Republic Wireless is an upstart taking on some of the biggest behemoths in American industry—the major cell carriers—armed with WiFi as its main weapon. Republic keeps costs low by encouraging the use of WiFi on cell phones, though customers can still access 3G voice and data services, if needed. Though the service has some drawbacks, including a high startup cost, the previously limited service no longer has formal limits on usage, and it could pose a serious challenge to the standard carrier contract.

Did we mention it costs only $19 a month?

We love WiFi



Republic Wireless is a carrier meant for people who have limited use for carrier connectivity, people who are always near WiFi access points. Of course, it's already possible to set up a WiFi-only "phone" on the cheap; an old Android phone or iPhone plus some free apps like Google Voice or Skype, and you're in business. Republic's advantage is that it's a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) similar to Virgin Mobile or Boost Mobile, with full access to Sprint's cellular network, but set up so that it can benefit from the improved access provided by WiFi signals.

The idea that that customers should prefer WiFi for the good of the network is not a foreign concept, at least for frugal customers of major carriers. In the past, I wouldn't pay for more than a monthly 200MB from AT&T, and so was always moving between safe WiFi havens, chastizing myself for outrageous indulgences like playing YouTube videos over 3G. But Republic takes it to a new level.

When the service first launched in beta last year, Republic had a fair use policy that laid out guidelines for acceptable use. Customers could use 1,200 minutes, 3,600 texts, or 600MB of data on the cell network each month, though this amount could vary based on the proportion of active users offloaded to WiFi ( the rule of thumb was that at least 60 percent usage should be offloaded). The system also used a moving average to track use, so a month heavy on cellular use could be offset by a month followed by lots of WiFi use.

But the usage index and fair use policy were "too difficult of a concept to communicate," Kevin LaHaise, a Republic representative, told Ars. "Whenever we gave example numbers of usage patterns that would be safely within the Fair Use Policy, people thought they were 'caps.' And they weren't."

The guidelines and fair use policy have since been scrapped. Republic is now officially unlimited, and it allows customers to monitor their cellular use online. If customers abuse the the network with tethering over 3G or similar activity, LaHaise says, "we are probably forced to cancel their service." But for the moment, in the beta, the service is really and truly unlimited and will stay that way "until we either achieve economic sustainability or become convinced that doing so is impossible," reads the company's blog post on the subject.

Republic's use of Sprint, the third-best network, as its supplementary cell service can sometimes be disappointing, though the reliability and availability will vary depending upon where you live and where you go. When Sprint's 3G struggles to break 500Kbps on downloads, we might step over a dead body for access to a WiFi signal, so we doubt that Republic will have to push users to prefer WiFi to cell service.

So far, Republic has only one phone available, and it's not one we'd choose for ourselves: an LG Optimus S running Android 2.3 Gingerbread. With a washed-out 320x480 screen, mediocre 3.2-megapixel camera, and 600MHz processor, the phone is serviceable at best. The startup cost is high, too, so look away if you're of a weak constitution—Republic's only phone costs $200 up front. Once you're that far in the hole, though, you're without a contract and paying only $19 per month for cell phone service.

The Republic phone works fine over WiFi when it's making calls, though the Optimus S model isn't much for audio quality—a shame, since there's a lot of bandwidth to work with there. Some customers reported problems with sending texts over WiFi, and we found that texts from the Optimus S sometimes didn't arrive at their destination for upwards of 15 minutes; other times, they arrived instantly.









A phone meant to be connected to WiFi the majority of the time is admittedly not for everyone, but it could work for many. I couldn't personally commit to Republic's service given the LG Optimus S as the only available phone, but if you don't need a cutting-edge device, it's worth checking out.

The selection and quality of handsets will be a hard problem to solve—phones from AT&T and Verizon like the iPhone or Samsung Galaxy Nexus only seem so affordable because their real cost is subsidized by your monthly two-year contract payments. LaHaise says that Republic has no current plans to let users bring their own phones to the service, though it is working on introducing a new phone.

When asked about the scalability of the business model, LaHaise says that "the sky is the limit"—usage of WiFi could allow a business like Republic Wireless to grow very quickly.

The Republic model poses a terrific challenge to the standard two-year, wallet-gouging contracts from "Big Cell," as Republic calls its competitors. But even Republic remains incredibly reliant on one of the major carriers for success. Without Sprint's cellular service to back up the phone's services on WiFi, Republic wouldn't be nearly as compelling. If the current model does turn out to be economically feasible, though, it could offer some much-needed low-priced cell service options for a certain type of user.