In dueling press releases Thursday, Sprint and T-Mobile announced competing unlimited data plans for wireless customers who are willing to sacrifice video quality.
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AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint have unleashed their own unlimited data plans. The first line is $70 a month, the second is $50 a month, and additional lines are only $20 a month up to 8 lines with auto pay.
Under a plan called T-Mobile One, a family of four can get unlimited data for $160 a month. A tablet can be added for $20 per month. Customers could very well be drawn in by this “historic” offering. The new plans will also eliminate data overage charges by reducing speeds to 128 kbps after customers consume their allotted high-speed data limits.
Sprint’s announcement also included a swipe at T-Mobile’s Binge On program that lets customers stream video content from preferred partner companies and not have that data count toward their monthly caps.
If you don’t have four lines on one account, the company is sweetening the rest of plans, too.
Like T-Mobile, it will also optimize video streaming on the unlimited data plan to 480p resolution.
Sprint’s Unlimited Freedom Plan will be available starting tomorrow. Sprint doesn’t seem to offer tethering at all, while T-Mobile limits tethering to 2G speeds.
During the announcement, Sprint president and CEO Marcelo Claure said that the wireless mobile users are now engulfed with confusion and frustration due to multiple wireless offers, with more focus toward gigabytes and extra charges, and look forward to simple, affordable packages. Customers who want HD video quality will pay an extra $25 a month, while LTE tethering is available for $15 a month. A second line costs $40, and additional lines, up to ten, are $30 per month. Unfortunately, it carries numerous same downsides as T-Mobile’s.
“At a point relatively soon, this will be the plan and the way of doing business with T-Mobile”, he said on a conference call with reporters. In fact, these calling and texting features are still much dependent on data, especially for millennials who prefer using IMs than traditional voice calling and SMS services.
Pricing for T-Mobile One ultimately depends on how many lines you have. This means for two people on the plan the cost is $50 each per month, saving customers in both instances $10 a month.
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A new 10GB will be offered for $80, while the current 15GB for $100 plan will be turned into a 16GB for $90 option. A family of three with 3 GB of data had to pay only $90 before; with ONE the bill would hit $140.
