T-Mobile will pay you back if you don't use much data
It's also axing all but its One plan, and promising upfront pricing.
T-Mobile is fond of using CES to shake things up, and that's certainly true this year. The carrier is making a few moves that will ideally simplify your experience and lower your real-world costs... or at least, tell you the truth. It's introducing a KickBack feature on January 22nd that will pay you if you're miserly with your data on a One plan -- use 2GB or less per month and you'll get $10 back. It's not as flexible as Google's Project Fi and its pay-for-what-you-use approach, but it could be a strong lure if you think unlimited data is overkill. That's a good thing, too, as unlimited is your only choice going forward.
You see, the network is dropping everything but its T-Mobile One plan as of January 22nd. Your legacy plan will remain intact, of course, but new customers should have only the one choice going forward. It's ostensibly about keeping things simple. That's true (you won't have to guess how much data you use), but it also means that you'll always have to pay extra for perks like HD video streaming.
At least you won't get any rude surprises on your bill. T-Mobile is switching to all-in pricing for One where the rates it lists are exactly what you pay -- there won't be hidden fees or taxes that hike the price beyond what you saw when signing up. This isn't an excuse to raise rates, the carrier says, and the previous "Un-contract" (which promises no price changes) now applies to One as well. The provider has a strong incentive to offer consistent bills, since you're more likely to regularly pay your bill if you know what the damage will be. Still, it's heartening news if you're tired of carriers hiding the true costs just to get your business.
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