If you need more data, a 0.05¢ per KB (51.2¢ per MB) charge applies, or you can grab a $5 card for 40 MB or a $10 card for $100 MB of data. To our knowledge, those are the cheapest per-megabyte prices for cell-phone data anywhere on prepaid. AT&T, Page Plus Cellular and Virgin Mobile don’t even come close.

One other advantage of PlatinumTel’s non-contract unlimited plan is that there are no extra small monthly fees for service and/or web access like other PlatinumTel plans have, though the  company’s per-minute rates are quite good across the board. The Chicago-based provider’s other plans (one with unlimited nights and weekends, one wihtout) are unchanged, at least for now. We hear there will be a mobile broadband card plan soon though.

For those who don’t text as much, Page Plus still has a 2000-message-per-month plan for $10.95 per month, or pay-as-you-go texting for 8¢ apiece. Or, for heavy talkers, $19.95 above Page Plus’s unlimited-text package will net you unlimited voice minutes as well, plus 20 MB of data access. In short, there’s something for everyone at Page Plus, whether you talk, text or surf on your prepaid phone.

For those already on Page Plus, all these features might chew through your balance a little quicker. Fortunately, you can get airtime online right here (without sales tax in most places).

Total Call’s new plan portfolio will consist of an unlimited-talk-and-text plan for around $50 per month, a 500-minute, 500-text plan for $25-$30, and the current pay-as-you-go-option (10¢ per minute, 5¢ per text), fortified with unlimited nights and weekends for $30 per month if desired. Unlimited-anytime and unlimited-night-and-weekend cards will also be available in 15-day denominations for about half the price of a one-month refill. One standout feature on Total Call Mobile is the inclusion of international texting in its unlimited plan.

On the phone side of the house, Total Call will increase its lineup to include the Sanyo 2300 and 2400, the Motorola c290, the LG 160 (similar to Virgin Mobile’s LG Flare) and the LG 325 slider cameraphone.

Even without the international texting feature, Total Call’s $50 unlimited plan, which should go on sale this week, is $10 cheaper than the next closest rival on Sprint’s network (Virgin Mobile, though Virgin includes MMS in their messaging allotment, a feature that Total Call doesn’t support at this time). Total Call isn’t quite as inexpensive (or expansive, network-wise) as Page Plus Cellular, however for those who want Sprint coverage and rock-bottom international rates, Total Call Mobile is now an even better choice.

Pocket, launched a few short years ago in the San Antonio area, recently expanded to Corpus Christi and the surrounding towns, after securing footholds in Laredo and Rio Grande markets. Their pitch: we’re better than CricKet. Pocket’s ad campaign pulls no punches when it comes to comparing their service to that of the nation’s second largest unlimited-only carrier; Pocket calls CricKet out as a leader in dropped calls, long customer service hold times, and high pricing. Pocket on the other hand says that their network has twice the number of towers as CricKet does, their customer service agents will answer calls in twenty seconds or less, and their cheapest phone is absolutely free after a mail-in rebate, including a free month of service.

Pocket’s customer base seems to agree with the company’s assessment of its superiority; over three hundred thousand folks have chosen Pocket as their provider, despite CricKet’s larger nationwide footprint, 3G network and pricing adjustments that have matched Pocket dollar-for-dollar in the South Texas region. Ultimately, it is consumers who are winning the Pocket-CricKet price war; nowhere else can you find not one but two carriers who will offer customers unlimited local and long distsnce calling, unlimited text and picture messaging (including text messages to Mexico) and caller ID for $25 per month…with no contract required. The “no contract” part of the equation is probably an important one in this situation; whereas Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile can generally rely on their customers to stick around for two years, contractless providers have to convince customers every month that they offer the best features, network quality and pricing for cellular service.

To this end, Pocket has had to make some upgrades over the past few years. They recently dropped roaming prices to 19¢ per minute, down from 59¢, to compete with CricKet’s inexpensive roaming packages and free-roaming agreements with a plethora of regional carriers in the US that serve areas outside of CricKet’s own. Pocket also now offers a $5 minute pack with 50 roaming minutes, comparable to what CricKet sells as an add-on for their plans. Pocket and CricKet have modified their core rate plans as well; at the beginning of Pocket’s existence, $28 per month bought unlimited local calling with no added features. Now, after several upgrades and competition from CricKet, unlimited voice, messaging and Caller ID can be had for $3 less.

On CricKet’s side, the company’s unlimited plans typically vary in price between $30 per month (local calling only) and $60 (everything-and-some-roaming-minutes). In the San Antonio area, similar or better plans run between $25 and $40, just like their Texas-based competitor.

The CricKet-Pocket price war, which brings cellular rates below not only typical landline charges but also those of telco/cable-provided VoIP service, is a rather extreme example of the great things that can happen for consumers when contracts are thrown to the wind and competition on both quality and price fronts is fierce. On a more national scale, companies like Page Plus Cellular are using “big four” networks to make similar strides in the bang-for-the-buck category. At some point, the question can be raised of whether these companies can even turn a profit with such low prices and unlimited offerings, but that’s their problem, right? For now, companies keep competing and consumers keep winning.

Page Plus Cellular has offered both unlimited in $39.95 plans in the past. However before Friday’s announcement the unlimited plan was voice-only and cost nearly twice as much ($2.49 per day). Page Plus’s $39.95 plan was also less liberal at that point, offering 1500 voice minutes and text messages. In addition, data access rates were $1.20 per megabyte, and MMS costs were 40 cents per message in addition to data transport charges. MMSes now cost just 10¢ apiece on the unlimited plan. In comparison, Verizon Wireless proper charges around $100, plus taxes, for their postpaid unlimited service, with messaging running customers another $20 per month. Piecemeal, MMS costs 25¢ per message across all four major wireless carriers.

