Sprint prepaid mobile offered at Walmart: Trend towards no contract phone service on the rise

Sprint is jumping on the pre-paid mobile service bandwagon. Walmart started selling the new "Common Cents Mobile" service at about 700 of its US stores on May 15.

With the growing trend towards contract-free mobile phone plans, Sprint's plan will be comparable to prepaid plans offered by T-Mobile.

The fees for using Sprint Common Cents Mobile will be 7 cents per minute of talk time or per text, deducted from $20 or $30 prepaid cards.

With Sprint losing 578,000 contract losers last month yet gaining 348,000 prepaid customers, it's a sure sign that people want no-commitment when it comes to their cell phone plans. The no-contract plan offered by rival T-Mobile USA offers on its Web site is $29.99 a month, with 500 minutes of talk time included, or about 6 cents per minute.

Common Cents Mobile brand customers receive 30 days of service for $20 or 60 days of service for $30 and each text or full minute of talking is deducted from the total. Sprint charges users for each full minute of time used and doesn’t round up for fractions of minutes. It's wise to use all of the time up, however, because users forfeit unused funds at the end of any period.

Sprint is also rumored to begin offering $25-per-month plans through its Virgin Mobile brand with unlimited texting and 300 minutes of talk time, as well as plans for 1,200 minutes and unlimited minutes for $40 and $60, respectively. Talks of family plans with no contract are also in the works.