T-Mobile's GoSmart and AT&T's Cricket add data to plans, U.S. Cellular drops prepaid pricing

T-Mobile US' (NYSE:TMUS) GoSmart Mobile prepaid brand is refreshing its pricing and giving customers on its plans more data. Meanwhile, AT&T Mobility's (NYSE: T) Cricket prepaid brand is also adding more data to its plans, and U.S. Cellular (NYSE:USM) lowered the price on its prepaid offerings.

According to a T-Mobile spokesperson, the brand is implementing new pricing following the conclusion of a double-data promotion that ran through the holidays. GoSmart's new plans will include the following:

  • $25 per month: Unlimited voice, texting and no data included, but Facebook and Facebook Messenger access will be available at no extra charge at LTE speeds if or when available.
  • $35: Unlimited voice, texting and 2.5 GB of data at HSPA+ speeds (throttled to 128 Kbps after). GoSmart's $35 plan originally had 500 MB of data, which was doubled to 1 GB during the promotion.
  • $40: Unlimited voice, texting and 5 GB of data at HSPA+ speeds (throttled to 128 Kbps after). GoSmart's $40 plan originally had 3 GB of data, which was doubled to 6 GB during the promotion.
  • $45: Unlimited voice, texting and 10 GB of data at HSPA+ speeds (throttled to 128 Kbps after). GoSmart's $45 plan originally had 5 GB of data, which was doubled to 10 GB during the promotion.

The T-Mobile spokesperson confirmed the $35 for 2.5 GB plan is now available but the $40 and $45 plan updates will go into effect on Feb. 2. The plan details were first reported by PhoneNews.

The new GoSmart plans come after Sprint's (NYSE: S) Boost Mobile prepaid brand changed its entry-level $35 plan to increase customers' data to 2.5 GB when they sign up for automatic payments.

Meanwhile, Cricket is also getting into the game by increasing the amount of data available in its plans. The company is also giving customers who sign up for its auto-pay service a monthly $5 discount on whatever plan they are on. Thus, if a customer signs up for Cricket's auto-pay service, they can pay:

  • $35 per month for unlimited voice, texting and 2.5 GB of high-speed data before throttling (up from 1 GB before). 
  • $45 per month for 5 GB of high-speed data before throttling (up from 3 GB). 
  • $55 per month for 10 GB of high-speed data before throttling (up from 5 GB). (Cricket also launched a limited-time "Advanced" plan that costs $55 per month with auto-pay and includes 20 GB of data; that plan requires an LTE-capable device.)

AT&T restricts the maximum download speeds available to its Cricket prepaid customers to 8 Mbps on LTE devices and 4 Mbps on HSPA+ devices.

Separately, U.S. Cellular lowered the prices of its most popular Simple Connect prepaid plans. For $45 per month, customers can now get unlimited voice, texting and 1 GB of high-speed data before throttling. For $55 per month, customers can get unlimited voice, texting and 2 GB of high-speed data before throttling, and for $65 per month customers can get 4 GB before throttling.

Previously, U.S. Cellular charged $50 for 500 MB before throttling and $60 for 2 GB before throttling. 

Also, for a limited time, all new U.S. Cellular Simple Connect prepaid customers will receive a $50 U.S. Cellular prepaid card that can be used to purchase accessories or pay for service charges.

For more:
- see this PhoneNews article
- see this Prepaid Reviews article
- see this Cricket release
- see this U.S. Cellular site

Related Articles:
Sprint's Boost pumps up data from 1 GB to 2.5 GB for $35/month plan with auto-pay
T-Mobile's MetroPCS, Verizon beef up data offerings for prepaid plans
T-Mobile launches new 'Simply Prepaid' plans, starting at $40/month with 1 GB of LTE
Sprint's Boost, T-Mobile's GoSmart offer new double-data promotions