Cricket Wireless has finally made a move to increase the amount of data included with its $40 cell phone plan ($35 with auto pay billing enabled). Perhaps Cricket Wireless caught wind of the article I wrote a few weeks ago and decided they needed to make a change. OK, that's probably not at all what happened, but wishful thinking is ok right?
Cricket's amended plan, effective tomorrow, will include 4 GB of 4G LTE data instead of 3 GB all without a change in price. The 4G LTE download speed is still limited to 8 Mbps and the plan of course also includes unlimited talk and text. Cricket Wireless's other cell phone plans remain unchanged.
Although Cricket did not increase the amount of data included with the plan because of something that was said on BestMVNO.com, they likely were compelled to do so for the reasons outlined in that article. Even with the new allotment of data, is it enough for that price point? I'm not sure that it is.
I won't go into all of the reasons why this amended plan may still be a problem for Cricket Wireless, since they've been previously covered. In brief, I still think that AT&T's $40 GoPhone plan is going to be a better value for some, given that the plan includes international roaming while in Mexico and Canada, as well as an additional 2 GB of full speed 4G LTE data with rollover. Likewise, if H2O Wireless's current promotion gets made permanent, for $36/month you would be able to get 8 GB of full speed 4G LTE data with unlimited talk, text and international talk and text making it a much better value than this Cricket offering. I'm not sure that H2O can make their promotion permanent, but I do expect some sort of permanent change to the amount of data that's included with their plans.
Aside from this change, Cricket Wireless has also announced some new deals on select phones making them either discounted or completely free. The new promotions are as follows:
| Device | Price |
|---|---|
| Alcatel Streak | FREE for customers bringing their number to Cricket ($19.99 for upgraders and new customers) |
| ZTE Sonata 3 | FREE for customers bringing their number to Cricket ($29.99 for upgraders and new customers) |
| Samsung Amp 2 | FREE for customers bringing their number to Cricket ($39.99 for upgraders and new customers) |
| LG Fortune | FREE for customers bringing their number to Cricket ($49.99 for upgraders and new customers) |
| LG Escape 3 | $19.99 for customers bringing their number to Cricket ($59.99 for upgraders and new customers) |
| Samsung Amp Prime | $29.99 for customers bringing their number to Cricket ($79.99 for upgraders and new customers) |
| LG X Power | $49.99 for customers bringing their number to Cricket ($89.99 for upgraders and new customers) |
| LG Stylo 2 | $79.99 for customers bringing their number to Cricket ($129.99 for upgraders and new customers) |
| Alcatel IDOL 4 | $129.99 for customers bringing their number to Cricket ($179.99 for upgraders and new customers) |
So what do you think of Cricket Wireless's amended phone plan? Does it leave you wanting more, or is it all that you need? Whatever the case may be, it is certainly a long overdue step in the right direction.
Hmm, that certainly makes Cricket a more compelling option but I can’t see myself leaving $27/mth for 3gb on h2o for that. Like you mention, I just don’t see why Cricket can’t up it’s all around game. I’d like to think it’s speed cap would be able to offset a large portion of the cost of better coverage and allow for it to offer more competitive offerings. Metro has a much better selection of free or discounted phones (though I appreciate the Idol series), $10/mth Hotspot, no unlimited music streaming, and no Hotspot allowed at all on their unlimited plan-
??? And Idk if Metro is the same but Cricket stores charge a $25 activation fee for pretty much everything. So many restrictions. At this price point I think I’d go with Metro (for 2 lines), assuming coverage is available. I personally could go through a lot of data on music to make up the 1gb difference. Here in Wisconsin we’re waiting for t-mobile’s 700mhz deployment that should be here by year end. Not sure what kind of consistency that band brings but it’s worth buying a Sim card and testing out first-hand. I’m curious to see if t-mobile prices and features will be able to continue after the network expansion. It’s also interesting to think that all of t-mobile’s forecasts could be a moo-point anyways after a merger happens…