Republic Wireless launches unlimited 'hybrid' network for $19 a month

Republic Wireless is out to shake up the mobile industry with a whole new, WiFi-centric approach. The battle for spectrum is a lousy way to approach the business, it insists, and so instead it's created what it calls Hybrid Calling: Every feature works via WiFi and cellular, but the phone defaults to WiFi whenever it's available.

It's a hybrid car mentality — turn to the trouble-making technology only when you must. Pretty neat. And likely to attract more than the civic-minded is its price tag: $19 a month for unlimited everything — voice, data, SMS. And there's no contract or overage fees.

"Cellular these days is a precious resource, and it doesn't come cheaply," the company said in press materials, adding, "Republic wants to be a facilitator of sustainable cellular usage, not a carrier that hopes you exceed your limits to that they can charge you an overage fee."

How can it do it? Republic's parent company is Bandwidth.com, which owns the inetwork nationwide VoIP network. "That network already powers Google Voice, Skype and a laundry list of the household names in VoIP," says Republic.

The catches — being cute, Republic insists its users are the real catches — are that it's for now only available on one phone, the Android-running LG Optimus, which is $199 and includes the first month of service. Republic says, though, that's it's hoping to allow you to someday use your phone of choice.

The other catch is that it thinks of itself as a community, and so if you don't quite fit in — if it turns out you use cellular like crazy — they're going to politely ask you to leave. First, though, they'll remind you of the guidelines. "Even assuming 0% WiFi usage, for example, you could consume 550 minutes, send 150 texts and download 300 megabytes of data without crossing the community’s fair use threshold," it explains on its site, without perfectly spelling out how much is too much. Second, it'll also offer tips on reducing one's cellular footprint.

Don't rein in it, though, and you're out. A pretty fair deal. Or, according to EndPoint Technologies analyst Roger Kay, "a great deal."

"Disrupt the cozy world of carrier fees by aiming at the free network first and then switching to cell only when necessary? What's not to love?" said Kay. "Last month, we ran over my family plan, which is targeted at about $140/month and my actual bill was $365. Sign me up for hybrid! It's easier than asking my 15-year-old daughter not to text so much!"