How TextNow helped me break up with my costly mobile carrier. Free unlimited talk, text, and essential data, affordable add-on data, and zero contract. Could TextNow be for real? I took it for a spin.

TextNow lets you text message and make phone calls at no cost using a wireless connection. It also provides the benefit of being able to call and text your contacts using the app's communication ...

That need inspired Derek Ting to start TextNow, the only free phone service provider in America. “Our mission is to democratize phone service, to make it accessible for everyone,” Ting says.

I honestly forgot that I was using TextNow mobile data and not my previous big carrier — probably because TextNow uses the nation’s largest 5G network for coverage.