Free goodies from Project Fi at the airport in San Jose

Posted on by Jules Wang

The Project Fi Travel Trolley is what Google calls a vending machine full of sleeping masks, socks, charging cables and so on that’s currently sitting across gate 25 of San Jose International Airport. And everything in there is all free… if you’re subscribed to the MVNO service.

If you happen to be taxiing in or out of Silicon Valley for the next while and happen to pass the Travel Trolley by, call up *#*#359948434#*#* on your phone (that’s “FLYWITHFI” on the number pad). You’ll get taken to a page on the Project Fi app with a QR code you can scan at the machine.

You’ll only be able to grab an item from the machine once every 24 hours, so choose wisely — you’ll likely not be able to go double-dipping unless you’re a Project Fi fan who flies into work every day, you jetsetter.

Can’t get out to SJC? Maybe wait until the trolley moves off to somewhere else. Or, get some free apps and referral credits with the Fi for the Holidays campaign.

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If you’re on it, get a $20 Project Fi referral credit through January 11

Posted on by Jules Wang

You’ll stand to gain up to $200 this holiday season if you’re a subscriber to Google’s MVNO service, Project Fi.

As part of its “A World of Thanks” campaign to celebrate winter’s arrival. Last week, users got a $10 credit for use in the Google Play Store. This week, for every person that signs up for Project Fi at your behest, you’ll get credited with $20 after they get through their first month. And they’ll get $20, too.

Make sure you get your ten peeps together by January 11 to be eligible for the monies. No, they can’t just join your group, they have to be on their own plans.

Don’t forget to experience the second week of little goodies and quizzes, too with the “Let the holidays move you” diorama.

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Holiday perks for Project Fi users include $10 in Google Play credit

Posted on by Jules Wang

Google’s MVNO effort Project Fi is getting its customers into the spirit this holiday season with some gift giving over the next four weeks. And it’s all in “a world of thanks” to the customers who have made it possible.

If you’re with Fi, head to the source link and click through to find this week’s hidden surprises — five of them are entrapped within certain objects in a wireline wonderland. A couple are some insta-picture telegrams you can share with relatives and friends of snowglobes. One is a quiz on how people from around the world greet each other. Another bit tells you how to set a voicemail greeting with Project Fi.

A World of Thanks (Week 1)

But the most important bit is the $10 in Google Play credit you’ll get. The promo code must be retained by January 1 and redeemed by January 31.

We suppose more perks are on the way, but we’ll have to wait until December 12 to find them out.

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Republic Wireless is now its own separate company, will offer big discounts on phones and plans soon

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

Bandwidth’s WiFi-first baby is all grown up and ready to take on America’s “big four” mobile carriers by itself, moving on from under the former parent company’s wing just six short months after graduating to T-Mobile support in addition to an older Sprint partnership.

Granted, Republic’s independence quest was still completed with a massive $30 million cash infusion from North Carolina-based communications technology business Bandwidth.com. But this is merely supposed to mark the beginning of an “even more exciting next chapter ahead” in the successful history of the now autonomous MVNO pioneer.

Don’t worry, Republic Wireless plans no changes to any of its “day-to-day operations or contracts.” That crazy cheap cellular service isn’t getting price hikes, limitations or monthly data downgrades. Quite the contrary, as purchasing the Moto Z Play between December 7 and 12 will net you both a cool $100 discount on the phone’s regular $449 charge, and half a year of no cost contract-free unlimited talk and text, plus 1GB cell data a month.

Yes, you read that right. The no-contract Moto Z Play shall set you back just $349 next week from Republic Wireless, including six complimentary months of service, typically worth a grand total of $120. Then, between December 13 and 19, you can get the as-yet unreleased Huawei Ascend 5W for $129 ($50 off list), with the same “unheard of” no cost WiFi-first service offer.

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FreedomPop launches expansive FreedomShop refurbished smartphone program

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

Why would anyone ever bring their phones to Sprint coverage-relying MVNO FreedomPop as opposed to just sticking with the Now Network, opting for one of the three other major US cellular service providers, or at least picking a more established second-tier carrier?

Well, we probably should remind you this is the ambitious startup that launched a global SIM with free mobile data across 25 countries a little while back. On FreedomPop, you can also enjoy a 100 percent free “Basic Plan”, including 500 texts, 200 minutes, and 500MB each month, or pay just $19.99 for unlimited talk, text, and 1GB data.

Don’t forget about ubiquitous Wi-Fi calling and texting, free unlimited calling and texting between FreedomPop phones, and a sweet “no contract, no commitment, cancel anytime” promise.

Starting today, a brand-new FreedomShop is at your disposal too for super-affordable purchases of, well, disposable handhelds. “Certified pre-owned” is actually the politically correct term, 30-day money back guarantee, 90-day warranty and all.

