TruConnect Mobile is taking its prepaid mobile broadband offering to Walmart, which is set to be the exclusive distributor of the company’s Internet on the Go service.
Internet on the Go offers customers “megabytes that don’t expire,” meaning that users’ data balances stay intact at the end of the month, instead of resetting like other prepaid data plans.
“With Internet on the Go, users get exactly what they pay for and can use their purchased megabytes whenever they want to with no other hidden conditions or fees,” said Kevin Hamilton, president and CEO of TruConnect, in a statement.
The service runs on Sprint’s CDMA EV-DO network and is available on the Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 mobile hotspot, selling for $120 at Walmart. The mobile hotspot is also available through TruConnect’s website, where it sells for $100. Plans include $10 for 100 MB, $25 for 500 MB or $45 for 1 GB, with automatic refills costing $20 for 450 MB.
Internet on the Go will have plenty of competition at Walmart. The big box retailer sells mobile hotspots and prepaid data service from Cricket Communications, AT&T, T-Mobile USA and Virgin Mobile USA.
Virgin Mobile USA’s Broadband2Go service at Walmart costs $20 per gigabyte. T-Mobile is charging $30 for a single gigabyte of data purchased at Walmart, though it also offers a $25 plan with 1.5 GB through the retailer. Shoppers who want to buy access to AT&T’s network will pay $50 for a 1 GB plan, and Cricket’s prepaid Walmart data plans range from $30 to $50.
TruConnect went live last September with backing from Los Angeles competitive local exchange carrier Telscape.
Hamilton told Wireless Week during the time of the company’s official launch that the data-only MVNO didn’t plan to target heavy data users. Instead, it designed its service for consumers who used relatively small amounts of mobile data but didn’t want to sign up for monthly plans, such as business travelers.
