Any telecom executive who says T-Mobile hasn’t had a huge influence on the wireless industry is either lying or delusional. If you still need more proof, look no further than the new data plans Verizon unveiled on Friday that bear a resemblance to the Simple Choice plans T-Mobile debuted a couple of years ago.
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Per CNET, the new plans feature no two-year wireless contracts and no upfront subsidies for smartphones — like T-Mobile’s plans, users have the option of either paying for their phones in their entirety or paying an additional monthly fee to pay off the cost of their device in installments. These new plans will go into effect starting on August 13th.
Verizon is also working to simplify its overall wireless service options. The new plans will offer four different data buckets for both families and individuals: A 1GB bucket for $30 a month, a 3GB bucket for $45 a month, a 6GB bucket for $60 a month and a 12GB bucket for $80 a month. All four of these options come with unlimited voice and text messaging as well and they really seem like solid deals compared to what Verizon had offered before.
You should also note Verizon is still charging you a $20 access fee for a new smartphone, although in many ways this is preferable to the old system in which Verizon had a confusing array of different access charges depending on the type of plan you signed up for. In this case, any smartphone you use on the network will always cost you $20 up front — period.
And yes, you really can thank T-Mobile for mobile carriers moving toward simplifying pricing options. One of the “Un-carrier’s” big initiatives right from the start was to cut out a lot of the clutter that comes with comparing different wireless plans and it seems that Verizon is just now catching up.
