We would love to have unlimited data on our mobile phones and tablets, but those are pretty rare to come by with the amount of data consumption that is involved in this day and age. Sure, T-Mobile did have something like it a while ago, but had to introduce caps as not everyone agreed to the fair usage policy. Just like how you cannot keep a good man down, so too, is it difficult to have the Uncarrier, as T-Mobile likes to refer to itself as, maintain status quo. In fact, T-Mobile will be resurrecting its unlimited wireless data plan for the iPhone from this September onward. The new data plan will be known as T-Mobile One.
T-Mobile One will not come with any kind of data cap at all, although there is a caveat (isn’t there one always?). Subscribers will will have to experience streaming video at a limited quality level -- DVD only, and 2G tethered data without forking out extra.
Now that the fine print is done and over with, what are the delicious points that concern the T-Mobile One data plan? T-Mobile One will boast of unlimited 4G data, calling, and text messaging. Text messaging might not be in vogue at the moment and does not look likely to make a comeback, so that is a moot point. However, unlimited calling would come in handy especially for the busy business types as well as talkative teens or campus students, not to mention those who are head over heels in love with their other half. The meat of the T-Mobile One offering lies in its unlimited 4G data, of course.
T-Mobile One’s first line plan will cost $70 per month, whereas a second line will set you back by $50 a pop. If you should settle for extra lines after the second, it would be $20 each month. Tablets can also be added to T-Mobile One plans with an additional $20 per device. Customers who decide to come out of auto-pay services will have a $5 fee for each line assessed.
To sweeten the T-Mobile One deal, there will be other standard T-Mobile benefits such as data roaming in Mexico and Canada, "carrier freedom" programs that will see T-Mobile pay the cost if you would like to switch data plans, not to mention the T-Mobile Tuesday customer bonus program.
Video service will be streamed at Standard Definition (SD) on T-Mobile One, which would mean your eyes are treated to 480p maximum resolution. Not too shabby if the meat of the content happens to be conveyed through the audio such as news, but when it comes to entertainment in the form of movies, it would not do the movie justice. Thankfully, T-Mobile has left the back door open by making available higher definition video at a cost of $25 per line.
If you would like to turn your iPhone into a mobile hotspot, there is no limit to the amount of data. The only drawback? Its speed under the T-Mobile One plan will be limited to just 2G, which is pretty much useless for surfing the Internet. That would make it good for just receiving text messages via instant messaging programs like Facebook Messenger, WeChat, WhatsApp, and the like. Of course, T-Mobile leaves room for full speed data tethering packages under the T-Mobile One umbrella, but the cost involved remains to be announced.
Basically, T-Mobile One customers who utilize over 26GB of high-speed data each month could end up having data traffic prioritized to 3G or 2G speeds, although this is narrowed down to specific times and places where the network has high network demand. There is no cap for full-time throttling implementation. We do look forward to see whether Verizon and AT&T will follow suit with something similar.
