[Guzzler3]

Just bouncing and found that T-mo is going to just their Value Plans in 2013.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/06/t-mobile-value-plans/

[HeyCori]

I wish I knew more about T-Mobile's reasoning behind this decision. I can only assume the people that sign a 2-year with T-Mobile do so because they want the subsidized price. Americans are conditioned to buy subsidized and pay more monthly. It's going to be a tough sell to convince people otherwise. I hope T-Mobile realizes that they need to get their network/LTE up and running ASAP because people aren't going to pay unsubsidized prices for 2G speeds.

[eric12341]

I wish I knew more about T-Mobile's reasoning behind this decision. I can only assume the people that sign a 2-year with T-Mobile do so because they want the subsidized price. Americans are conditioned to buy subsidized and pay more monthly. It's going to be a tough sell to convince people otherwise. I hope T-Mobile realizes that they need to get their network/LTE up and running ASAP because people aren't going to pay unsubsidized prices for 2G speeds.

The purpose of it is value and to clear out confusion with some customers. They also noted that over 40% of their subscribers are on value plans now. Their current 4G network reaches 230 million people, so only 70 million would be getting 2G speeds or no service at all.

[brmiller1976]

It's a smart move. Get people to focus on the total cost of service -- as well as the cost of the device.

I so tire of people saying "I bought a <fill in the blank> from Carrier A instead of Carrier B, because Carrier A wanted just $99 and Carrier B wanted $199." Yeah, and Carrier A will make back that $100 difference in just two months from higher monthly fees, at which point you'll be paying more for 22 months afterwards.

Making the cost of the handset and service VERY transparent is a huge leap forward. Bravo, T-Mo!

[sravanv]

It's a smart move. Get people to focus on the total cost of service -- as well as the cost of the device.

I so tire of people saying "I bought a <fill in the blank> from Carrier A instead of Carrier B, because Carrier A wanted just $99 and Carrier B wanted $199." Yeah, and Carrier A will make back that $100 difference in just two months from higher monthly fees, at which point you'll be paying more for 22 months afterwards.

Making the cost of the handset and service VERY transparent is a huge leap forward. Bravo, T-Mo!

This point is so huge...I like T-mo doing this...My guess is Verizon and ATT will offer something similar but not with unlimited data like T-mo.

Heck, I could even see Sprint and T-mo only offering these types of plans whereas Verizon and ATT don't.