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Yesterday T-Mobile announced both a $79.99 Even More plan and $59.99 month-to-month Even More Plus plan. Today, the carrier has reissued a press release focusing only on the more expensive of the two options with its unlimited talk, text, and data. That is if you consider 2GB of data unlimited. Sure, technically you do get unlimited data with T-Mobile only throttling back your speeds if you exceed your allotment. Sure, most average smartphone users will rarely exceed 2GB pre month. The 2GB of data should serve most fine.
The point is when a carrier says unlimited they should mean just that: unlimited. You don’t see them offering up unlimited voice minutes with an asterisk and a footnote saying, “Once you exceed 1000 minutes call quality will be reduced and dropped calls will be more frequent until your next billing cycle.” Yes, voice and data are two separate beasts entirely, but you get the gist.
Still, for customers of the network soon to be owned by AT&T this $79.99 plan should be pretty appealing for price and features. See the full release below.
T-Mobile Introduces New Unlimited Data, Calling and Texting Plan for Only $79.99 Per Month
New lower-priced unlimited plan with no overage charges makes wireless more affordable to more people on America’s Largest 4G NetworkBELLEVUE, Wash. — April 13, 2011 — T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced that a new, single-line unlimited plan is available for just $79.99 per month, with an Even More™ plan and a two-year contract. The new plan offers great value for new and existing customers with unlimited nationwide calling, texting and data – with no overage charges – on America’s Largest 4G Network™.
“Consumers today are looking for even more value and flexibility from their wireless plans,” said John Clelland, senior vice president, marketing, T-Mobile USA. “While data plans for many of our competitors continue to be very expensive, T-Mobile is lowering the price of our unlimited plan and offering more options, making it easier than ever for customers to step up to a richer mobile data experience on our 4G network.”
Combined with an extensive lineup of affordable smartphones, T-Mobile’s new Even More unlimited plan allows customers to save more than $350 per year on an unlimited smartphone plan, compared to similar plans from AT&T, Verizon and Sprint1. Additionally, T-Mobile customers continue to receive high-quality 4G experiences where they live, work, and play – America’s Largest 4G Network™ now reaches 167 markets and more than 200 million people nationwide.
In contrast to some competing offerings, T-Mobile’s new Even More unlimited plan enables customers to use mobile data on their smartphones without incurring any overage charges. Consumers exceeding 2GB of usage in a billing month will still have access to unlimited data at reduced speeds until their new billing cycle starts. On average, T-Mobile 4G smartphone customers consume about 1GB of data per billing month.
In addition to its unlimited plans, T-Mobile continues to offer one of the industry’s most affordable entry-level data plans, starting at just $10 for 200 MB per billing month. The company also strives to help customers on these data plans avoid surprise bills with SMS alerts when they are reaching their data limit.
The new $79.99 Even More unlimited plan is available now for qualifying customers. To find the T-Mobile plan that best fits their needs, customers can visit http://www.t-mobile.com.
T-Mobile’s HSPA+ 4G network not available everywhere. See coverage details at T-Mobile.com.
1 Based on comparison against comparable post-paid plans for smartphones from AT&T, Verizon and Sprint; does not include taxes and fees or cost of phone. Plan features and limitations may vary. Data as of March 2011.
Agreed. i want to kick T-Mobile in the nads for this oxymoron. Everyone should just adopt Sprint’s philosophy on UNLIMITED.
Sprint’s not bulletproof in what it does….
-grin- Really? How is Sprint’s “unlimited” not “bulletproof”? #LoveYourHaters
I have never personally met someone that is happy with Sprint. Anyone I know that has had or has them spoke very poorly of them for their customer service and for the 4G premium when my 3G T-Mobile phone was pulling faster data speeds.
This may be true, but I believe he asked how Sprint’s unlimited is not bulletproof. Not customer satisfaction..
cha-ching! and this person and whoever his/her contacts are, haven’t been talking to sprint lately. their customer service is so much refined now from what it was about 5 years ago. haters…i tell ya! :(
how long ago was that? 4,5,6 years ago and still talking like it was yesterday, go get a life will you.
i have had sprint for 10 years or longer. these days the service is second to none. and i travel all over the country, and rarely have any problems with the service. and there is no cap of any kind on my data…
I want that Sensation!!!! Oh yeah FIRST!!!!!
