BELLEVUE, Wash.—T-Mobile USA Inc. jumped on the bandwagon driven by SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. and Alltel Corp. by offering customers the chance to make unlimited calls to a handful of wireless or wireline numbers.

T-Mobile USA’s new MyFaves plan allows customers to choose up to five numbers to make unlimited calls to and receive unlimited calls from. The single-line plans start at $40 per month for 300 anytime minutes and unlimited night and weekend minutes, and range as high as $140 per month for 5,000 anytime minutes. Family plans start at $70 per month for 700 minutes up to $140 monthly for 3,000 anytime minutes, and each line on the account can have its own "Fave 5."

A two-year contract is required, and only certain handsets carry the MyFaves interface, including the Research In Motion Ltd. Blackberry Pearl, the Motorola Inc. Razr V3, the Nokia Corp. 6103 and the Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. Trace and t629. T-Mobile USA said that "virtually all new handsets available through T-Mobile will be MyFaves-enabled by the end of the year."

T-Mobile USA is the largest carrier yet to offer an unlimited calling plan to selected numbers. Alltel recently increased the promotion of its MyCircle offer, which allows customers on plans of at least $60 per month to select up to 10 numbers for unlimited calling with no additional charges. SunCom also offers a Mobile-to-Anyone option for an extra charge of $15 per month that allows unrestricted calling for up to 10 wireless or wireline numbers. Mobile virtual network operator Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. too had a limited-time "Inner Circle" offer earlier this year that allowed its customers to choose three numbers for unlimited calling.

According to T-Mobile USA’s Web site, "most" of its customers make two-third of their calls to the same five numbers every month, based on call records for October 2005. Alltel’s group president Scott Ford said recently that most MyCircle customers choose between three to five numbers for unlimited calling.

T-Mobile USA’s new offering coincides with a new advertising catchphrase: "Stick Together."

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