Page Plus Cellular’s unlimited plan is now the least expensive nationwide unlimited-voice plan in the US, dipping below Sprint-based Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile as well as Verizon-based Straight Talk. Page Plus also hast the distinction of being the only nationwide unlimited plan to offer a variety of 3G phones on its service; any Verizon phone is compatible, though Page Plus fits the bill directly with such high-end phones as the Motorola Razr v3c and the Motorola e815.

Will unlimited-voice pricing get any lower on nationwide networks? It’s hard to tell. CricKet and MetroPCS offer $30 unlimited plans in every market. CricKet even offers a $25-per-month option in South Texas, to compete with Pocket Communications, a regional operator that has gained over 300,000 customers in just a few years. One thing is for sure though: unlimited cellular plans aren’t a passing fad, and $50 per month isn’t the lower bound for monthly unlimited cellular service.

Read more at CNet

Boost Mobile opened its first exclusive retail store on East Monument Street last week, joining competitor Cricket, which started offering cellular service in the Baltimore-Washington region through its stores at the end of June. Both companies also have networks of independent dealers that sell phones and minutes.

“The Baltimore market has always been one of our key markets,” said Traci Jovanoic, Boost Mobile director of indirect sales. “It has been in our top 10 for locations.”

One of the bright spots in the telecom industry has been the no contract phone service providers like Boost, a subsidiary of Sprint Nextel Corp., and Cricket, owned by publicly traded Leap Wireless Inc. The companies’ marketing strategy is to charge one monthly fee for unlimited calling and texting, or a la carte options to build customized plans.

Read more at The Daily Record

Ready Mobile PCS’s new rates aren’t the most competitive out there, with Tracfone’s Straight Talk service weighing in at a mere $45 per month on Verizon’s network, but the rates are better than contract customers are paying on AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon. Plus, if you like Sprint’s netowrk but don’t want to budget for a whole month of serice, Ready Mobile PCS fits the bill nicely with their new refills.

If you want a little more info, the press release detailing the new plans is here.

The $45 price point is impressive because it undercuts all other prepaid unlimited offerings, and in some cases even those of unlimited-only providers like MetroPCS and CricKet. The Straight Talk plan includes unlimited voice, text and directory assistance, with 30MB of data access thrown in for web browsing and picture messaging.

In comparison, Boost Mobile charges $50 for similar service (albeit with unlimited low-speed data and walkie talkie access on the Nextel network). Virgin Mobile’s unlimited voice plan is $50, messaging is another $10 and the equivalent amount of data access is right between $5 and $10 price points on Virgin Mobile’s lineup.  Even CricKet and MetroPCS cost $45 to $50 per month for an equivalent amount of unlimited features, though CricKet and MetroPCS have taxes and fees in addition to their plan base rate well in excess of the sales tax on Straight Talk refills. Competing on the same turf, Page Plus Cellular’s unlimited plan is $2.49 per day (or roughly $75 per month) for voice alone.

One big benefit of Straight Talk over its rivals is the Verizon network, which is now the U.S.’s largest cellular network by land area as well as population covered. This is due to Verizon’s recent acquisition of Alltel, a predominantly rural carrier that also had (and still has, for the moment) a few high-quality prepaid plans. Verizon’s network was more far-reaching than Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, CricKet or MetroPCS’s networks even before the Alltel buyout, but now there’s simply no contest as to which carrier has the biggest territory covered by its own towers.

There are some drawbacks to the Straight Talk service. Phone selection is rather limited; the Motorola Razr v3a isn’t exactly the hottest phone on the block, sporting a mere VGA camera. None of the three phones available has high speed data access, but then again that omitted feature might be a benefit since you’re less likely to use up the included 30MB of data before the month’s up. There are also a few taxes and fees on top of the $45 monthly service charge, but these are about the same as sales tax on the $45 top-up, and Boost Mobile is the only big provider that doesn’t have such fees. Lastly, Verizon’s coverage, while rather enormous as single-carrier networks go, isn’t quite ubiquitous, and when you’re off their network, you’re offline except for 911 calls. This is in contrast to Tracfone, whose coverage footprint is identical to whatever contract carrier’s network (usually AT&T or Verizon) their phones are activated on.

In sum, Straight Talk’s unlimited plan is sure to please 99% of the folks looking to talk and text without limits for a bearable price wherever they happen to be. If you want a do-it-all phone with oodles of data, Tracfone makes the message clear: go elsewhere. But for talking and texting around town and across the country, consider the $45 gauntlet thrown…a rather tenacious gauntlet, considering $45 won’t even buy you an add-a-line with the iPhone, once you add in the required data plan, taxes and fees.

Though their site doesn’t show a direct table as to which destinations are included in the unlimited plan, MetroPCS does include a tool to check whether a given phone unmber would be included in the plan. They also state that the destinations covered number over one thousand, in more than one hundred countries.

The unlimited direct-dial international calling feature (no 800 numbers or PINs to remember) is even available when using coverage provided by MetroPCS partner carriers, which include, among other providers, CricKet.

With features like this one and phones like the Samsung Finesse coming to MetroPCS, they’re more and more becoming a solid alternative to contract-based carriers on a feature, as well as a price, basis.