There’s absolutely no question that T-Mobile has singlehandedly reshaped the wireless landscape in the United States over the past few years. Led by its outspoken CEO John Legere, the scrappy carrier has introduced a string of new initiatives that have left its larger rivals chasing it to compete. Is it working? T-Mobile is outgrowing all of its rivals, having even blown past Sprint recently to become the third-largest wireless carrier in America.
Of course, there have been a few bumps along the road for T-Mobile, and its most recent one came just under two weeks ago when the carrier announced that it was killing off data plans by offering all users unlimited data with the new T-Mobile One plan. While the new plan is certainly a great deal for some subscribers, others complained that it would make their service far more expensive. What’s more, many were troubled by missing features and pricey add-ons.
So, despite having killed off data plans just two weeks ago, T-Mobile on Monday introduced a brand new data plan called T-Mobile One Plus.
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The T-Mobile One plan unveiled less than two weeks ago will eliminate data tiers in favor of one plan that includes unlimited data, voice and messaging. The first line costs $70 per month, the second is $50 and lines three through eight cost $20 each, as do tablets. Accounts can use up to 26GB of 4G LTE data per month before they are throttled (unless no one else is using the cell towers they connect to, in which case speeds aren’t limited), but video streaming and mobile hotspot are limited right out of the gate each month unless the user pays additional fees.
People complained about that particular part of the setup, so T-Mobile on Monday announced a new data plan option called T-Mobile One Plus. It’s very similar to T-Mobile One, but it includes unlimited 4G LTE mobile hotspot usage, unlimited HD day passes (unlimited HD day passes will allow regular T-Mobile One plan holders to stream HD video for 24 hours, and they’ll cost $3 per day), and data speeds that are twice as fast while roaming abroad. All that comes at an extra $25 per line.
T-Mobile also announced a few changes to the standard T-Mobile One plan, which will now become available ahead of schedule on September 1st. On top of the aforementioned $3 unlimited HD day passes, T-Mobile said that mobile hotspot data will be available at 3G speeds instead of the even more painfully slow speeds that were initially announced. Day passes will be made available to T-Mobile One plan holders beginning sometime in October.
As a reminder, current subscribers will not be forced to switch from existing plans to the new T-Mobile One or T-Mobile One Plus plans if they don’t want to. New customers will be able to select the new T-Mobile One plan, the One Plus plan, or an older Simple Choice plan.
Updated to clarify Simple Choice plans will remains available to new customers after One and One Plus plans launch, and to clarify T-Mobile’s data throttling policy.
