Republic Wireless to to launch $19 unlimited VoIP, SMS and data service

Republic Wireless, a division of Cary, N.C.-based VoIP and bandwidth provider Bandwidth.com will a $19 per month hybrid VoIP/cellular service, providing unlimited calling, texting and data for customers with specialized Android hardware, a Bandwidth.com spokesman confirmed. Text messages can also be sent via Wi-Fi or cellular networks. The service does require a special Android handset. The plan includes unlimited voice and text messaging.

Republic Wireless, a division Cary, N.C.-based VoIP and bandwidth service provider Bandwidth.com, will launch According to Bandwidth spokesman Kevin LaHaise, the $19 fee includes unlimited voice, texting and data without a bandwidth cap. For those who have played around with the combination of Wi-Fi and voice calling known as UMA, the idea behind Republic Wireless is no different than the Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA)-based service that is bundled in some T-Mobile BlackBerry devices. T-Mobile also has UMA available on some Android phones.

The service is similar in some ways to Unlicensed Mobile Acces (UMA) service provided by the likes of Kineto Wireless, which works with T-Mobile USA and others. When inside the office or your home or inside a Wi-Fi hot-spot, all phone calls and text messages are sent and received via the Internet. When there is no Wi-Fi, the calls are routed over a cellular network.

The company however says that it has built its own soup-to-nuts solution to offer the hybrid calling functionality. The company is going to buy wholesale minutes from third party carriers such as Sprint. Bandwidth.com could easily use other wireless carriers as its wholesale partners. The new service, which was first reported by TechCrunch, will launch Nov. 8. LaHaise confirmed TechCrunch's report that the service will require new, specialized hardware running on Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android platform, and initially the cellular service will fall back to Sprint Nextel's (NYSE:S) 3G CDMA EV-DO network. Additionally, the service will not come with a contract or any early termination fees.

The company says the monthly plan would include unlimited 3G data without any bandwidth caps. Typically phone companies call 5 gigabytes download as “unlimited.”And like Kineto Wireless’ UMA that is used by T-Mobile, Republic requires you to buy a special phone that can handle this hybrid calling. The company has built this hardware based on Google’s Android OS. It's unclear which company will make the Android hardware for the service, and how much it will cost. though Republic's teaser site includes a picture of a device being assembled. LaHaise declined to comment on the hardware.

The Republic service could potentially undercut flat-rate carriers MetroPCS (NASDAQ:PCS) and Cricket provider Leap Wireless (NASDAQ:LEAP), which have focused on adding Android users to drive growth and revenues. As a long-standing fan of UMA, I like this idea of having one number automatically switching between Wi-Fi and cellular networks. It is also attractive to those who travel internationally and want to save on calling back to the US.

From the pricing, my best guess is that Republic is going after customers on a tight budget.And in order to attract this set of customers, the company is going to find a way to subsidize the hardware that will increase its total customer acquisition costs, which in turn means longer pay-off time for these customers.

Other companies have dabbled in VoIP services for Android. In August, wholesale VoIP services provider VoX Communications launched a mobile app for use on all Android phones, moving out of the shadow of companies like fring and Nimbuzz, which it previously relied upon to deliver its mobile VoIP application to an Android device.

Still, the idea of unlimited 3G data with the service for $19 a month is interesting enough for me to consider getting an additional line.