Retailer Target confirmed it will team with T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) to launch a new prepaid wireless service dubbed "Brightspot" starting this weekend.
The retailer confirmed the new MVNO offering in a company blog post, days after blog reports and leaks had suggested such a plan was coming. The service will start Oct. 6 and offers two tiers of service.
The first will be a $35 plan with unlimited voice and texting but no data. The second will be a $50 plan with unlimited voice, texting and 1 GB of HSPA+ or LTE data before speeds are throttled down to 2G. Customers can choose a phone to go with the service or can use their own unlocked phone and pick up a SIM card kit, Target said. There will also be a $65 plan that gives users unlimited voice, texting and 4 GB of LTE data before throttling, but that will only be available online and not in stores, according to Target spokeswoman Meghan Cushing. Brightspot will reward customers with $25 Target gift cards for every six months of continued service.
"Target guests have been asking us for new mobile plan options to meet their changing needs, and Brightspot combines the flexibility of a pre-paid program with 4G data on one of the nation's premier networks," John Butcher, Target's vice president of electronics, said in a statement, according to AllThingsD.
Target is not T-Mobile's first retail partner. T-Mobile launched the Walmart Family Mobile prepaid service in 2010, which is available through Walmart stores and carries the T-Mobile brand alongside Walmart's brand.
T-Mobile's other prepaid brands include GoSmart Mobile, which it launched last year, and MetroPCS, which T-Mobile acquired earlier this year and plans to take nationwide.
T-Mobile isn't alone in targeting the prepaid space with multiple brands. Sprint offers service through Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile and other brands. And AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) launched its Aio Wireless prepaid brand earlier this year with nationwide ambitions. AT&T is also in the process of acquiring regional prepaid player Leap Wireless (NASDAQ:LEAP). Leap shareholders will vote on the deal on Oct. 24 and AT&T has said it expects regulatory approval in the first half of 2014. AT&T has said it plans to keep Leap's no-contract Cricket brand and offer Cricket customers access to AT&T's network.
For more:
- see this Target blog post
- see this AllThingsD article
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