T-Mobile and Walmart are touting a new unlimited talk, text, and data
plan for cheap--as long as you accept a loose definition of
"unlimited."
The Family Mobile Plan starts at $45 per month, plus $35 for each
additional line. While voice minutes and text messages are truly
unlimited, families will be throttled to sub-3G speeds after they use
250MB of data in one month.
As a promo, T-Mobile and Walmart are offereing 5GB of uncapped data
to families that sign up before March 17--however, this promo rate only
lasts through the end of March. After that, everyone gets knocked down
to the 250MB soft limit.
At least the plan isn't tied to an annual contract. Users can bring
their own handsets, or buy a new one at full price from Walmart. The
small selection includes a basic flip phone, two feature phones, and LG's Optimus One Android smartphone.
For users who consume more data, and not as many voice minutes, T-Mobile and Walmart offer a $30 per month cellular plan
with 100 minutes of talk time, unlimited text messages and 5 GB of 4G
HSPA+ data. As with the Family Mobile Plan, users get throttled back to
2G speeds after hitting the limit.
T-Mobile isn't the only wireless carrier that's been stretching the definition of "unlimited" data. AT&T and Verizon
both reduce speeds for users who consume the most data, although
Verizon only does so when its network is congested. And T-Mobile has
called its tiered data plans "unlimited" since last April.
Although wireless carriers argue that a plan with throttling is still
"unlimited" because users can continue to access the Internet, speed
restrictions are still a type of limit placed on the user. T-Mobile is
doing a good thing by offering an affordable family plan with unlimited
talk and text. Why muddy it with dishonest advertising