Republic Wireless expands cellular data refund – RCR Wireless News

Using WiFi as a primary connection may make some people uneasy so today Republic Wireless announced its new Republic Refund plan that credits you back the monetary value for any cellular data you did not use.

A couple of months after Republic Wireless teased a new plan that’d pay customers for their unused data, the offering is going live for the public.

“In 2011 we launched with an unheard of $19 all-in WiFi + cellular service plan and everyone who joined Republic Wireless from the larger carriers saved money”.

In their place, Republic is offering plans that offer customers a refund on any high-speed data paid for but unused. “By 2013 the growth of WiFi made our $10 plan with unlimited cellular talk and text and zero cellular data, one of our most popular”, Morken said. In the trial with the new plans, customers had average monthly bills of $14.88, which represented a 31 percent savings compared to what the same customers were paying before.

$5 per month for unlimited Wi-Fi voice, texting and data. “With our new plans, customers will pay for exactly what they use – no more, no less”. But once you get to a spot without Wi-fi you will utilize the Sprint and T-Mobile networks for your service. Then, customers pay $10 per GB of data on top of that.

Schniepp said Republic is “not seeing a big impact on our business thus far” from Project Fi. Google’s Project Fi plans to charge customers only for the cellular data they use, while both T-Mobile and AT&T have programs that allow customers to carry unused data over to a future month or months. The beauty of Project Fi is that you only pay for data you end up using. Republic can refund unused data in a “sustainable” way because of its cost structure, the fact that so much of its customers’ data usage is on Wi-Fi and because it only supports two cell phones for this service (the first-generation Motorola Moto G and second-generation Moto X). “The industry profits wildly from this practice – an estimated $52 billion annually, and we are determined to change that”, David Morken, co-founder and CEO of Republic Wireless said.