I actually am pretty okay with this deal. It is unlimited in the sense that, you get throttled, but you still have “unlimited” access to data still. Granted it’ll be a lot slower. But it’s better than getting charged more (for most people). Sure you could calculate the max possible data that you could get, the 2GB + max constant downloading at throttle speed, and you could argue that that is what they should put in the place of “unlimited” data. But the same could be done with LTE, or the HSPA+, unlimited isn’t you can get infinite amount of data, it’s you have unlimited access to data. There is no such thing as a truly “unlimited” plan the way you are framing unlimited in this article, as we do have bandwidth limitations.
People like you are stupid and that is why they do what they do. They shouldn’t advertise this as unlimited, rather should be clear about 2gig at normal speed and the rest throttled
They are very, very clear bout the 2 gig normal speed, then throttling. It’s in bold right there before you sign up. Not an asterisk and then a footnote, but a big bold statement. See here:
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/cell-phone-plans-detail.aspx?tp=tb1&rateplan=Even-More-Unlimited-Talk-Text-Unlimited-Data
They’re not being deceptive, they’re offering a good plan for people and calling it unlimited for marketing purposes. They’re not unclear about the 2 gig throttling provision, though.
People like you are stupid for not understanding exactly what unlimited means. It means you can use any amount of data. There’s a throttling provision, but that doesn’t make it not unlimited.
You’re wrong.
They clearly advertise unlimited voice, text, and data “on America’s largest 4G network.” What you actually get is 2GB on the largest 4G network, and then the rest of your data on America’s not quite largest mobile dial-up network. You can’t advertise unlimited data on a 4G network, but when you go to sign up it says “well, really you only get 2GB a month on that high speed 4G network”.
It’s like an all you can eat buffet allowing you to load up one plate of food with whatever you want on the first trip, but for subsequent trips you can only put one thing on a tiny saucer.
See, but you’re wrong.
Even in their press release, it’s clearly stated that speeds are reduced at 2GB. Yes, they’re advertising as unlimited to draw more people in, but it’s not deceptive because they seem to have taken pains to make it clear that there’s a throttle point at 2GB.
And your example is not a good argument. You can still eat all you want from the buffet. It’s just less convenient. Now I’d be on your side if they said “ALL YOU CAN EAT!!!!*” and there was a microprinted footnote about the tiny saucer. But if they were upfront about it, like T-mo is being here, then it’s not like consumers will be surprised when they’re given the little plate for their subsequent trips.
In the end, if you aren’t interested in the plan, just don’t sign up for it. Just like if you read about the buffet, and they tell you about the tiny saucer for your second, third, etc trips, then you can choose to pay a little more for a buffet that doesn’t make you use that smaller plate.
i think the whole point is the word “unlimited”. people can criticize all they want about speeds and all that, but the fact that the word “unlimited” was used is very deceptive, even for marketing purposes.
You are correct to say that people shouldn’t get the plan if they think that it’s not a good, and they should! But just scratch the word “unlimited”…it’s just bad marketing.
The buffet example is actually a good example, and you pointed it out the same way. I don’t see the difference about “eating all you can” and the footnote reference you have about the small saucer. They’re exactly the same thing…just reworded differently.
Now, on rewording… :)
People like me? People who like to pay for a cheaper plan if i’m using under 2GB a month anyways? People that know full well what I’M getting and am content with it? I make what I think is a pretty well reasoned response to this article, and your response is basically “you’re stupid” and proceed to ignore the facts.
Yeah, people like me…
It’s people like you that I wish there was down thumbing on these forums for. I will most likely be switching to this plan, as it will save me money, and I know full well what i’m getting.
I <3 options, apparently you don't.
maybe you don’t realize that it was 5GB before? Do you like paying more for less?
You can still get 5GB… This is $20 cheaper. So if someone was to look at their usage and find themselves under 2GB then great or if they hover around 2 then they have to decide that if they want to save $20 they may get throttled. Its options for the consumer. I’m on my phone a lot as I never use a computer and I use about 1GB a month.
you probably still using a dial-up connection on your house right?
