MetroPCS makes good on threats/promises, changes LTE plan structure

[Brendan Hugo]

We discussed it less than a week ago, and already it has happened. MetroPCS has overhauled its data plan pricing structure. You now have to pay $70 a month for unlimited 4g LTE data, which was previously attained for only $40. Granted, the $40 plan only actually allowed unlimited web browsing, capping media streaming at 100MB, and this is another thing that has changed. With MetroPCS’ new 4G LTE unlimited plans, a distinction between multimedia streaming and web browsing is no longer made. Unlimited now truly means unlimited.

This change only applies to 4G LTE customers, 3G users can still obtain unlimited talk, text, and data for $40. In fact, 4G LTE customers on the plans below $70—$40, $50, and $60—will not have data cut off after they hit their monthly limit. And, unlike some companies, throttling on the 4G LTE network will not make your device unusable; rather it will just limit customers to “a reduced speed similar to what they might experience on MetroPCS' 3G networks."

As for the revised plans, $40 will now net you 250MB of unhindered data, with unlimited talk and text. Tacking on another $10 will give you 2.5GB of untethered LTE data, and $60 will grant you a whopping 5GB of pre-throttling data, with the added bonus of an unlimited Rhapsody subscription. If your pockets and mobile appetite are larger yet still, $70—which, coincidentally, is still less than I pay for unlimited data and 450 minutes from Verizon—will gain you fully unlimited talk, text, and data as well as Rhapsody and MetroSTUDIO Video On Demand.

I don’t know about you, but this strikes me as the most reasonable throttled or tiered 4G LTE data plan structure available. So my question is: why is MetroPCS not gaining more traction and growing like a weed? Some of that may come down to what’s included in the data tiers—for a service like MetroPCS, are Rhapsody and on demand videos really worth an extra $20 per month, or could there be a better marketing partnership, seeing as how 95% of all smartphone users only use 2.5GB of data or less?

[MetroPCS via FierceWireless]

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