T-Mobile offers lower pricing options for unlimited smartphone plans

T-Mobile USA Inc. announced a change to its pricing for unlimited smartphone data service, providing new and lower postpaid plans. The carrier said it will also offer more flexibility for customers who bring existing devices to T-Mobile and a monthly payment plan for those who buy new devices.
As of yet, T-Mobile has not provided details on the pricing plan the company is marketing as “Value plans” but has disclosed that the carrier will offer single-line and multi-line options with a scalable pricing plan for options such as talk, text and data with 2GB, 5GB or 10GB options. CNET is reporting that the new plans will include unlimited talking and text with 2GB of data for $59.99 per month, a full $20 less than T-Mobile’s current offering.
Other plans include unlimited talk and text with 5 GB of data for $74.99 per month, amounting to $15 less than T-Mobile’s current plan. The new plans will be available beginning July 24 for both new and current T-Mobile customers. The carrier said it will honor existing “Even More” smartphone data plans but will re-brand them as “Classic” plans and will continue selling prepaid voice and mobile broadband plans.
The practice of throttling will continue, however. If users exceed data allotment for the month, T-Mobile will throttle them down to 2G EDGE data speeds for the rest of their billing cycle. The new plans will require a two-year contract.
Users may bring their existing phone to the new plan or purchase new devices and pay in monthly installments. The company stated that a mobile device such as the myTouch 4G Slide will be offered for a payment of $249.99 up front with 20 more monthly payments of $15, making a total price tag of $550 overall.
Verizon Wireless (VZ) recently jointed AT&T Mobility (T) by introducing usage-based smartphone data plans in a move that is mainly seen as unpopular by consumers. T-Mobile will be competing with Sprint Nextel’s (S) low-cost smartphone data plans, which are unlimited with no throttling or overage fees. The Sprint “Everything Data Plan” for smartphones has unlimited mobile-to-mobile calls, 450 voice minutes and unlimited data and text services for $79.99 a month.