Holy shit the logic of this thread makes me puke.
@Micah. Totally agreed
I often use more than 2 gig. In fact I’m at 3gig now with about a week left in my billing cycle. Sometimes I have used around 10gig. I stream Pandora every weekday and read lots of news, but last time they throttled my data Pandora would not even play without skipping and so no, I don’t want Tmobile throttling my data.
Cool, then don’t sign up for this promotional plan. Problem solved.
Yeah, you’re right. With my current plan, I believe I get throttled after 5gig, but I did not know all of those details before the first time it happened. I figured it out because Pandora kept skipping, so much so that you really could not listen to the stream. So then, if Tmo says “unlimited,” but then an app like Pandora will not work when Tmo activates throttling, to me, this is not unlimited.
The fact that you frequently use more than 5 gigs and sometimes more than 10 gigs puts you in a less than 1% of users bracket. They design their plans to be a benefit for the majority of users, not heavy data users. Throttling allows them to keep some bandwith open for other users.
It sucks that Pandora would stop working because of the slow connection, but you’re using an insane amount of mobile data. Bandwith is not unlimited to the carriers. These throttles allow them to keep most users happy.
I happily use as much data as I see fit. Whether its 1 gig one month or 15 the next..so what?! I It’s MY unlimited data that I pay for every month.If anything It’s peoples perception that we as consumers should feel sorry for the carriers not being able provide the substantial amount of data we need or WANT. “Unlimited” by Sprints standards are is the right way of doing business. Carriers should not flaunt 4g,5g,6g Bieber Fever in front of consumers if they cant back up the data being pulled from their towers. Not one person should be singled out for their (carriers) lack of system data support. Then carriers shouldn’t brag about unlimited data if it is just a ploy to have people sign up for 2years with a faster more data hog 4g phone in their hands & expect the consumer to just sit back & be conformed with their lack of data support in the long haul. Its unfair and deceptive! Give it 1 or 2 years before even 5gb a month will be the norm. More data is being pumped out of the interwebz on the daily basis, data hungry apps are added daily, more video is being watched..hell even the carriers are tauting hi def video this, Youtube that, Netflix there..cmon! If the networks can’t catch up with the exorbitant amount of data involved from just a stock standpoint (not root,tether,etc) that should never be the consumers fault by then punishing any one person by throttling, capping, etc. Anyone feel me on this?
Frank….i definitely feel you…
2GB is UNACCEPTABLE. This does not bode well for those of us who actually KNOW how to a smartphone and what it is capable of. 5GB per month I can handle (barely) but this is just ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then don’t sign up for this plan. Easy peasy.
So you are saying that anyone who knows how to use a smartphone will be using Pandora or other media streaming services?
Me, I’ve had an Android phone for the past 2.5 years, when I want to listen to music I have GBs of it on my SD Card, I also have several full length movies. I use my smartphone every day all day long and have NEVER used more than 400MB of data in a month, even using that much is a recent development because my G2 with HSPA+ is fast enough I don’t bother to use WiFi most of the time.
For the vast majority of users, what’s ridiculous is the idea of using more than 2GB of data in a month.
As has already been suggested if you are one of the sub 1% who feels the need to stream media all the time you should pick a different plan or different carrier, I believe I can safely speak for the majority in saying we don’t want to pay more money to support your excessive data usage.
This.
Articles like this are obviously not well-researched. Gizmodo ran one, too. This is a good plan for a lot of people. I have an older unlimited plan with Tmobile, and I’m a heavy user (Pandora, downloads, etc), and I barely ever use 2GB thanks to being on wifi at home.
T-Mobile is very, very clear bout the 2 gig normal speed, then throttling. It’s in bold right there before you sign up. Not an asterisk and then a footnote, but a big bold statement. See here:
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/cell-phone-plans-detail.aspx?tp=tb1&rateplan=Even-More-Unlimited-Talk-Text-Unlimited-Data
They’re not being deceptive, they’re offering a good plan for people and calling it unlimited for marketing purposes. They’re not unclear about the 2 gig throttling provision, though.
