During its lavish Uncarrier event yesterday, T-Mobile drew headlines with its
Binge On initiative
that will exempt Netflix, HBO, and other video streaming services from
customers' data plans. But the company also took the opportunity to
raise prices while the world kept its eyes elsewhere. T-Mobile will now
charge $45 for unlimited data, up from $30. That means the total cost of
the carrier’s "Simple Choice" plan including unlimited data will be $95
for a single line.
In
exchange, T-Mobile says it's doubling the amount of data customers can
use when turning their smartphone into a mobile hotspot, from 7GB to
14GB, and will give away a free movie rental from Vudu once a month
starting next year. The change takes effect on November 15th, but
current unlimited data plan owners are exempt.
A 50 percent hike for unlimited data
T-Mobile
CEO John Legere made a point yesterday to skewer competitors onstage
for preying on customers with overage charges and tactics designed to
push smartphone owners over their data limit. He said overage charges
will hit $2.4 billion this year, while telecom companies will collect
$45 billion worth of unused data customers end up paying for without
needing it. Of course, T-Mobile won't begin charging customers who go
over their limit, but Legere and COO Mike Sievert announced the mobile
hotspot benefit while being careful not to include details about the
price bump.
© Provided by The VergeT-Mobile
is also making changes to its lower-tier data plans, though at the
overall benefit of customers. For new subscribers of the company's
second-lowest data tier, the 6GB plan, you'll pay $65 a month starting
November 15th. The plan previously cost $60 a month for only 3GB of
data. The 5GB plan, which used to cost $70 a month, now offers 10GB for
$80 a month. Existing subscribers get their data limits doubled without
having to pay the new price. Yet new customers will still be getting
more data for less money on those tiers than they would have previously.
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