Tracfone To Launch Prepaid Verizon Home Phone Connect Service Later This Month
Humberto Saabedra
In a new direction for Tracfone brand StraightTalk Wireless, the Walmart-backed virtual operator has listed the Home Phone Connect basestation first launched by Verizon Wireless in late 2010 for future sale, with the release slated for the 21st of this month for $99.99.
The service itself will consist of two service tiers, a $15 monthly option featuring unlimited local and nationwide long-distance calling with Voicemail, caller-ID, 3-way calling, call waiting, call forwarding, E911 support and 411 access and a $30 monthly tier which includes international long distance to over 1000 destinations.
The service will be sold under the StraightTalk Wireless Home Phone branding and will otherwise be identical to the Verizon Wireless Home Phone Connect offering in terms of service and features offered, with the differences being the prepaid nature of the service as opposed to Verizon’s contract requirement as well as the slightly cheaper monthly service rate for domestic local and long distance calls and the addition of an unlimited international long-distance option.
With this offering, Tracfone and StraightTalk look to expand outside of prepaid cellular and look to compete with more entrenched VOIP and hybrid landline services offered by cable companies. What makes this even more compelling is how it even undercuts the majority of flat-rate mobile phone plans with unlimited service, even when factoring in international long-distance per month, which makes it a viable alternative to relying solely on a mobile phone for contact, especially for freelancers or those needing an additional line for specific reasons.
As with the previous Verizon offering the limitations of this service revolve around the lack of fax capability and incompatibility with most home alarm systems, but customer feedback for the Verizon service has been positive, especially in areas where standard POTS service is generally unavailable due to specific terrain issues or lack of infrastructure development, such as new housing.
