T-Mobile simplifies Pay as You Go plans

By Malarie Gokey August 12, 2014

T-Mobile termination fee refund 12 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Shortly after announcing that it has the most users on its prepaid network, T-Mobile unveiled better pricing for its Pay as You Go plans. Previously, the Uncarrier didn’t offer data to its prepaid customers and the pricing was variable. The new plans add 4G LTE data and simplify the pricing.

Starting August 17, T-Mobile will offer a flat rate of $0.10 per minute of talk and text to prepaid users. Pay as You Go customers can also buy 500MB 4G LTE data for a day or 1GB of 4G LTE data for 7 days. The day pass will cost just $5, while the week pass will cost $10. T-Mobile also promised users that their prepaid lines will stay active as long as they pay the $3 a month minimum, which includes 30 minutes of talk or text.

Related: T-Mobile surpasses Sprint to become the top prepaid phone service in the U.S.

Although prepaid plans aren’t for most people, they are good for those on a strict budget, traveling, or for parents with kids whose phone usage they want to restrict to emergency situations and so on. The new Pay as You Go plans could also be a great way to test out T-Mobile’s network in your area before leaving your old carrier for good.

Regardless, T-Mobile’s prepaid plans are among the cheapest available. This latest price cut and plan restructuring also make Pay as You Go much more flexible. It will be interesting to see if AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon alter their prepaid plans in response to T-Mobile’s big move. Currently, AT&T and Verizon offer prepaid plans for smartphones that start at $25 and $45 respectively.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…

Mobile

T-Mobile’s huge lead in 5G speeds isn’t going anywhere

OnePlus Nord N300 5G speed test.

It looks like 2023 could shape up to be the year that we reach "peak 5G." While T-Mobile still enjoys a very healthy lead over its rivals, we're no longer seeing significant speed increases from any of the big three U.S. carriers.

That's not surprising for T-Mobile and Verizon since they now cover more than two-thirds of the U.S. population. AT&T still has room to grow, yet it seems to be in a resting phase rather than an expansion one right now.

Mobile

The 5G speed race is over and T-Mobile has won

Every few months, a new market analysis comes out comparing the top 5G performance and availability among U.S. carriers. Each time, we wonder if the latest report will finally topple T-Mobile, which has held a commanding lead over rivals AT&T and Verizon for years. Yet, with each new report, T-Mobile pulls farther ahead while AT&T and Verizon are left in the dust.

With that in mind, Opensignal's latest 5G Experience Report doesn't bring too many surprises, at least in broad strokes. T-Mobile continues to deliver 5G download speeds that are more than twice those of any other carrier and more than twice the 5G availability. This means you won't just get faster performance on T-Mobile's 5G network, but you're more likely to be able to find a 5G connection.

Mobile

T-Mobile’s newest plans are exciting for new (and old) customers

T-Mobile has just unveiled a new set of plans and perks to help both new and current customers break free of lengthy device contracts while guaranteeing you'll be able to get the best deals available on phone upgrades every two years.

Significantly, with the new plans, the "Un-carrier" promises equal treatment for all customers, whether they're coming over from another carrier or have been using T-Mobile's services for years. That's in contrast to the limited-time offers of its rivals, which often ignore their most loyal subscribers in an effort to entice others to switch carriers.