T-Mobile USA drops unlimited voice plan to $50*
(*For select customers)
March 2 2009 - 1:58 pm ET | Allie Winter | RCR Wireless News
T-Mobile USA's $50-per-month unlimited voice plan
T-Mobile USA Inc. is offering a $50-per-month unlimited voice plan to its veteran customers nationwide. In combination with the recent price cut on its unlimited data and unlimited text monthly add-on price to $35 per month, according to a customer service representative, T-Mobile USA has an industry-low $85 per month unlimited voice, text and data offering.
Peter Dobrow, spokesman for T-Mobile USA, said there are offers out there, but would not provide specific details or confirm the reduced unlimited data and text price.
“We are offering select customers pricing plans that reward their loyalty to T-Mobile,” Dobrow said. “We are not providing further comment.”
News initially broke that the carrier was running the $50 promotion in San Francisco, but as of today, any customer in any location who has been with T-Mobile USA for 22 months or longer can sign up for the promotion. Editorial staff at RCRWireless.com successfully signed up two users in different locations for the $50 plan.
As a part of the deal, customers can add additional lines under the same unlimited offering for an even cheaper rate of $40 per month per line, which in combination with the $35 unlimited data/text package, provides a $75 per month unlimited offering. The carrier is also offering a $135 credit to customers that bring a new customer from a different carrier onto their family plan.
This is a is significantly lower than customers who signed up for T-Mobile USA’s normal unlimited voice and text offer, which runs $100 per month.
The new pricing nearly matches Sprint Nextel Corp.’s Boost Mobile’s recent launch of its unlimited everything plan for $50 per month and seems to indicate increased competition around the $50 per month price point. Regional unlimited carriers MetroPCS Communications Inc. and Leap Wireless International Inc. both operate aggressively near that price point.
Bill Ho, an analyst at Current Analysis, said that because this promotion is a retention deal, it brings to light some of T-Mobile USA’s recent downfalls, including its modest fourth-quarter results.
“Last quarter they showed that their churn was bad so retention is key,” Ho said. “But one of the bad things about retention deals is publicity. From a carrier perspective, you don’t want to offer retention deals because it means that people are leaving and it might cannibalize the people who are really, really good at working the system.”
Ho added that T-Mobile USA confirmed the nationwide availability of the new offering to the research firm.
Further, Ho said this move is a strategic way for T-Mobile USA to fight back against competitors without initiating a rate-plan battle.
“No carrier wants to be dragged into a price war,” Ho said. “By doing the retention deal, they’re kind of containing it in a way.”
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Have a grandfathered-in price from like 2002 or 2001.My T-Mobile plan is about $60 before taxes.For $40, I get 1100 anytime mins and free nights/wknds.For $20, I get unlimited data/texting.Plus I used up all my anytime mins last month. I asked and they just gave me 100 extra to finish out the month with.I But I really want an iPhone.
We switched the 3 lines on our acct. to this plan when it came out a couple weeks ago in SF. (Our lines are in Oakland, LA, and Miami. Pay $130 for unlimited voice $20 each for BB services and $5 for 1000 SMS on one line. We are saving $65/mo. Unlimited SMS was included on our previous unlimited plan.
the jd power award only asked 13000 people. Last quarter Verizion signed over a million! JD Power does not hold any water.
I still find it hard to locate a plan that beats my 1500 minutes for $39.99 plan that I'm still on with T-Mobile. As a user who doesn't text or surf the web, this is an ideal plan for me that I haven't seen competition for ever. What I really wish is that they would just include data with every plan for free. Seriously now, how much money does it really cost to allow people to text or surf the web? Just like they abolished the daytime/nighttime minute charges, I think they should abolish the seperate charge for data and text. The first company to do that will be the only company left standing when everybody switches.
You cannot compare a Boost mobile or a Sprint mobile to T-Mobile. T-Mobile has won the JD Powers award for several years running and offers better coverage and better service than any of these two. There is always going to be somebody cheaper, but you pay for what you get. If not for mergers T-Mobile would have already caught and passed the competetion. T-Mobile was voted in the top 100 companies to work for. (first Wireless company to every achieve this) which only shows you that it is a First Class company taking care of its employees, and more importantly its customers. T-Mobile continues to set the bar!!
Tony, thanks for essentially agreeing with me. However, I will say that the $50 Boost plan is becoming a bigger deal than I think some people realize. The people that will move to IDEN on Boost is the low-class customers that have Nextel currently, simply because they can't afford to be on a higher plan with a contract. They won't care about the service, because it's ultimately the same service they already have....
Desperation stinks!!!
I think rewarding loyal customers is a great idea. Too often does "the new guy" get the best deal in town, leaving loyal customers frustrated and irritated. Is it the best deal in town though? Well, each customer will need to gauge their own needs. However, it is pretty funny to compare the pricing on this voice only plan to Boost's $50 voice, text, web plan. Apples to applies it would be $85 to their $50, which someone else already pointed out.Anyway, taking care of current customers should be the main theme here, and I think that's great move.Cheers,PrepaidWirelessGuyhttp://www.prepaid-wireless-guide.com/compare-prepaid-plans.html
T-Mobile's all you can for $85 is only worth it if you have 3G available in your area. Otherwise Sprint's is the best bet. Besides with Boost, who wants to be on prepaid? and more importantly the iden network?
The competition wouldn't drop their prices too much, because even though you can get this plan for $85, the unlimited plan on Sprint for $99 is more worth it, and also this plan clearly states you have had to be a tmobile customer for 22 months. So this may help their own retention, but won't do much to attract new customers who would have to wait nearly two years to qualify for the plan. Maybe if they start offering it to anybody.