In the latest move by carriers to target the first responder market, T-Mobile US announced a new plan for first responders.
Available starting November 1, the Magenta First Responder plan will charge users $25 per month per line, with four lines available for $100 per month, with standard-definition video streaming and 3 GB of LTE mobile hot spot data use. The $35 per month Magenta Plus First Responder plan boosts the hot spot use to 20 GB and the video to high-definition. (More details here.)
The plan follows up on T-Mobile US’ Magenta Military plans, which were launched in the spring of 2018.
The fine print of the offer does note that “during congestion, the small fraction of customers using >50GB/mo. may notice reduced speeds until next bill cycle due to data prioritization.” Similarly, the plans for connecting other devices also have speed-throttling points in the data offering.
John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile US, said in a statement that his company’s plan for military users “forced AT&T and Verizon to respond and altogether created a wave of change that we estimate saves military families more than a billion dollars every year. This is what we do. We spark a reaction. And Magenta First Responder will do the same.”
Comparatively, AT&T-FirstNet offers smartphone plans that range from $28.50 per month for 2 GB of data plus unlimited talk to $45 per month for unlimited smartphone use plus unlimited data tethering. The carrier does place some restrictions on certain plans, such as reserving the right to move users to a different plan if their data usage exceeds 22 GB for 3 consecutive months. Verizon, meanwhile, offers personal lines for first responders starting at $30 per month with additional discounts available.
AT&T has not broken out its FirstNet subscribers separately in quarterly results, but has provided intermittent updates on how fast its subscriber base is growing, and has credited the FirstNet program with helping to support its subscriber growth in its most recent quarter.
