T-Mobile phasing out data limits
The question is — will you save money?
NEW YORK » T-Mobile is phasing out data limits and pushing people toward unlimited data plans — which will mean higher prices for many new customers.
Although T-Mobile is cutting the price of the unlimited plan, those who haven’t been using that much data might eventually pay more for unlimited data they don’t need.
T-Mobile’s announcement Thursday comes a day after AT&T said it would raise prices on some plans while giving customers more data. Verizon made a similar move last month.
The wireless industry has become increasingly competitive over the past few years given that most people already have smartphones. Carriers have had to reduce prices to lure customers from rivals and have tried to make up the revenue by selling larger data plans.
T-Mobile has also tried to make its plans more appealing by letting many customers stream video from dozens of services including Netflix, ESPN and HBO without eating up data. Making all its plans unlimited is an extension of that, given that video is one of the biggest drains on data.
Starting Sept. 6, T-Mobile will cut the price of its unlimited plan and start phasing out plans that have data limits. There’s no date for when the older plans won’t be available — a new customer could still get them after Sept. 6 — but the new unlimited plan will eventually be T-Mobile’s “main offer,” spokeswoman Bethany Frey said.
Existing customers can keep their plans for now.
Unlimited isn’t really unlimited, though. Customers who use more than 26 gigabytes in a given month may have their speeds slowed if there is network congestion.
Starting Sept. 6, T-Mobile will cut the price of its unlimited plan and start phasing out plans that have data limits.