Good news for those who want an iPhone (News - Alert) without being tied down to a two-year commitment. Cricket Communications, a division of Leap Wireless, announced Thursday that it will start carrying Apple's (News - Alert) super-popular smartphone as of June 22, making Cricket the first prepaid carrier in the U.S. to sell the device.

“Launching the iPhone is a major milestone for us and we are proud to offer iPhone customers attractive nationwide coverage, a robust 3G data network and a value-packed, no-contract plan,” said Leap founder and CEO, Doug Hutcheson.

The regional carrier will offer the iPhone for a flat fee of $55 per month, a plan which includes unlimited talk and text as well as up to 2.3 GB of data per month. However, while the plan is much cheaper than what the larger U.S. carriers are offering, the initial cost will be much higher without the subsidies offered by those carriers.

The price for an 8 GB iPhone 4 is $399 from Cricket, while a 16 GB iPhone 4S costs $499 up front. If one were to purchase either of these devices from AT&T (News - Alert), for example, the upfront cost would be $99 and $199, respectively.

Another major caveat is that Cricket will limit sales of the iPhone initially to metro areas with Cricket coverage, such as: Houston and Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon; Pittsburgh; Denver; and Salt Lake City. These areas cover about 70 percent of the carrier's user base of 6.2 million customers.

The move to Cricket could potentially help Apple appeal to a new set of customers who didn't previously purchase an iPhone due to distaste for restrictive and expensive contracts.

The new device will obviously also prove to be a boon for Cricket's parent company as it has been suffering lately from low share prices. As of the end of May, Leap Wireless (News - Alert) shares were selling for $5.78 per share, down 33.94 percent from $8.75 on April 3rd.