AT&T already does 2gb data max, seems like T-MO is setting everyone up for the inevitable, where they claim unlimited to keep you from leaving and allow Ma Bell to come in and take the unlimited tag away, seeing how they got T-MO to drop from 5gb to 2gb.
Cell phone carriers are only able to do this when the market accepts it. I see many folks who seem to be willfully ignorant jumping right aboard with this not thinking about the overall repercussions of that action or inaction.
Once they see they are able to overcharge a certain amount without protest or customer upheaval. Once they see that they are able to put ristrictions on a falsely advertised “unlimited” data plan without being called on it. I then began to wonder what will we let them get away with next. Weather you like to think so or not this hurts all of us in the long run.
The political equivalent of this is when the american people accepted the patriot acts and wallstreet bail outs ;-) hmmm I wonder what they’ll think of next. ..
You’re credibility was shot when you said “Still, for customers of the network soon to be owned by AT&T”. It’s still T-Mobile till Uncle Sam says otherwise. Even so, AT&T has promised that customers will be able to stay on their plans. So for those of you who fit into the 2 GB realm (which is about 95% of smart phone users) this deal is just too good to pass up on.
I go over 2GBs all the time and don’t see this throttling but ya if they do end up doing that to me then I will be looking for a different carrier.
You know, then they shouldn’t use the word “unlimited” in the advertising. They should tell you how much you actually get. That’s not really all that difficult either, they can take the slower data rate, multiple it the number of minutes of average use, or super user use for that matter, and they say 2 GB at HSPA+ and X GB at edge. That makes sense to me. Although I admit, given the math skills of the average consumer, perhaps that would be more confusing. But I would like it.
General consumers would not understand a unlimited talk, text, 2gb plan that allows you to continue using data without overages at a throttled speed.
i’ve got to agree with JakeMG on a lot of his comments mainly – if you don’t like it, don’t sign up for it. but unfortunately i am mostly on the other side of the fence. sure they may document the 2gb cap but isn’t there some sort of ethical discomfort in that? and how can they really say 95% of users will never go over 2gbs? my boyfriend is in security and relies heavily on his phone for passive entertainment for his 12-16 hour shifts. in the most recent months he ended up using approximately 11 gbs per month and he actually got texts from T-Mo informing him that he would be throttled. because of this i believe that T-mo isn’t being shiesty when they don’t announce the 2gb cap on tv when they say ‘unlimited’, however i still think it’s a little presumptuous.
Great deal, I use 1GB a month so $20 savings. And its not like they took the 5GB unlimited away.
I have my G2, my data package is “unlimited” and then I get throttled to 60K when I go over 5gigs…which is every month. The G2 has wi-fi tethering, so of course any G2 user goes over 5 gigs.
@Micah Madru
I concur. Throttling is okay with me. I would jump on this if I didn’t have a family plan, and may if my family separates from my plan.
@Kevin Krause
Cut the shots against T-mobile. You have been really annoying with your support for your carrier, and downing of any other carrier. T-mobile averages higher download speeds than Sprint any day. Even when I go over 5 gb and get throttled, I still get 200-400 kBps, kilobytes, not bits. T-mobile has been good to me, and my hope is they won’t approve the sale to the big A.
I have gone up to 20gb in a month and not had problem with the throttled speeds. Love my T-mobile.
I know what you mean, this is why I’m so ready to switch to this plan if I can. I generally use around 1.5GB a month, but a few months I’ve gone over 7GB (traveling), and the throttle speed was more than acceptable.
The biggest question is what type of throttled speeds one will get after going over 2gb.
For those of us who tether, 2 GB is a joke. Just this morning Windows Update and Virus Update downloaded over 380 MB in less than an hour using my good ole’ T-Mobile G1. Unlimited means unlimited. As in Sprint Unlimited, not AT&T “Unlimited”. I don’t care how clearly they indicate the 2 GB cap. KISS
Time to spank the spokesmodel. Bad girl!
I find it funny how other carriers do this as well, but you only seem to be on T-mobile’s back about it.