A new carrier by the name of Zer01 Mobile went live last week, offering unlimited voice and data on smart phones for $69.95/month, without a contract. The catch? The service is using a VoIP application to route all calls, and you can only get the service once an MVNO starts offering it. The Zero1 service tunnels over GSM networks, but the the carrier has their own IP network -- and is using interconnect (roaming) agreements to make calls. Technically, that makes Zer01 a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE).

"We are the first mobile service to offer consumers a true national unlimited voice, data and Internet plan without any contracts or commitments that is priced affordably at only $69.95 per month with taxes and fees included," crows Zer01 Mobile CEO Ben Piilani.

"We have licensed patent pending proprietary technology that allows each smart phone user to make voice calls or transmit data efficiently by bypassing carrier circuit-switched channels by sending voice communications through a VoIP system and onto a virtual private network that accesses the Internet," explains the CEO. The company goes on to claim they've got some kind of QOS software mojo to help deal with jitter, latency, or say -- being stuck on a poky EDGE connection. Additional details aren't being divulged.

Whether that actually works won't be seen until customers can actually get their hands on it, and until that happens -- it's wise to remain skeptical. So far they've announced no MVNO partners, though they insist that there are announcements forthcoming. We asked AT&T what they thought about the idea (since it's their network they'll primarily be riding on), and were told "we can’t comment on the business models of other carriers."