MobileX has announced a distribution deal with Walmart. Initially, MobileX service will first be available online at walmart.com with a later release to Walmart brick and mortar locations:
Additionally, MobileX has tweaked its “Basic Unlimited” offerings. Unlimited talk & text plus 5 GB of high speed cell data is $14.88.
Unlimited talk & text plus 30 GB of high speed data is $24.88. MobileX also bundles unlimited talk & text to Canada and Mexico (otherwise a $4.50 add-on) with the 30 GB “Basic Unlimited” plan.
I’d say MobileX is taking aim at Mint Mobile and Boost Infinite with its “Basic Unlimited” plans. The 5 GB offering slightly undercuts Mint’s $15 5 GB pricing with no multi-month commitment required. The 30 GB offering slightly undercuts Boost Infinite’s base offering and includes unrestricted hotspot use (a $10 add-on with Boost Infinite).
For those who remember Republic’s old refund plans from circa 2015, what MobileX calls its “You” plan is the same concept updated for today’s market pricing with an AI data use prediction engine added.
Another article mostly about MobileX’s distribution agreement with Walmart:
Some highlights:
Shares of Dish, which has seen its wireless customer base drop to nearly 7 million from 9 million in 2020,
I don’t know I’d go as far as to say the simultaneous drop in the value of DISH stock is a direct result of the MobileX/Walmart deal, however, the loss of 2 million wireless subscribers across its brands and DISH Wireless’ ongoing challenges rightfully concern the market.
The US ranks 219th out of 237 countries in the world when it comes to accessing affordable data, according to a new study.
I have not had a chance to check out the Verizon coverage in my area. The coverage map looks good, though. If I did not have any free hotspot with my BI plan, I would probably give mobileX a try.
I know the question wasn’t for me, but… I like shopping brick and mortar stores when possible. The stores and the people that work there make my community a nice place to live. The guy who has worked in the electronics department at my local Walmart has been there over 20 years. When they mark stuff down for clearance he knows the kind of stuff I like and will make it a point to stop me and let me know.
I’m certainly not opposed to shopping in brick and mortar stores. And, retail distribution in addition to online options is critical if one hopes to be a serious market competitor.
If, however, I’m aware of and interested in a particular product or service and it’s only available for purchase online, lack of brick and mortar options won’t deter me. Awareness in the market is the best reason I can think of for not limiting one’s distribution to D2C channels.
My wife and I have been using MobileX exclusively since August. Our area in upstate NY slants towards Verizon, which is what MobileX uses. There was some back and forth with MobileX email support getting started. They were very, very responsive and positive to work with. I strongly recommend contacting them before switching to make sure your phone is compatible and to open a help ticket if you go forward with this. They send QR codes and other tips via email that exceed the online instructions. Email response time is less than 12 hours, usually within 2 hours. I ordered physical SIMs for our iPhone SE (2nd Gen).
Although I began by using the AI-generated plan of .3 gig per month, for the first two months, I switched to 1 gig per month since I get immediately reimbursed for unused data at the beginning of the next billing cycle, and I use more data on trips for mapping, etc. It works out to be about $10 per month per phone, including tax. Breakdown, copied and pasted from the latest monthly statement:
Access period start date: 2023/10/11 16:06:10
Access period end date: 2023/11/10 16:06:10
Data: 1.00 GB
Data amount: $2.10
Talk & Text: $4.50
Duration: 30 days
Platform fee: $1.98
Subtotal: $8.58
Rollover data: 0 GB
Rollover credit: $1.39
Taxes: $2.66
Total price: $9.85
The data has been responsive nearby and while on trips. Voice and texting are just fine. So far, no downside for us.
I’m happy to hear MobileX is working well for you. If I hadn’t already discovered Mobi first, it’s likely MobileX would be more than an experiment for me currently. Time will tell what the future holds…
By now, chances are MobileX SIMs are available at a Walmart near you. They’re popping up not only in multiple Walmart Supercenters near me but also at multiple local Walmart Neighborhood Markets.
Today, MobileX announced their CEO’s long promised call for independent dealers:
It’s a different marketing approach from the likes of Mint Mobile, US Mobile and others who emphasize (or exclusively use) online distribution. I’m comfortable shopping online and having purchases delivered to my door but I like brick and mortar options as well.
Agreed, it is much easier to convince my parents into a new service if I can pick out a card/plan from Walmart. Although both me and my parents will stick with boost as long as they honor the “forever” discount (and remain in business).
I perceive MobileX simply wants more ways to sell its product. It’s not like Walmart provides any kind of post-sales customer support.
We’ve been using MobileX on our 2nd gen iPhone SE’s since August without major issues and very few minor issues.
We pay for unlimited text and talk, plus 1 gig of data for each phone, per month. Since we each use less than 1 gig (MobileX reimburses for unused data) our two plans combined invariably cost less than $20 per month, total.
We don’t bother with the predictive AI feature.
From the MobileX subreddit, I perceive that customers who don’t expect much in exchange for not paying much (and live in Verizon country) (aka, “us”) are happier with this service than those who are heavy cell phone users and/or travel internationally.
We just want to talk/text with family and friends, avoid getting lost on car trips, and swap photos of our cats. MobileX is fine.
If you ask me, selling more product should be every company’s goal.
Yup, just like the old Republic’s refund plans circa 2015 but with better pricing! Since MobileX is not primary service for me, I’ve opted for metered talk & text as well. If they analyzed it, I suspect that just as with data, many would find they don’t need unlimited talk & text either.
Nor do I but I think it can be useful for those who have no idea how much data they actually use (which is probably most folks).
MobileX’s “Basic Unlimited” plans" are quite market competitive for up to 30 GB of high speed data (same as Boost Infinite and US Mobile’s “Unlimited Starter”). Currently, other than possibly Google Fi, no MVNO is a great choice for international travel. It’s far more cost effective to acquire a local (in country) SIM when outside the U.S.
I’ve seen posts by users who complain of data running slower on MobileX and liking Visible better, because faster, more reliable connectivity. I haven’t had this problem because I’m careful about using data-hungry apps such as YouTube when I’m on WiFi. So these users seem less concerned about value, more interested in the quality of their date access. My adult children consider data plans from T-Mobile a good value though they each spend about $100 per month per line! And, they stare off into space when I talk about MobileX and my several years with Repubic Wireless.
Okay let’s make this thread about cat photos. I like yours, here are mine:
For anyone with potential interest, MobileX is offering its SIM at half price ($4.88 as opposed to the regular price of $9.88). After buying the SIM and activating, there’s a 10-day AI powered trial. The idea is the AI learns your typical data use during the 10-day trial then suggests an appropriate plan.
Even if not currently shopping your mobile service, MobileX’s pricing makes for an ideal backup solution (you’ll need a dual SIM phone) if one’s primary service in on AT&T’s or T-Mobile’s network. MobileX uses Verizon’s network. If you liked the old RW’s refund plans and Verizon’s coverage works for you, you’ll like MobileX.
Since the above sounds like something of a sales pitch, I’ll point out MobileX does not currently offer a referral program. I just like pointing out there are still mobile providers in the market innovating in various ways. MobileX is one of them.
but with better pricing! Since MobileX is not primary service for me, I’ve opted for metered talk & text as well. If they analyzed it, I suspect that just as with data, many would find they don’t need unlimited talk & text either.
