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"T-Mobile may be trying to disrupt the traditional wireless model in the US with its Uncarrier initiative, but there\u2019s another level of new mobile service providers that have taken things a step further. Scratch Wireless just opened up invitations to its free wireless over WiFi plan, joining companies like FreedomPop and Republic Wireless in piping voice calls and texts over the Internet to cut costs.\r\nYou\u2019ll need to buy Motorola\u2019s Photon Q QWERTY-slider smartphone from Scratch Wireless for $269 to get started. The carrier will provide free calls over WiFi for life, even when you\u2019re overseas. Texting is free over cellular and WiFi.\r\nIf you need to use data or make calls while you\u2019re away from WiFi, you can buy passes that will temporarily let you onto a cellular network. A 24-hour data or voice pass costs $1.99 and offers either 25MB or or 30 minutes of calling. A 30-day voice and data passes costs $14.99 and come with either 200MB of data or 250 minutes.\r\nWhile Scratch Wireless will appeal to extremely budget-conscious customers, going WiFi-only does kind of defeat the purpose of having a \u201Cmobile\u201D phone. The operator claims that WiFi access is \u201Ceverywhere,\u201D but that\u2019s simply not the case for me. Scratch Wireless would actually cost quite a bit more than my existing T-Mobile plan if I wanted to get equivalent access.\r\nIf you only use your phone occasionally while out, you can probably pay less than your current plan by buying a couple passes every month, but you\u2019ll also have to switch to the aging Photon Q.\r\nWe\u2019re glad to see innovative wireless plans like Scratch Wireless offering free service, as it makes wireless service available to budget consumers. The company\u2019s plans aren\u2019t a good fit for our line of work, but it\u2019s nice to have the choice.\r\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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