US wireless carrier T-Mobile is bringing back unlimited data plans. And I don’t mean, 5GB of data at full HSPA+ speeds and then 2G speeds after that. Starting September 5th, 2012, you’ll be able to sign up for a T-Mobile smartphone plan offering unlimited HSPA+ 4G mobile broadband.
The Unlimited Nationwide 4G Data Plans will add $20 to $30 to the price of your phone bill, depending on whether you have a “Value” plan or a “Classic” plan.
Basically, a classic plan is what you get when you sign up for a new plan and get a subsidized phone. A Value plan is what you get when you bring your own phone or buy a new phone at full price.
In other words, here’s what you’ll actually wind up paying (before regional taxes and fees):
- Value Plan: $69.99 per month for unlimited talk, text, and data
- Classic Plan: $89.99 per month for unlimited talk, text, and data
Those are the prices for a single line. You get a little discount on your talk and text phone plan if you an additional phone line. You may also be able to save some money if you get a plan with 500 minutes of talk time per month.
Both classic and value plans require a 2-year agreement.
Sprint also offers unlimited data plans. But T-Mobile claims it’s the only company to offer true nationwide unlimited 4G data plans, which is kind of true since T-Mobile offers HSPA+ in 230 markets, while Sprint’s 4G WiMAX network is only available in 71 markets.
On the other hand, Sprint has already started upgrading to 4G LTE, while T-Mobile isn’t expected to make that transition until next year.
This is precisely the reason why AT&T should not, and was not allowed to buy T-Mobile. Over the past few months all we’ve seen from AT&T is walking in lockstep with Verison in the type of plans and prices they announce so there’s barely a gnat’s whisker between them.
Why? Because they can, because between them they have most of the cell phone market sewn up (Sprint and T-Mobile are a long way behind). So it’s nice to see T-Mobile bucking the trend toward charging the earth for data that is getting cheaper to supply by the day.
Looks like I picked a good time to switch back to T-Mobile. 🙂
Just an FYI, they also have some capless pre-paid BYOD plans. I currently pay $30/month for 100 minutes, unlimited texts, and unlimited data.
5gb data
My mistake. I just checked my account details, and apparently I get 5GB worth of 4G, then it’s throttled to 3G speeds for the rest of my billing month. Thanks for the correction. Still a pretty good deal, but not unlimited 4G.
You might want to look again at the details of T-mobile overage speeds. The last time I checked, when you exceed your bandwidth cap, your 4G or 3G download speed will drop to EDGE speeds (think of it as slightly faster than dialup). I had this happen once, and it sucked really bad.
OK, I guess I’m unintentionally full of misinformation lately. $30 gets me 100 minutes, unlimited texts, and 5GB of 4G data. After 5GB, it’s throttled to 2G speeds, but either I’ve never hit 5GB or I’ve never noticed going over. I’ve got a Droid 3 unlocked for USA GSM, and until TMobile finishes refarming their 1900 spectrum, I only get 2G anyway. Still, I don’t think there’s a better deal out there. I was on Virgin Mobile’s grandfathered $25 plan with 300 minutes, unlimited text, and unlimited data, but they didn’t have any higher-end Android sliders.
I think I’ll just stay with my 5gb 4g for $30 plan because I looked at my usage sheet I haven’t even put much of a dent in my monthly bandwidth and I tether all the time. Though if they offer prepaid non-expiring data cards with a specific amount of bandwidth I’d be game for that at say $10 per 1gb.
I like virgin mobile but their locked down phones and 2.5gb cap is what put me off as well.