T-Mobile has been taking some big steps to brand itself as the “un-carrier” over the past year by eliminating contracts, paying your early termination fee when you switch from another carrier, offering unlimited international text and data in 100 countries, and more.

Now T-Mobile is eliminating overage fees, which means that US customers won’t have to pay a penalty for going over amount of voice minutes, text, or data in their plan — no matter which plan they have.

t-mobile overage

This is partly a move to lure customers from other carriers… but T-Mobile CEO John Legere has also launched a Change.org petition to encourage the other big US wireless providers (AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon) to end overage fees.

Taken at face value, the petition is a sign that T-Mobile wants to change the way companies do business. Taken with a more skeptical eye, this is a pretty smart publicity stunt that makes the company look a lot more attractive to folks shopping for a new smartphone contract.

Unfortunately pricing and business practices are only one factor that goes into choosing a carrier: I used T-Mobile for a few years, but the company’s coverage just wasn’t as strong in my neighborhood as rival AT&T’s, which is why I’m now paying for Straight Talk and using an AT&T-compatible SIM card instead of a T-Mobile one.

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5 replies on “T-Mobile kills overage fees, urges other carriers to follow suit”

  1. At least T-Mobile isn’t just trying to compete in prices and marketing. They have been expanding some coverage. Too bad in my area, AT&T and Verizon still beat them with less coverage holes. Maybe eventually T-Mobile will be worth switching to for me if Verizon and AT&T just sits and does nothing.

    1. Unless you’re really hard up and for some reason feel that a non-prepaid and non-dumbphone is a necessity then coverage and reliablity is what really matters in the end. For some areas, T-Mobile is the bottom of the barrel service when it comes to that. Even when you visit a T-Moble fan site, they’re filled with comments about bad coverage, drops, internet issues, etc. with the occasional few who have excellent service.

  2. What they really need to abolish is carrier phone locks and the requirement to buy a monthly plan in the first place to buy an “uncarrier” device.

    1. It would be nice, but I’m not sure how many Americans would be prepared to buy a phone for $300-$700.

      1. If that was the case then there really is no point in “uncarrier”! I think there are more out there than you realize who would like to buy a decent phone and run it prepaid, mvno or just simply have the option to switch carriers without going through complicated unlock requirements.
        Locking phones to carriers is archaic. You either sign a long term contract and run it through or want to be free from the carrier. Either way locking the phone makes no sense and just a hassle at best or a brick wall at worst.

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