Cricket Communications said Thursday it would be the first US carrier to offer the iPhone to customers under a prepaid plan, a move expanding the footprint of the wildly popular Apple device.
Cricket, a unit of Leap Wireless International, will offer the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 with its $55 per month, all-inclusive plan.
Apple, which now has around 30 percent of the US smartphone market, initially sold the iPhone only through AT&T. It has since reached deals with Verizon, Sprint and other carriers.
But Cricket said it was a "major milestone" to offer the "value-packed, no-contract plan" for iPhone users.
The iPhone 4S will start at $500 and the iPhone 4 at $400.