Skip to main content

T-Mobile just raised its prices without telling anyone about it

t mobile q3 2015 earnings numbers news dish and to merge
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Come on, T-Mobile, did you really think no one would notice? CEO John Legere and his telecommunications company are known for throwing shade at competitors like Verizon and AT&T, but this time, they might have to take a taste of their own medicine. In true magician style, T-Mobile distracted customers with promises of video-streaming exemptions from data counts and doubling data offerings, all while surreptitiously raising prices. They haven’t said anything, but based on a new pricing scheme that will go live on Sunday, unlimited data plans on T-Mobile will now cost $95 a month, a pretty hefty increase of $15 over the previous price of $80 a month.

If it’s a lie, it’s a lie of omission to be sure, but it does seem pretty suspect that Legere hammered home the $2.4 billion non-T-Mobile customers have paid in overages this year, as well as the $45 billion of unused data others have bought, all while staying suspiciously quiet on his own company’s price hike.

Recommended Videos

That said, it’s not as though you’re paying for nothing. Customers who were on the most basic plan, which previously only included 1GB of data, will now receive 2GB. In fact, everything is being doubled — additional options now come in at 6GB, 10GB, and of course, unlimited.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

This price increase, however, does mean that T-Mobile is now pretty significantly more expensive than the only other provider offering an unlimited plan. As Ars Technica points out, Sprint sells an unlimited plan for $70. Still, T-Mobile seems pretty confident in its latest suite of offerings — after all, new customers will definitely be getting a better deal, with more data for less money.

But I don’t know, T-Mobile, you might want to rethink your announcement strategies moving forward. Silence isn’t necessarily the best policy.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
T-Mobile has been hit with a $60 million fine. Here’s why
Cell phone tower shooting off pink beams with a 5G logo next to it.

T-Mobile, the third-largest carrier in the U.S., has been hit with a $60 million fine by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS). This penalty is related to its failure to follow the terms of a mitigation agreement that T-Mobile agreed to when it acquired Sprint Corp. in 2020.

According to Reuters, Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's parent company, failed to prevent and report unauthorized access to sensitive data following the Sprint Corp. acquisition. The unauthorized access occurred in 2020 and 2021 when "information (was) shared from a small number of law enforcement information requests."

Read more
T-Mobile’s controversial price increases have gotten it in trouble
The T-Mobile logo on a smartphone.

In May, T-Mobile, the nation’s third-largest carrier, revealed its intention to raise rates on some of its older plans by $2 to $5 per line or up to $20 per account per month. Many of those customers aren’t happy and, according to Phone Arena, are bringing a class action lawsuit against the company.

As we previously noted, the price hikes affect users of legacy Simple Choice, ONE, and Magenta plans. Some users say those increases go against the company’s Price Lock and Un-Contract obligations. The move to see T-Mobile in court comes after thousands of customers filed complaints with the U.S. FCC and FTC.

Read more
It doesn’t look like anyone can beat T-Mobile
The T-Mobile logo on a smartphone.

Even as all three big U.S. carriers continue to expand their fastest midrange 5G coverage, T-Mobile maintains a healthy lead on the competition -- especially when it comes to overall network speeds across both 4G/LTE and 5G.

That’s the word from Ookla’s H1 U.S. Connectivity Report published today. While the latest scores show that Verizon and AT&T have made considerable strides in 5G performance, they still have a long way to go before they can match T-Mobile’s lead -- and there’s an even greater gap when it comes to overall network performance.
T-Mobile’s massive 5G footprint matters

Read more