A new player has joined the ultra-competitive U.S. MVNO market. And it has ties to an MVNO with some solid experience in the space.
Mango Mobile quietly launched in the last few weeks offering plans at several tiers, which includes unlimited global text: one $19 plan buys unlimited talk as well as $5 of free international talk and 100 MB of LTE data per month; another $19 plan offers 250 voice minutes, $5 free international talk and 1 GB of LTE data.
A $25-a-month plan includes unlimited talk, $10 minutes of free international talk and 1 GB of LTE data. And a multi-line plan is available for $16 per month, per line. Users can buy additional data allotments with each plan.
Mango, which reportedly uses T-Mobile’s network, markets itself as “4G LTE all the time” at competitive prices. The company doesn’t throttle users when they’ve reached their monthly data caps but encourages them to buy more as necessary “without paying for it up front.” Users who opt not to buy more data are hard-capped, presumably, and can’t access more until their billing cycle renews.
The company also touts its international calling rates, which vary per minute based on which price plan a customer is using.
Mango Mobile is sold online and in independent retail stores, according to the company’s website, but it isn’t clear where – or even whether – it is available in brick-and-mortar locations yet. It is a brand of Red Pocket Mobile, which launched in 2006 and has the rare distinction of offering service on any of the four major wireless networks in the U.S.
FierceWireless initially reported that Mango Mobile was a new property from SDI-Sohel Distributors, which is based in Yonkers, New York. A Red Pocket executive said SDI is simply one of Mango's distributors.
With a decade of experience, Red Pocket is clearly a veteran of an MVNO market where service providers often seem to come and go overnight. Whether Red Pocket can leverage its experience in a cutthroat space with a new brand has yet to be determined.
For more:
- see this PrepaidPhoneNews.com article
- check SDI’s LinkedIn page
- see Mango Mobile’s website
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This piece was clarified Wednesday, Sept. 14, to include input from Red Pocket Mobile.