Road-Testing Republic Wireless and Its $19 Mobile Plan
Posted by
Lee H. Badman
February 22, 2013
Whether you pay the bills for a fleet of corporate smartphones or just write the check for your own device, you know smartphones aren't cheap. Even "free" phones have their true costs buried in the monthly subscription price and non-removable bloatware that they frequently come loaded with. My own plan runs me about $90 a month for voice and a grandfathered unlimited data plan with Verizon, so I was intrigued by Republic Wireless's offer of all-you-can-eat voice, data and texting for $19 a month.
Republic Wireless is a relative newcomer to the highly competitive mobile market, and touts itself as the no-contract, $19-per-month unlimited service that "runs on freedom." Actually, it runs on Wi-Fi. The service is a hybrid approach that will use local Wi-Fi networks when and where available, switching to Sprint's cellular network only when not in range of an 802.11 signal.
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More >>I spend a lot of time around multiple wireless networks every day, so I was intrigued. After engaging Republic and being assured that, yes, unlimited truly means just that (as opposed to other carriers that define unlimited as a few gigabytes per month), I soon found myself with an evaluation phone: the Motorola Defy XT handset. As part of Republic's model, this is the only handset that can currently be used on its network, and it'll cost you about $250 up front.
So how did it work out? I can't say that I was blown away by any part of the experience, but, at the same time, for $19 a month you'd certainly get what you're paying for. The Android-based Defy is a nice enough smartphone with decent features. However, Republic's model is 3G-only right now, so the list of "what you don't get" certainly includes the 4G experience that is fast becoming the de facto standard for mobile connectivity.
Republic's support model is also 100% online, and you won't talk to a live body under any circumstances. Republic says that most support calls are related to billing, and since there is no room for confusion on the monthly $19 bill, the online-only model should suffice. I don't buy this argument, but then again, the customer support you get from full-price carriers isn't that great, either.
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The data side of Republic Wireless is on par with other 3G services I've used from Verizon and AT&T in my area in upstate New York. As for voice calls, I was consistently underwhelmed. I used the Republic phone on my Cisco and Aerohive secure and open wireless networks that are of known excellent quality, and never really could shake an echo. When on the Sprint network things were fine, but the Wi-Fi side--where Republic wants you to do most of your calling-- wouldn't work for me in the long term. Republic pointed me to the technical details of a pending firmware update that is supposed to fix the echo problem.
My biggest curiosity, and the reason I wanted to test Republic to begin with, was around how a call in progress would behave when transitioning from Wi-Fi to the cellular network. Granted, Republic estimates that most calls will come from fixed locations, but it's reasonable to expect that a call will occasionally start on Wi-Fi and hand off to 3G when the caller moves. Though I was hoping there would be a technical triumph in the form of seamless transition, it just isn't the case. The call drops and immediately self-dials for reconnection when moving from 802.11 to 3G. It's clear Republic and Sprint are trying to crack the same technical challenges that the rest of the industry is up against.
Republic Wireless is interesting for price alone, and will work for many consumers that can tolerate the idiosyncrasies that come with the service. It's not marketed as a business-class mobile product, nor is it ready to be one. That said, more competition is good for the entire market. And when Republic or anyone else solves the Wi-Fi-to-mobile hand-off challenge, I'll be ready to sign on. I might even pay $20 a month for that.
