What first popped up as a rumor earlier this week is now an officially confirmed fact: T-Mobile has launched a pair of new pricing plans which offer unlimited domestic airtime, text messaging and data access. The plans are split between the wireless carrier’s two price tiers, Even More and Even More Plus. The former carries at $79.99 per month price tag and includes a discounted phone and a two-year contract commitment. The latter costs $59.99 per month; with this one, you don’t get a discounted phone but you also don’t have to make a contract commitment.
The new plans will only be available for a limited time, according to the T-Mobile press release. Though given the fact that AT&T recently moved to acquire the company, all time is limited at this point. There’s a big, fat catch that data users will need to consider with these two plans, however. As the press release states: “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.”
That should be clear enough. Use too much data in a month-long window, and T-Mobile will throttle your speeds. In fairness, most on-the-go Internet users don’t manage to reach such heights in their daily data usage. Then again, T-Mobile is “America’s Largest 4G Network.” It’s a lot easier to kill time on your web access-equipped smartphone when your average site takes that much quicker to load.
Before you go and get bent out of shape, screaming for blood over the very idea that your wireless carrier would have the nerve to cap your data speeds, remember that an unlimited data plan is an exception rather than a rule these days. These plans are very affordable. A comparable plan with AT&T, for example, which would still cap your data usage at 4GB (with overage charges being applied after that), would run you in excess of $130 per month after taxes and surcharges. So go ahead and celebrate, T-Mobile customers. The speed limiting is unfortunate, but it’s a worthwhile trade off for unlimited data access on the go.
