretty hard to use 5 gigs of data on a cell phone. Now if you could hook it up to a laptop, that would make it interesting.

What would really be awesome is if a company like Clearwire wouldn't be such Dbags and team up with Sprint, and instead give us VOIP phones that could access data cheap. I mean come one, they only charge $30 per month for the service, and you'd use a lot less data on a phone than with a computer.

[xZero2007x]

If I'm not mistaken, Clearwire's an acquisition of Sprint. So it's not so much Clearwire being Dbags, but rather Sprint being the Dbags. Or the lack of a large enough infrastructure on Clearwire's behalf/money for everything overall.
For the sake of believing that Sprint's future expansion plans are on the table, I would think they've taken your idea into consideration for the future.

[mrbcoolman]

At&t,Sprint,Verizon are all dbags!! This company won't succeed as long as att has there greedy little mitts on them.

[cohaver]

WWW.boostmoblie.com $50.00 no Contract web Walkie Text web and Unlimited calling blow that away by 20.00

[clynx]

Anyone who can stop the censorship and price fixing the big 4 are trying to pull off has got my support. We own the airwaves they lease from us. Do it right or not at all. Stop playing around with us and insulting our intelligence, Data caps are censorship and price fixing.

[clynx]

Anyone who can stop the censorship and price fixing the big 4 are trying to pull off has got my support. We own the airwaves they lease from us. Do it right or not at all. Stop playing around with us and insulting our intelligence, Data caps are censorship and price fixing.

[fooldog01]

I cant help[ but agree.

[Vidfreek]

Definitely agree, honestly my wife and I are on added phones on my parents plan, its too expensive to keep 2 phones and have full texting, calling and data, my friend has that and he's up in the $120 range from Verizon for two phones full everything.....I've never been a believer that sending little letters of text should cost so much let alone the services themselves, I'll use a track phone and add my minutes when I want before I go back to having my own overly priced plan from any of the big cell phone companies, they price gouge and dont care about the consumer at all IMO

[cingrand]

The other major disruption that most seem to forget is the total absence of roaming charges when travelling abroad. This, in itself, is a major plus for any international traveller. Actually, since roaming is unlimited, Zer01 could be used as a primary operator by foreign (i.e. non-US) customers. The 'no contract' part, and the fact that service is pre-paid probably means that it's something they already have in mind.