Wal-Mart Offers No-Contract Cell Service Plans

Wal-Mart is set to launch a national no-contract cell phone program for consumers who don't want to be tied down to a carrier for years'-long contracts.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer has reached an agreement with Straight Talk, a service of TracFone Wireless, the Miami-based subsidiary of America Movil, owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.

Wal-Mart will offer two Verizon Wireless service plans at 3,200 stores. The available plans are 1,000 minutes and 1,000 texts for $30 a month, or unlimited minutes and texts for $45 a month, according to the Straight Talk Web site. Users must still buy the phone. Straight Talk offers 10 models, ranging from a $29.99 LG 100C up to a $144.99 Motorola Razr V3A, which includes a 30-day unlimited service plan card, according to the Web site. Wal-Mart piloted a no-contract service program with 234 stores this summer.

Wal-Mart's entry into the no-contract world could serve as a "tipping point for millions of consumers who are already considering moving away from expensive contract-based cell phone service," said New Millennium Research Council Executive Director Allen Hepner, in a statement.

Last March, Hepner predicted that millions of cell phone users might shift to lower-cost prepaid plans in order to save money during the recession. Wal-Mart's service plans could prove to be "head turners" for consumers who already associate Wal-Mart as a source for low prices.

According to New Millennium Research Council, the average monthly plan under a contract is about $81 for more than 140 million wireless customers in the United States.

"[They] may now have even more reason to consider switching to a less expensive cell phone option, particularly in a changing environment in which plans for 1,000 minutes are available through Wal-Mart," Hepner said in the statement.

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