T-Mobile brings MetroPCS brand to 10 new markets, doubles data for some subs

T-Mobile US' (NYSE:TMUS) MetroPCS brand is expanding into 10 new markets and is doubling the high-speed data allotments it gives to some of its customers.

The new markets include a mix of major cities and smaller towns, including Chattanooga, Tenn.; Chicago; Kansas City, Mo.; Milwaukee, Wisc.; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, Va.; Salt Lake City; St. Louis; and Yakima-Pasco-Richland-Kennewick, Wash.

According to T-Mobile, during the past year and a half, the MetroPCS brand has expanded significantly, growing from 6,000 points of sale in 15 metropolitan areas to nearly 11,000 points of sale in 55 metropolitan areas, when counting the newest markets.

T-Mobile has been shutting off CDMA service in some legacy MetroPCS markets and encouraging customers to switch to T-Mobile's GSM/HSPA+.LTE network. In July the carrier said 92 percent of MetroPCS' customers on its legacy CDMA network in Boston, Hartford, Conn., and Las Vegas moved onto T-Mobile's network after T-Mobile shut off MetroPCS CDMA service in those markets. The carrier plans to shut down MetroPCS' CDMA network in Philadelphia sometime later this year and decommission CDMA service entirely by the end of 2015.

Additionally, T-Mobile said that, effective immediately, customers with MetroPCS' "$40, Period" rate plan, which includes all taxes and fees, will see the amount of LTE data they get before throttling double from 500 MB per month to 1 GB per month. Customers on the Metro $50 plan will see their high-speed data bucket increase from 2.5 GB to 3 GB of LTE data per month before throttling. MetroPCS also offers a $60 plan with unlimited voice, texting and data.

Further, according to MetroPCS' website, the carrier is offering a new family plan with four lines for $100 per month. Each line would get unlimited voice, texting and 1 GB of LTE data before throttling. The promotion is for a limited time, but T-Mobile did not say how long it will last.

The pricing changes from MetroPCS are the latest shakeup in the prepaid market. Sprint's (NYSE: S) prepaid brand Boost Mobile just launched a new promotion in which it is cutting the price and doubling the data allotments of its plans. Starting Sept. 3 and running through Nov. 3, customers can get Boost's new "Data Boost Plans." The plans cost $5 less per month than existing Boost plans and provide twice as much data on any Boost Mobile handset.

The new promotional plans are:

  • $35 per month for unlimited voice, texting and 1 GB of data before throttling
  • $45 per month for unlimited voice, texting and 5 GB of data before throttling
  • $55 per month for unlimited voice, texting and 10 GB of data before throttling

Meanwhile, AT&T Mobility's (NYSE: T) Cricket prepaid brand is offering T-Mobile and MetroPCS subscribers a $100 bill credit to switch over to Cricket.

For more:
- see this release

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