T-Mobile Returns To Unlimited Data Plans

New submitter kevmeister writes "Today T-Mobile decided that unlimited data plans are a good thing after all. Over a year after discontinuation, T-Mobile announced that unlimited data is coming back. 'T-Mobile said the new unlimited data plan will cost $20 a month when added to a Value voice and text plan, and $30 a month when added to a Classic voice and text plan. ... Among its top U.S. network counterparts, only Sprint offers a similar deal, and it costs about $110 a month. But Sprint offers the iPhone; T-Mobile does not. One of the new T-Mobile plan's flaws, though, is that it cannot be used for tethering -- that is, connecting multiple devices to the Internet. MetroPCS, considered the fifth-largest carrier in the U.S., made a big announcement of its own Tuesday, saying it would begin offering an unlimited everything promotional plan for $55 a month for a limited time.'"

Comments

"The flaw" not really much of a flaw

[Mitsoid]

" One of the new T-Mobile plan's flaws, though, is that it cannot be used for tethering "

Verizon & AT&T do not either.. not a huge flaw there as T-Mobile gets a one-up on their higher market share competitors.. on top of being GSM like AT&T, you get a bit more phone freedom (minus the #g band differences, which seem to be more of a moot point nowadays anyways for international travelers... since 3g band frequencies change by country)

Re:"The flaw" not really much of a flaw

[Mitreya]

The thing I have a problem with is that they will collect all your personal information to activate the disposable SIM

You can buy a naked SIM in T-Mobile store -- I have done so several times. They do not really collect your information (they do ask for a name and for a birthday, but told me that this is for phone-support authentication. they don't verify with ID or anything.).
You certainly do not have to provide them with an address.

Thank You Department of Justice

[timeOday]

This is clearly a dividend of last year's enforcement of anti-trust law against the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile:

On March 20, 2011, AT&T announced that it would purchase T-Mobile USA. On August 31, 2011, the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice formally announced that it would seek to block the takeover, and filed a lawsuit to such effect in federal court. The bid was abandoned by AT&T on December 19, 2011.

Obviously the acquisition was intended to prevent exactly this sort of competitive undercutting.

Re:T-Mobile DATA plan?

[Burning1]

I'm also a T-Mobile customer, and I live in the Bay Area. Voice / Text / Data isn't really an issue here. I recently switched from Verizon, because I could get a monthly plan with unlimited data for $50, rather than paying $85/mo for Verizon.

If you live in rural America, Verizon is one of the better choices. I grew up in the Santa Cruz Mountains and owned my first cell phone 12 years ago. Back then, coverage was really an issue.

Since I love to go riding in rural areas, I may end up buying a Verizon Pay as You Go phone as well. $1.99 for unlimited calls on the few days I need it.

Tmobile wifi calling solves this problem

[SuperBanana]

I can certainly tell you though that I would not sign up for a data plan with T-Mobile, at least not where I currently live. That would be a tremendous waste of money.

At home you have wifi, don't you?

Not only does that mean you don't really need data coverage, but you can make and receive phonecalls seamlessly via wifi calling. Myself and several other coworkers switched to tmobile specifically because wifi calling works perfectly (provided there's enough wifi signal strength) and as a result, we can make calls from our building's basement - we have wifi everywhere on campus, and as a result we have the best "cell service."

You can even set whether to prefer wifi or cellular. It just switches over automatically. If you have your phone set to keep wifi on all the time, you can receive calls without issue.

If you have signal strength issues at home, you can also purchase an amplifier/antenna pair. An antenna goes on your roof (or stuck to the inside of a window, or attached to the exterior wall), a cable goes into a central part of the house where you locate the amplifier+indoor antenna.

Re:T-Mobile iPhone this fall?

[Bill_the_Engineer]

CNET Reviews CTIA 2012 T-Mobile: iPhone network compatibility coming this year