T-Mobile US program allows customers to keep unused data for up to 1 year
T-Mobile US is set to expand availability of its Data Stash program to its prepaid customer base, including the offer to provide an initial 10 gigabytes of free data for new customers. The plan extends an offer that was launched initially for its Simple Choice postpaid customers to T-Mobile US’ Simple Choice prepaid plans.
T-Mobile US launched the Data Stash program late last year as part of its “Un-carrier 8.0” announcement, which allowed its Simple Choice postpaid customers to keep any portion of data from a bucket that is purchased above and beyond the free data allotment included in their rate plan for up to one year. T-Mobile US currently provides 1 gigabyte of high-speed data for smartphones and 1.2 GB of data on mobile Internet devices. Postpaid customers can purchase a 3 GB bucket of data for their smartphones for $10 per month; 5 GB for $20 per month; or “unlimited” data for $30 per month.
T-Mobile US has a history of launching new rate-plan features for its postpaid programs ahead of rolling out the same feature for its prepaid plans. The carrier earlier this year altered its prepaid pricing as part of a new branding initiative to better align its service plans.
T-Mobile US last summer claimed the nation’s No. 1 prepaid “crown” from Sprint, claiming it added 1.2 million net prepaid customers in 2014. T-Mobile US’ prepaid operations also received a jolt from its acquisition of MetroPCS, which brought nearly 10 million prepaid customers to T-Mobile US and continues to be a branded effort for the carrier, though so far is not included in the Data Stash offer.
AT&T Mobility quickly countered the move by bringing back its “Rollover” feature that allows all new and current customers signed up for its Mobile Share Value plans to maintain their unused data allotment for up to one month, a time limit that T-Mobile US was quick to point out.
“AT&T’s Data Rollover means they wait an extra 30 days to repossess your data,” noted T-Mobile US CMO Andrew Sherrard. “That is not a serious response − no matter how many billions they spend on TV ads about it.”
AT&T Mobility’s rollover initiative does have a history at the carrier as its former Cingular Wireless incarnation was one of the first to offer a rollover feature for its voice-calling plans back in 2002. AT&T Mobility has yet to expand the Rollover Data feature to its prepaid plans.
Verizon Wireless last year launched a rollover feature for its AllSet prepaid plans.
Bored? Why not follow me on Twitter
