T-Mobile USA pushes Even More Plus plans from website

T-Mobile USA Inc. (DTEGY) appears to be de-emphasizing its highly-touted Even More Plus rate plans offering, at least online, as the carrier moves into the always important holiday shopping season.
Customers looking for the no-contract offering through the carrier’s website are now being directed to a retail outlet to sign up for the plans. Those plans, which were launched late last year, allow customers to pay less per month for monthly service compared with its traditional Even More plans, but they must forgo a device subsidy. When launched the plans drew accolades as many noted the offerings were bringing a true European flavor of mobile service to the U.S. market.
Instead of the Even More Plus plans, T-Mobile USA appears to be highlighting its more traditional Prepaid rate plans that while also doing away with a contract, undercut the pricing for its contract plans, though the device lineup via the carrier’s website is limited. While the Even More Plus plans allowed customers to select from any of the carrier’s devices – including its range of smart phones, the packaged Prepaid plans are limited to nine handsets, a single USB wireless modem, a couple of SIM cards and the recently launched Samsung Telecommunications Americas’ Galaxy Tab device. T-Mobile USA did note that customers could use any device with its Prepaid offering except for a low-end Nokia Corp. model that lacked data capabilities and the BlackBerry Enterprise Server functionality on Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry devices.
“T-Mobile continues to sell both Even More and Even More Plus plans, although the company is no longer selling Even More Plus through the online store,” the carrier noted in a statement. “As T-Mobile strives to simplify and streamline customers’ online purchase experience, the company is focusing on Even More plans with two-year agreements on http://www.t-mobile.com. Customers shopping online will be directed to a T-Mobile retail store if they wish to purchase an Even More Plus plan.”
T-Mobile USA recently tweaked both its Even More plans as well as its Prepaid plans. The carrier also launched a promotion in September for its family plans, which require a two-year contract, that allows customers to add lines of service for free through the end of 2011.
T-Mobile USA reported a loss of 60,000 contract customers during the third quarter of this year that would have been worse without strong growth for its “connected devices” segment. The loss of postpaid customers was also counteracted by a gain of 197,000 no-contract customers during the quarter, including those added through its mobile virtual network operator partnerships.