The Skinny on Jump Mobile

Jump Mobile, the name for this prepaid wireless service, was probably meant to sound young and cool. Still, the service had a couple of cool features that appeals to even a fuddy duddy like me (and maybe you).

2014 Update:

This service is no longer supported. They were bought out by Cricket. For a while their website would go to a dedicated page on Cricket's website recommending a switch to the Cricket PayGo plan. However, shortly afterwards T-Mobile acquired Cricket, and now there is no longer any mention of Jump Mobile.

Coverage

But first you have to be in the service area. It is a fairly new service, so they still have limited coverage, meaning there are quite a few states where they don't have service. Even in the states in which they provide service, they offer it in only certain parts of the state. Still, if you luck out, there are some attractive features.

Rates

Get free incoming calls, and free incoming and outgoing text messages as long as you're not roaming.

Flat rate

There is a flat rate, 10 cents per minute, on outgoing calls from your calling area. Roaming charges are extra, and probably quite high, as smaller operators are unlikely to get particularly good rates from the other carriers when using their networks.

You can buy minutes in increments of $10, $20, $30 and $50 with those funds expiring in 7, 15, 30, and 90 days, respectively. Thus if you buy the $50 worth of airtime which expires in 90 days, you’re looking at a cost of about $17 per month.

Overall Cost

One year's worth of airtime bought in $50 increments would cost roughly $204 for airtime. If you add in the cost of the phone ($70) you get a cost of $275 per year minimum.

This could be a good deal if you plan on getting a lot of incoming calls.

Jump Mobile Phone or Phones?

Yes, the heading was originally just singular. There is only one phone for sale online, the UTStarcom CDM7025 – a basic flip phone with voice-activated dialing but no camera. Costs $69.99

However, when you look at the User Guides available, you can see that there is a greater selection of their phones at retail stores.

Retail Locations

Phones are available at smaller retail chains (Dollar General, Family Dollar, etc.), Mom and Pop stores as well as pawn shops -- somewhat low-end.