Walmart is leaping further into the wireless fray with the launch of a house-brand postpaid cell phone service running on T-Mobile USA's network.
Walmart Family Mobile will directly compete with sales of wireless services already being sold by the big box retailer, including prepaid service from Tracfone and Sprint. The company claims its service will save up to $1,200 per year for a family of three compared with postpaid plans from AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
The no-contract service features unlimited talk and texting for $45 per month for the first line, with each additional line on the account costing $25 per month. Each activated account comes with 100MB of free data, with refill cards available for purchase online or in stores.
The data refill cards also can be used to make international calls at 5 cents per minute to any mobile or landline number in Mexico, Canada, Argentina, Belgium, Bermuda, China (including Hong Kong), Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.
More information will be available later this week at Walmart's dedicated website for the service, which will launch in stores on Sept. 20.