T-Mobile simplifies Pay as You Go plans

By Malarie Gokey Published August 12, 2014

T-Mobile termination fee refund 12 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Shortly after announcing that it has the most users on its prepaid network, T-Mobile unveiled better pricing for its Pay as You Go plans. Previously, the Uncarrier didn’t offer data to its prepaid customers and the pricing was variable. The new plans add 4G LTE data and simplify the pricing.

Starting August 17, T-Mobile will offer a flat rate of $0.10 per minute of talk and text to prepaid users. Pay as You Go customers can also buy 500MB 4G LTE data for a day or 1GB of 4G LTE data for 7 days. The day pass will cost just $5, while the week pass will cost $10. T-Mobile also promised users that their prepaid lines will stay active as long as they pay the $3 a month minimum, which includes 30 minutes of talk or text.

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Related: T-Mobile surpasses Sprint to become the top prepaid phone service in the U.S.

Although prepaid plans aren’t for most people, they are good for those on a strict budget, traveling, or for parents with kids whose phone usage they want to restrict to emergency situations and so on. The new Pay as You Go plans could also be a great way to test out T-Mobile’s network in your area before leaving your old carrier for good.

Regardless, T-Mobile’s prepaid plans are among the cheapest available. This latest price cut and plan restructuring also make Pay as You Go much more flexible. It will be interesting to see if AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon alter their prepaid plans in response to T-Mobile’s big move. Currently, AT&T and Verizon offer prepaid plans for smartphones that start at $25 and $45 respectively.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…

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