T-Mobile lowers basic unlimited to $40/month

Retired Cat · Apr 12, 2014

http://www.tmonews.com/2014/04/t-mobile-announces-latest-uncarrier-phase-simple-starter-40-plan/

This is likely in response to MVNO competition.

Monthly Plan includes: Unlimited Talk/Text and 500MB/month data*

*EDIT: T-Mobile literature states that data service is stopped after 500 MB. Users can buy a data pass to resume data service.

So now there are 5 tiers of monthly smart phone plans:

Cost: 4G/LTE data allocation
$40: 500MB, No data service after limit

$50: 1GB, throttle after limit
$60: 3GB, throttle after limit
$70: 5GB, throttle after limit

$80: Unlimited, no throttle

blarivee · Apr 12, 2014

The articles states after 500MB the data cuts off.

Appl3FTW · Apr 12, 2014

blarivee said:
The articles states after 500MB the data cuts off.

Lol wow

PsstGreek · Apr 12, 2014

blarivee said:
The articles states after 500MB the data cuts off.

Then it also says you'll get throttled to 2G speeds.

Retired Cat · Apr 12, 2014

T-Mobile lowers basic unlimited to $40/month

blarivee said:
The articles states after 500MB the data cuts off.

I think you may be correct on that, although if you look at the last paragraph of the article it says that the plan FAQ specifies: "your data speed will automatically convert to up to 2G speeds for the remainder of the billing cycle."

Might be a mistake in the T-Mobile literature. Will edit to account for ambiguity.

mtneer · Apr 12, 2014

If data cuts off then it is only Unlimited Talk and Text. Not Unlimited everything.

woesong · Apr 12, 2014

They could offer terabytes of data in my neighborhood. They have no coverage in this neck of the woods.

Retired Cat · Apr 12, 2014

T-Mobile lowers basic unlimited to $40/month

I've confirmed that the Simple Starter plan disables data service after 500MB. On-demand data passes can be purchased to resume data service. Original post edited to reflect correct plan info.

My read on this plan is that it exists to get people to try T-Mobile's network, and that the company hopes consumers will upgrade to its Simple Choice plans.

This is a good plan for people who just need a little bandwidth for use in rare situations. T-Mobile offers unlimited talk/text only plans for $35/month. $5 extra for some emergency Internet is nice. On the other hand, MVNOs like AIO/Cricket are still a better deal.

luckydcxx · Apr 12, 2014

Does it actually cost these cell companies more to offer LTE instead of 2G/3G?

I know they need to make a profit and continue to build their networks but does it actually cost more to give me LTE?

Applejuiced · Apr 12, 2014

Tmobile is shaking up the wireless industry.
It's because of them that AT&T and verizon started lowering their plans and offering many more options like bring your own device without subsidy plans and so on.
If they got bought out by AT&T last time nothing like this would have happened and the big 2 would still be charging whatever they want and matching each other's nickel and time moves.
I applaud tmobile and hope they keep pushing the envelope.

AppleScruff1 · Apr 12, 2014

Applejuiced said:
Tmobile is shaking up the wireless industry.
It's because of them that AT&T and verizon started lowering their plans and offering many more options like bring your own device without subsidy plans and so on.
If they got bought out by AT&T last time nothing like this would have happened and the big 2 would still be charging whatever they want and matching each other's nickel and time moves.
I applaud tmobile and hope they keep pushing the envelope.

Agreed. AT&T has made some changes as a result of TMobile, but Verizon is moving as slow as molasses with no discounted rates for bringing your own device. Hopefully they will follow.

SolarShane · Apr 13, 2014

mtneer said:
If data cuts off then it is only Unlimited Talk and Text. Not Unlimited everything.

"Unlimited 4G LTE" then downgraded to either 3G or 2G. So it is actually "unlimited everything". It's just the LTE that isn't unlimited.

Retired Cat · Apr 13, 2014

luckydcxx said:
Does it actually cost these cell companies more to offer LTE instead of 2G/3G?

I know they need to make a profit and continue to build their networks but does it actually cost more to give me LTE?

Per megabyte of data probably not, but I think that people's usage of data would tend to go down if the speed is too slow. A throttled user likely doesn't use nearly as much data as an unlimited user who can stream media without any limit.

mtneer · Apr 13, 2014

SolarShane said:
"Unlimited 4G LTE" then downgraded to either 3G or 2G. So it is actually "unlimited everything". It's just the LTE that isn't unlimited.

That is not the situation according to what's been posted so far...

Retired Cat said:
I've confirmed that the Simple Starter plan disables data service after 500MB. On-demand data passes can be purchased to resume data service. Original post edited to reflect correct plan info.

