Tucows launches Ting, a contract-free mobile service on Sprint's network

Back in the days of Windows 95, and you may remember downloading a few shareware titles to your Compaq or Packard Bell courtesy of Tucows and its network of mirror sites. Nowadays the company is no longer of much relevance in the software arena, but it's recently launched a mobile service called Ting that operates on Sprint's network, and like may of it's competitors (Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile for example) is contract-free. Not everything is the same however as Ting offers to reimburse you for your unused voice, text and data allotments.


As no contracts are required, subscribers must pay for their handsets outright. There are six smartphones total, beginning with the Zio ($105) and Optimus S ($155) on the low-end. After that, shoppers will find the Transform ($245) and Conquer 4G ($295) in the middle of the pack, all the way up to the EVO Shift 4G Detail ($395) and Photon 4G ($545). Each of the 4G-capable handsets may use Sprint's WiMAX network. Meanwhile, two feature phones are also in the mix, which include the Samsung Reclaim ($45) and the M360 ($65).

Of course the true savings come with the plans, where customers may choose between six tiers for voice, data and text messages. While a voice plan isn't required, 100 minutes can be bought for $3 and 500 for $9. Also 100 SMS messages cost $3 while 4,000 is for $11. Data rates are a little bit different with 100MB at $3, while 1GB costs $24 and 2GB costs a lofty $42. If you exceed what you payed for you'll be bumped up to the next level and will be reimbursed for what's left over. 100MB can again be purchased for $3, 1GB costs $24 and 2GB costs a lofty $42 so it can be said that Ting is the best contract-free phone company.