Comments:
2013-02-28T22:46:00
As an A-waver, allow me to share my experiences with Republic Wireless (RW). This is an example of how rushing to market easily turns into a DISASTER. This company had a good philosophy and a good vision at launch back in November 2011, but it quickly-within only a year-turned into a quagmire. By not offering any customer service or support, (beyond their self-help, figure-it-out-for-yourself type of forums) and strapping excited customers with an aged first-offering phone, RW pretty much set the tone for how they wanted to do business in the MVNO market; which equaled "you get what you pay for." And while $19/month is a very attractive marketing scheme, that's all it pretty much ever amounted to, a scheme. Despite having formed this division in Jan. 2010, and after having nearly 2 years to plan for their introduction to the market, RW/Bandwidth fell flat on their face with failing e-commerce systems and a lack of appropriate provisions to meet demand. First impressions are lasting impressions and their unwillingness to have everything polished and procured before launching the service has given them the image of a 'fly by the seat of your pants' type of company. And to date, that continues to remain their preferred method of conducting business. Since then, they have made mistake after mistake in moving forward. First, by telling early adopters that they would no longer support the first phone that people were required to buy (they don't allow BYOD), then by getting caught in a scandal of trying to offer a lesser second phone -a single band only- when compared to their first. Despite constant customer complaints and requests that they offer some form of phone support, and despite the fact that they received a $22 million private investment in 2011, $100 million in revenues in 2011 and $120 million in revenues in 2012, this company remains stubborn and defiant to customers' requests to better their customer service. Until they fundamentally change the way they view customers, a treasured commodity instead of a cash-cow for income, I doubt this company will appeal to many and will remain a small niche alternative that won't garner a large following or customer base. While I was excited about their prospects at first, I now advise others to avoid them and stick with more proven market disruptors like StraightTalk, Ting, T-mobile $30. If you are a frustrated customer of RW or plan to give their mediocre service a try in the future, here is a way to reach someone to help with problems that you may encounter during your adventure with them (and trust me, it will be an adventure).
919-297-1100 - Jim Mulcahy, manager of RW (jmulcahy@bandwidth.com)
919-297-1010 - David Morken, CEO (dmorken@bandwidth.com)
919-439-7335 - Sean Rivers, director of customer service/admin of forums (srivers@bandwidth.com)
919-297-1040 - Joe Merrill
919-297-1100 - automated company directory. Dial by last name to reach somebody.
Amie Ashworth, customer experience manager
Ben Armstrong, product manager
Tim Jones, cell phone product specialist
Sarah Davis, admin of forums
Brent Pentecost, admin of forums
Doc Shufelt, operations
Jon Schniepp, engineering
Jessica (Orr) Janes, marketing
Diane Migliaccio-"Tiggs", contractor/temp for RW, not an actual staff member.
PS: I found all of this information at the Yelp and Howard Forums websites.
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2013-02-28T19:52:33
Watrbuffalo - though we can't share details on those scenarios just yet, we do always look to take care of our existing members as new products come available. We'll offer a fair solution for upgrading to a new device, when the time comes.
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2013-02-27T20:23:18
Is a good question, but I'd have to defer to Republic Wireless on it. Drop 'em a line!
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2013-02-26T14:55:23
Will you be able to switch phones once these new devices are released? Will we have to buy those phones with a whole new plan as well?
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2013-02-24T02:50:31
I don't disagree, but that's not what the service is marketed as.
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2013-02-24T02:49:04
Even better! Thanks for the clarification, and best of luck to Republic as you evolve.
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2013-02-23T03:31:09
Thanks for the article, Mr. Badman. We’re glad you took the time to give Republic Wireless a test drive. It sounds like you gave it a fair run.
You mentioned the online support model Republic Wireless uses and it’s true, we do offer support online first. But it’s not true that our support is 100% online or that you won’t speak to a human being under any circumstances.
We employ plenty of folks (the human type) and 30 of them are focused solely on support. They respond to a lot of customer support tickets via email, and when the situation warrants it, they can (and will) pick up the phone. Though a lot of support questions in the wireless industry are related to billing, we know there are many other things on our customers’ minds.
And you’re right that we are offering 3G right now, but we do have plans to release several new devices later this year – some options with 4G (LTE) data speeds.
Again, we appreciate the review and your time. We hope you’ll test out one of our new devices later this year and tell us what you think.
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2013-02-22T15:29:01
The funny thing is that at $19/mo Republic is cost competitive with fixed VOIP providers even without the Sprint connection.
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