Republic Wireless, the upstart, low-cost carrier, is getting an upstart, low-cost phone: the Moto G.
Starting in April, Republic plans to offer an 8 GB Moto G for $149, without a contract. The 16GB version is also available for $179. The only other smartphone Republic currently offers, the Moto X, sells for $299. “The Moto G blows every other smartphone in the affordable category out of the water. We are super excited to add it to our line-up," David Morken, co-founder and CEO of Republic Wireless, said in a press release.
Republic offers a hybrid service that uses wi-fi and Sprint's 3G and 4G networks. A 3G data plan is $25 a month. (Republic also offers a 4G plan for $40 a month, but that won't work with a Moto G.) The data plans are unlimited and heavy users aren't throttled, says Republic rep Keith Nowak. Instead, if someone is really taking advantage of the plan, Republic contacts them and persuades them to "work their numbers back in," Nowak says.
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Released in January, the 8GB Moto G normally sells for $179 unlocked and contract-free. Compared to the Moto X, the G has a slightly smaller screen, a slower microprocessor, half the RAM and a 5 megapixel front camera vs. 10 megapixels for the Moto X. Mashable's Christina Warren, however, found the Moto G was "perfectly serviceable as a smartphone to use on the go" and offered "good specs at a great price."
Bandwidth.com, the owner of Republic, hasn't disclosed how many subscribers the service has or what kind of revenues it is posting. CEO David Morken told Mashable last December that Bandwidth, a privately held company, made $150 million in 2013, and is on pace to make $200 million in 2014. Republic, he said, was profitable on a net-subscriber basis, but it will be years until the unit makes up for its startup costs.
Now that smartphone innovation is leveling off and T-Mobile has started offering contract-less plans, a handful of carriers including Republic, Scratch, TextNow and FreedomPop are successfully luring cost-conscious consumers with hybrid Wi-fi/cellular plans with monthly fees well below those of the Big Four: AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile.
In addition to the new phone, Republic also announced on Thursday that it will now offer the Kitkat 4.4 Android update to new and current Moto X users. In addition, the company now allows reactivations of old phones. Now users who have an old Republic Wireless phone can give away or sell that their old devices. “With a large family of my own, I understand the need for reactivations –- many customers told us they wanted to pass along their older devices to family members or friends. While we made reactivations a priority, technically it took a good bit of work and testing to ensure it would work smoothly," Morken said in a release.