Basically, you risk nothing trying out a “like-new” $170 iPhone 5s, for instance, $40 refurbished second-gen Moto E, $280 LG G4, $120 Nexus 5, $450 Galaxy S7, $390 iPhone 6, and the list goes on. Who knows, you may find those oldies are still goldie material, and switch to FreedomPop for good to help this ambitious mobile operator sustain an “expansive and unique supply chain” of used phones, aimed at undercutting the “typical re-sellers found on eBay or Amazon.”

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Project Fi offering group pricing at $15 extra per person per month

Posted on by Jules Wang

Rumors were leading up to this move, now, it’s real. Google’s multiple-network virtual operation, Project Fi, now has a Group Plan. And it’s pretty damn simple.Anyone can sign up to Project Fi to lead a group account. Every account has room ...

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TracFone acquires Walmart Family Mobile from T-Mobile

Posted on by Jules Wang

The largest mobile virtual network operator in the US has gotten even larger.T-Mobile has confirmed to FierceWireless that it has sold off its Walmart Family Mobile prepaid operation to TracFone. The new owners have added 1.4 million subscribers to the 26 million it was reported to have in its management last year. No terms of the deal were released. Walmart Family Mobile continues to operate on ...

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Google applies for 3.5GHz testing at FCC maybe for its own Project Fi network

Posted on by Jules Wang

The race to gigabit home internet speeds has been on for years and conventional ISPs have only recently attempted to respond to Google’s expansion of its Fiber service by (finally) improving their services. Could the search giant also be looking to shake up the cellular industry as well?Well, with an FCC application to vaguely “operate in and adjacent to” the 3.5GHz band of shared-use spectrum for ...

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Krew Mobile gives you three phone lines for $20 (sort of) so we took it for a spin

Posted on by Adam Doud

Finding a bargain among carriers is a little difficult. The major players all have their promotions, of course, but then there are a host of MVNOs to consider. One such MVNO is making a bit of a splash in the industry – Krew Mobile. Krew Mobile is offering three phone lines for an introductory price of $19.95 per month. You’re probably thinking, “$19.95 each right? That’s a helluva deal!” but no. It’s $19.95 total for three lines – with a caveat here or there.Krew Mobile is designed for parents and kids in a sort of ...

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International Project Fi speeds upped, Nexuses discounted

Posted on by Jules Wang

Project Fi is at it again. And we’re not just talking about the Nexus 5X like we usually do.That phone, as offered Google’s MVNO service, has been discounted once again by $150 to $199 for the base model. But Project Fi is also taking $150 off the Nexus 6P, now starting at $349 with activation. The sale goes on for about a week starting at 1pm Eastern today.But the biggest deal in this story doesn’t just ...

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AT&T MVNO H2O Wireless upping data buckets for pricier brackets

Posted on by Jules Wang

It’s tough being a smaller virtual network operator these days, especially when you see all the growth get sucked up, monopolized by T-Mobile’s own MetroPCS. Well, beyond the first-party prepaid carriers, you can see that players like Simple Mobile and Republic Wireless are still trying.Take H2O Wireless for example, which runs off of AT&T’s network. All of its ...

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New Sprint MVNO Tello brings prepaid pressure to Ting

Posted on by Jules Wang

Tello might be the name of a walkie-talkie app, but it’s now also the name of a Sprint virtual network operator. It is the latest prepaid carrier to offer custom buckets of talk time, texts and data to prospective users.One postpaid carrier, Ting, happens to be a competing Sprint MVNO. It’s now being put at a heavy price disadvantage if users want more with Tello’s introduction. One sore point is in the data offerings: Ting’s price of $29 gets users up to 2GB before going into per-megabyte prorated charges while Tello offers 2GB of LTE data for $21 and up to 5GB of ...

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Nexus 5X still $199 with a Project Fi subscription until May 8

Posted on by Jules Wang

Still holding out on Project Fi? If you have been considering the pros and cons of Google’s amalgamated MVNO service, you have another 30 days to think about them.Google’s been offering the Nexus 5X with your subscription to Project Fi for the discounted price of $199. That promotion was supposed to end today. Turns out ...

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Project Fi drops its invite requirement and scores a nice Nexus 5X deal

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

It was just about a year ago that Google decided to move beyond developing smartphone software, delivering smartphone services, and selling smartphone hardware to complete its cradle-to-the-grave package of mobile offerings with its own cellular service, launching the Project Fi MVNO. But while anyone can sign up for a Gmail account or buy a Nexus phone, it’s been much trickier to make Google your cellular provider, both due to the limited amount of hardware that supports Project Fi’s ...

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US Mobile now carrying Xiaomi, Meizu devices

Posted on by Jules Wang

GSM Nation off-shoot and T-Mobile MVNO US Mobile announced today through PCMag that it was carrying Xiaomi and Meizu phones for its subscribers to purchase. It was a curious get for the carrier as both manufacturers have yet to produce phones fully compatible with US GSM and LTE networks and as we’re about to find out, we ...

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