Reach Mobile is a new kind of carrier.
They just launched, and their mission is to provide mobile service with a meaningful social impact on the world.
They donate 10% of every data plan to providing cellular connectivity to people in need.
This can help low-income families stay connected and get reliable internet access, farmers in Africa look at the weather forecast and understand the best time to plant their crops, and people in India gain internet access for online learning opportunities and tools.
Many of us may take Internet access for granted, I know I do, but the truth is there are large populations of people who can’t afford cellular connectivity, and providing these people with online access can have a tremendous positive impact on their lives.
Now, I love what Reach is doing and I love their mission, but any plan––no matter how good the deal is or how much you believe in the carrier’s mission––isn’t worth signing up for if you can’t get service in your area.
So how is the service and experience using Reach?
The good news is it’s great.
Reach Mobile uses the Verizon and AT&T networks to provide coverage. When you go to sign up an algorithm will actually check to see which network provides better coverage in your area, and you’ll be activated on that network. If you’d like to be put on a specific network, you can contact Reach Mobile’s customer success team and they’ll help you get activated on the network you prefer.
Verizon offered the better coverage in my area, so I was put on that network, and the experience was great.
What made the experience great on Reach Mobile is they support full-feature service. Talk, text, and data all worked perfectly. Even features like visual voicemail, WiFi calling, VoLTE, and the personal hotspot were all fully supported. The same features are supported on the AT&T network too, so you get the same great experience on whichever network delivers the best coverage in your area.
Now that you know the service is good, how are their plans? There are 5 different plans to choose from, and they range from $20 for 1GB all up to $75 for unlimited data. I think these are reasonable plans for the Verizon and AT&T networks, and they are especially great for lighter users. What makes Reach different is they will actually only charge you for the plan you use regardless of which plan you sign up for.
They call this their “Best Fit” policy, and here’s how it works: Say you sign up for their 10GB plan for $60/month. Throughout the month you’re using your plan, and maybe you’re on WiFi more than usual this month, and your total usage comes out to 4.5GB. Instead of charging you the full $60 for the 10GB plan, Reach will bill you $45 for the 5GB plan, because that’s how much data you used. Then next month, you’re back on the 10GB plan again.
So with this “Best Fit” policy, does it even make sense to sign up for the lower gig plans if you’ll automatically be billed for the cheaper plan based on your data usage?
The answer is yes, because having these plans allows people to control their what their maximum monthly bill will be. If you sign up for the $35 plan, you know all right, if I happen to use less than 1GB of data I’ll automatically be billed for the $20 plan, otherwise my maximum bill will be $35/month.
Every plan includes unlimited 2G data when you hit your data limit. If you need more high speed data, you can easily switch plans directly within the application, or you can add more data at $10 per GB.
Reach offers family plans too. You can share your data with up to 4 lines for $20/month/line. This makes the most sense with 10GB plan. If you look at it on a per-person basis, two people can get 5GB for $40 each, 3 people can get 3.3GB for $33 each, and 4 people can get 2.5GB for $30 each. And of course it is shared data, so if one person needs more they can use more and if other people need less they can use less. And you still get Reach Mobile’s Best fit policy. If you’re on the 10GB plan and the group collectively uses less than 5GB of data, you’ll be billed for the 5GB plan.
The unlimited plan is a little different. Instead of sharing data, each person gets their own data amount, and you save $5 per line for every line you add. You can check out the pricing on my website, but having 4 people will bring the cost down to as low as $60/month per person.
The Unlimited Plan is Actually a 20GB Plan, But That Should Still Be Enough
There are a few other things to note about the unlimited plan. First and foremost, it’s actually a 20GB plan, but this should still be enough data for most people. Reach clarifies this on their website, so it shouldn't come as a surprise. Unfortunately the unlimited plan is also not eligible for the Best Fit pricing. If you sign up for the unlimited plan, that is what you will be paying for at the end of the month.
The last thing I want to talk about with Reach Mobile is their Mobile application. You use the app to activate your service, manage your account, and actually see how much your plan has contributed to helping connect people in need. I thought the application was well-designed, intuitive to use, and provided helpful information. You can easily switch data plans within the app, see your total data usage, add lines to your account, and you even have a support page where you can easily contact Reach Mobile's customer success team if anything comes up.
So there you go, that is Reach Mobile. A carrier with full feature service on the Verizon and AT&T networks, that actively tries to reduce your bill with their Best Fit policy, and that doubles as a crowdfunding platform to donate 10% of your plan to make a meaningful social impact by providing data connectivity to people in need.
If you are interested in signing up for Reach Mobile, you can use code “stetsdogg” to enjoy $20 off your first month of service. This helps support the development of this website at no cost to you by providing me with a small kickback. If you choose to sign up, I hope you enjoy their service! 😃
