Virgin Mobile debuts inexpensive no-contract shared data plans

Virgin Mobile has just announced their new no-contract shared data plans starting at only $65. The plans are called Data Done Right, and offer 4G LTE speeds and support up to four lines at a time. The new plans debut tomorrow, January 17th exclusively at Walmart. The Data Done Right plans feature a Virgin Mobile app that allows users to manage data and buy more with just the click of a button, no additional monthly line fees, international plan options as well as parental control and curfew features. The new plans will be available right away on four Android devices, including the HTCDesire 510, LG Volt, LG Tribute and the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime. Virgin says they plan to have more Data Done Right-compatible devices available by the end of February. Virgin Mobile is also allowing Data Done Right users to use unlimited Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pandora for an additional fee of $5, without counting against the user’s pool of data.

Here are the three prepaid shared data plans the company has just announced:

• $65/month (2 lines) – Unlimited talk, text and 4GB of 3G/4G LTE data
• $90/month (3 lines) – Unlimited talk, text and 8GB of 3G/4G LTE data
• $115/month (4 lines) – Unlimited talk, text and 12GB of 3G/4G LTE data

Additionally, the carrier is rolling out new single-line unlimited plans, exclusively to Walmart customers. For $35/month, users can get 300 minutes of talk, unlimited text and 2.5GB of high-speed data. For $45/month, users get unlimited talk, text and 2.5GB of high-speed data. Both plans come with unlimited data after the 2.5GB of high-speed data is used up, but data will be throttled to 2G speeds for the remainder of the time you have your plan.

[press]OVERLAND PARK, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Virgin Mobile USA announced today the launch of the industry’s first no-contract data sharing plans, available exclusively at Walmart.

Beginning Saturday, Jan. 17, the new plans are available on four specific 4G LTE¹ smartphones pre-loaded with the Virgin Mobile data-sharing application, which provides data buy-ups and international add-ons with one touch, directly from the device. Every multi-line plan will also come with a free Mobile Hotspot feature, making it even easier to share data across Wi-Fi enabled devices.

“At Virgin Mobile we are committed to offering prepaid customers innovative new wireless options,” said Angela Rittgers, vice president-Sprint Prepaid. “We were the first prepaid carrier to offer texting keyboards and texting-only plans, first to help customers pay less for talk they weren’t using, the first to feature a totally customized plan, and now the first data sharing plans. The new data sharing plans bring some of the most aggressive shared-line plans ever launched to Walmart.”

Virgin Mobile’s Data Done Right data share plans feature:

• Preloaded Virgin Mobile app that enables customers to manage data sharing directly from their device
• No additional monthly line fees
• One-touch data buy-up options starting at just $10/month for 1GB
• Popular social media and music streaming apps without data charges, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pandora – unlimited usage without counting against the customer’s data allotment for just $5 per month²
• Flexible international plan options
• Parental control features with device curfew and app restrictions

“At Walmart, we know our no-contract wireless customers are looking for some of the same experiences as contract wireless users – including high performing smart phones available on great plans at great prices,” said Mehrdad Akbar, vice president of Wireless, Connected Home, Wearables and Tablets, Walmart. “We are always seeking ways to innovate for our customers, which is why we’ve worked closely with Virgin Mobile to offer exclusive new plans such as data sharing.”

In addition to the new data plans, Virgin Mobile is also delivering a new set of single-line, unlimited plans to Walmart customers:

Virgin Mobile Unlimited and Data Share will be immediately available on updated editions of the HTCDesire^® 510 [$99.88], LG Tribute^™ [$79.88] and LG Volt^™[$149.88]. Data Share service will also make its debut on the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime^™ [$129.88]⁴ , also available starting Jan. 17. The Galaxy Core Prime features a4.5-inch display, 1.2GHz quad core processor, Android 4.4 KitKat^® and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera.

More devices are expected to be introduced by the end of February.

A $20 starter kit is required to activate each new line of service and includes two months of unlimited music streaming without counting against the customer’s data allotment⁵.[/press]