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T-Mobile unveiled its upcoming T-Mobile One unlimited data plans just two weeks ago, but the carrier is already bolstering the deal before it has even been launched to customers.
In an Aug. 29 follow-up announcement, T-Mobile now says that the upcoming One plans will include mobile tethering at 3G speeds (512K bps), instead of at the 2G speeds (128K bps) that were originally proposed under the plans, which start at $70 for the first line per month. In addition, a new T-Mobile One Plus option is being added for an extra $25 per month per line that will bump the tethering speeds to 4G LTE while also including unlimited free 24-hour daily passes for HD-quality video streaming, which is a bump from the typical DVD quality (480p) speeds that are included in the base One services.
T-Mobile One customers who don’t want to pay for the One Plus services can opt for an unlimited number of 24-hour HD video streaming passes for $3 each, under the upgraded offering, according to the company. The daily passes will be available starting in October.
Both the T-Mobile One and One Plus plans also include unlimited talk, unlimited text and unlimited high-speed 4G LTE smartphone data for each smartphone line.
In addition, T-Mobile will begin to offer the new plans starting Sept. 1, rather than on Sept. 6 as originally proposed.
“We’ve ended data buckets, gone unlimited and now we’re amping up T-Mobile One to make it even better,” John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile, said in a statement. “Listening to customers is at the core of the Un-carrier. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—the best way to run your company is to shut up, listen to your customers, and then do what they say!”
T-Mobile One Plus customers also will receive higher 3G speeds in the company’s Simple Global countries where available, compared with 2G speeds that are provided normally under the plan. Simple Global services include free data roaming in more than 140 countries and destinations from T-Mobile.
The T-Mobile One plans were unveiled earlier in August, within 24 hours after competitor AT&T announced that it was dropping data overage fees for its customers. Under AT&T’s plan, once customers reach their existing data limits, instead of overage charges, they will receive lower 128K-bps speeds, which will slow their web use but allow them to continue to use some services.
But under T-Mobile’s latest Un-Carrier 12 move, which it is calling its T-Mobile One unlimited data plan, customers will get unlimited data for $70 a month for the first line, $50 for the second line and $20 for each additional line, up to eight lines, using automatic payments.
The original One plan only offered DVD quality (480p) video streaming, with an option for HD quality streaming for an additional $25 per month per line. High-speed tethering was originally offered as a $15-per-month-per-line option under the original plan.
T-Mobile’s Un-carrier initiatives, which it has been unveiling for several years, are designed to show customers that T-Mobile is not a stodgy mobile carrier, which is how the company identifies its key competitors, AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. In June, T-Mobile rolled out its Stock Up Un-Carrier 11 move, which offers a free full share of the carrier’s common stock to all existing and new customers to thank them for their business, as well as the potential to earn up to 100 free stock shares a year by recommending the company to friends and family members.
T-Mobile’s previous Un-carrier events have brought unlimited video streaming, unlimited music streaming, rebates to switch carriers, roll-over monthly data and more for the company’s customers. In November 2015, T-Mobile unveiled its then-new Binge-On free unlimited video streaming to all customers who had at least a 3GB monthly data plan.