In an effort to cater to mobile phone owners who primarily text and browse the Internet, Charge announced on May 4 that it intends to launch a new $10 per month SMS and data plan. The mobile Internet provider will also provide a $20 per month plan for individuals who want unlimited voice.
If smartphone owners want to use their device only for Internet browsing, Charge will provide data for $3 per month. In the event that it isn't entirely used in a one-month span, it rolls over for future use.
Charge's CEO Andrew Benton specifies that there is no data cap, but rather, a pay-as-you-go type of model. The company charges $13 per gigabyte of data (when you buy 3 GB or more), and Benton says it intends to drop data costs later down the line.
Charge originally started as Bolt, a digital messenger app. In February 2014, it evolved to include free calling between Bolt users via Internet. By 2015, it was going by its new name, Charge, and making plans to further improve its messaging capabilities.
"The app is a work-in-progress, and there's lots more to do," the Charge team wrote on its blog, following the rebranding announcement.
Fast-forward to March 2016 when Charge announced the launch of an LTE mobile data service for tablets and smartphones. Like other mobile service providers on the market, Charge promised that it wouldn't be binding customers to contracts at the time of its announcement.
"We believe people should be free from arbitrary lock-in," the Charge team wrote on its blog. "So there are no contracts or monthly plans, and all data is prepaid. We believe people deserve simple and transparent pricing. So there are no activation or overage fees. Most importantly, we believe people should get to keep what they buy. So your data never expires."
The LTE mobile data program can be used with any Sprint LTE-capable device, as well as Apple and Google Nexus devices, regardless of their carrier.
Charge is marketing itself as the provider of "data without restrictions." Upon signing up, customers receive a SIM card from Charge. From there, they can pay-as-they-go, and Charge says it's working on supporting GSM-only devices in the future.