My read on this plan is that it exists to get people to try T-Mobile's network, and that the company hopes consumers will upgrade to its Simple Choice plans.

This is a good plan for people who just need a little bandwidth for use in rare situations. T-Mobile offers unlimited talk/text only plans for $35/month. $5 extra for some emergency Internet is nice. On the other hand, MVNOs like AIO/Cricket are still a better deal.

AppleRobert · Apr 13, 2014

You still can get a no contract phone on t-mobile from Walmart for less cost and more data. Grant that it would only be on a limited amount of devices but still.

ALL lowest cost plans will come down and I would not doubt by year's end. Bet I am right.

KUguardgrl13 · Apr 13, 2014

AppleScruff1 said:
Agreed. AT&T has made some changes as a result of TMobile, but Verizon is moving as slow as molasses with no discounted rates for bringing your own device. Hopefully they will follow.

It'd be nice if Verizon gave discounts for byod, but at the same time they have a LOT more data options than AT&T does currently. AT&T argues simplicity, but your choices are 2gb for a single line or 10gb for multiple lines. Verizon has anywhere from 250mb to 50gb. Of course it comes with the Big Red price. But what is AT&T's deal? What was wrong with having different data offerings and training your CSRs to help customers choose which will work best?

But this thread is about T-Mobile. I could see this plan doing well with those who don't use a lot of data or don't live in an LTE area. I wouldn't sign up, but others might.

rui no onna · Apr 14, 2014

KUguardgrl13 said:
It'd be nice if Verizon gave discounts for byod, but at the same time they have a LOT more data options than AT&T does currently. AT&T argues simplicity, but your choices are 2gb for a single line or 10gb for multiple lines. Verizon has anywhere from 250mb to 50gb. Of course it comes with the Big Red price. But what is AT&T's deal? What was wrong with having different data offerings and training your CSRs to help customers choose which will work best?

Last I checked, AT&T also had plans from 250MB to 50GB. Granted, the 50GB was like $375 or something base.

KUguardgrl13 · Apr 14, 2014

rui no onna said:
Last I checked, AT&T also had plans from 250MB to 50GB. Granted, the 50GB was like $375 or something base.

Interesting. I saw those on the mobile site just now but not on the full desktop site when I was looking the other day for another thread on here. Guess my post isn't particularly relevant like I thought.

Col Ronson · Apr 14, 2014

KUguardgrl13 said:
It'd be nice if Verizon gave discounts for byod, but at the same time they have a LOT more data options than AT&T does currently. AT&T argues simplicity, but your choices are 2gb for a single line or 10gb for multiple lines. Verizon has anywhere from 250mb to 50gb. Of course it comes with the Big Red price. But what is AT&T's deal? What was wrong with having different data offerings and training your CSRs to help customers choose which will work best?

But this thread is about T-Mobile. I could see this plan doing well with those who don't use a lot of data or don't live in an LTE area. I wouldn't sign up, but others might.

Still better than Sprint. Although with Sprint's "Framily" plans they are fighting back. A friend offered me 1GB of data and unlimited everything else for $25 a month, too bad it was on the slowest network in the universe.

KUguardgrl13 · Apr 14, 2014

Col Ronson said:
Still better than Sprint. Although with Sprint's "Framily" plans they are fighting back. A friend offered me 1GB of data and unlimited everything else for $25 a month, too bad it was on the slowest network in the universe.

Sprint is terrible. I have good service in my area on VZW, and my bf has decent service with T-Mobile. Our friend with Sprint had to wait ages for a text message before he was finally able to get a Galaxy Nexus with LTE. He still misses calls from us though. And we're outside Kansas City!! You'd think we'd have the best Sprint coverage in the nation!

SomeGuyDude · Apr 14, 2014

luckydcxx said:
Does it actually cost these cell companies more to offer LTE instead of 2G/3G?

I know they need to make a profit and continue to build their networks but does it actually cost more to give me LTE?

It costs them to get the towers and everything. It's not like it's all just sitting there waiting for them to flip a switch for you.

luckydcxx · Apr 14, 2014

SomeGuyDude said:
It costs them to get the towers and everything. It's not like it's all just sitting there waiting for them to flip a switch for you.

i know this, i was asking purely on if LTE actually costs more for them to transmit verse 2G/3G.

SomeGuyDude · Apr 14, 2014

luckydcxx said:
i know this, i was asking purely on if LTE actually costs more for them to transmit verse 2G/3G.

Ah, sorry. No, it doesn't. The cost is purely on maintenance and expansion. We get hosed pretty hard on cell plan costs in the US.

T-Mobile lowers basic unlimited to $40/month

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