Most US consumers are familiar with the top-tier wireless service providers in Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. They’re the so-called “Big Four” and they collectively cover some 450 million subscribers in the US.
If you thought that’s about everyone, you’d be wrong. In fact, for every one of the big operators listed above there are a couple of other service providers in the space. These Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) include the likes of Metro, Boost Mobile, and Cricket Wireless.
Let’s take a closer look at another one, Virgin Mobile, and learn about it the brand, its rates, and features.
About Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile operates in the United States as a Sprint subsidiary and utilizes the tier-one carrier’s CDMA/LTE networks. With thousands of retail partner locations around the country, it’s easy to find top-up cards and handsets. And, while it transitioned into an iPhone-only carrier in 2017, it has quietly returned to offering Android phones.
What are Virgin Mobile’s rate plans?
Virgin’s rate plans, like nearly app MVNO offerings, are no-contract, meaning there’s no long-term agreement or cancellation fees.
- $35/month: Unlimited talk, text and 5GB of high-speed data
- $45/month: Unlimited talk, text and 10GB of high-speed data
- $60/month: Unlimited talk, text and high-speed data
For the small segment of heavy data users, Virgin Mobile will de-prioritize the speed once 35GB of usage occurs within a billing cycle.
There are no overage charges for hitting the data allowance; speeds are throttled to 2G for the remainder of the billing period.
What other options are available?
Virgin Mobile customers can add mobile hotspot to their plan if they’d like to share the data connection. Options break down like so:
- $3 per day – 500MB
- $5 per month – 1GB
- $10 per month – 2GB
Phone insurance cost $7 per month and protects against damage, theft, or loss. Subscribers who wish to make international calls can do so for as low as $5 per month.
What sort of phone selection does Virgin Mobile offer?
Looking at the current Android phones offered through Virgin Mobile, we see plenty of familiar names, including LG, Samsung, Motorola, and Coolpad.
There aren’t many devices to choose from, but the mixture seems to cover all price points. On the high end we find the Samsung Galaxy S10e at $750.
Can I use my own phone with Virgin Mobile?
Sorry, Android users. Currently, Virgin Mobile only supports iPhones under its “Bring Your Own Device” program. You can check to see if your iPhone is compatible at the Virgin Mobile website.
