Prepaid Cell Phones: Virgin Mobile Attacks Rivals With Industry-First $79.99 Unlimited Plan

The all-you-can-talk price wars have begun in the world of cell phones. Following the Sprint, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile offering of unlimited-calling plans for $99.99 a month, Virgin Mobile retaliated on Tuesday by besting its rivals with a $79.99 “Totally Unlimited” plan.

In digging deeper, though, we find that Virgin Mobile’s valiant new effort comes with two distinct and troublesome catches: no texting or data usage. While the other carriers include these services, Virgin Mobile bolts them on as additional fees with its new “unlimited” plan.

Still, with Virgin Mobile you needn’t bind yourself to a service contract and you can pay by cash and no credit card. Continue reading for a full analysis of Virgin Mobile’s new “Totally Unlimited” plan, which will activate on July 1, 2008.