In early April, BestMVNO reported that Lycamobile updated its wireless plans. The $33/month plan got a data bump from 15GB up to 18GB. However, it wasn't quite a linear update. Lycamobile updated the plan so that the first month included 12GB of high-speed data but for the second month and beyond the plan would include 18GB of high-speed data.
According to the latest prepaid report issued by the firm Wave7 Research, Lycamobile has updated another one of its plans in a similar fashion. The company's $29/month plan now comes with 9GB of high-speed data for month two and beyond. But for the first month, the plan comes with just 6GB of high-speed data. Lycamobile is now calling these plans with increasing data "Grow Your Data Unlimited Plans."
Lycamobile has also added a new annual plan at an average cost of $10/month with unlimited talk and text and 250MB of high-speed data. The MVNO is also offering 20% off its $59/month unlimited plan for new lines for the first month of service.
Lycamobile's $29 Grow Your Data Unlimited Plan Explained
Lycamobile's $29 Grow Your Data Unlimited Plan includes unlimited talk, text, and data with a specified amount of data available at up to 5G data speeds each month before throttling to 2G data speeds. New lines will get 6GB of high-speed data in month one, and 9GB in each month thereafter. The plan also includes unlimited talk and text from the USA to over 75 countries at no additional charge, plus a $2.50 international calling credit to call countries not included in the 75 that are available without charge. The plan is hotspot capable.
The $29 Grow Your Data Unlimited Plan is actually available at a discount with a new line of service. New lines that enable autopay billing can get the plan for $19/month for the first three months. After that, the plan renews at $26/month with autopay billing. Without autopay enabled, it's $29. Lycamobile charges a 5% recovery fee in addition to the prices shown.
Lycamobile's New $120 Annual Plan Explained
Lycamobile's new annual plan includes unlimited talk and text with 250MB of hard-capped monthly data. There is no unlimited slow 2G data after the high-speed allotment runs out. The plan is only available as an annual plan that costs $120 upfront at an average of $10/month plus a 5% recovery fee. Lycamobile considers an annual plan to be equal to 360 days of service. The plan is hotspot capable but it does not include any international calling or texting like other Lycamobile plans do.
Save 20% On Your First Month On The $59 Unlimited Plan
Lycamobile's $59 unlimited plan is available at a 20% discount to new lines of service. New lines can get the plan for $47.20 for their first month. Lycamobile also charges an additional 5% recovery fee on top of the prices shown.
Lycamobile's $59 plan includes unlimited talk and text from the USA to over 75 countries. The plan's terms and conditions state that it is not hotspot capable. During times of network congestion, customers may notice reduced data speeds compared to T-Mobile postpaid customers. Lycamobile is an MVNO of T-Mobile. Customers that use more than 60GB of data in a month may have their data speeds further reduced.
Editor's Take
Lycamobile's plan updates are an attempt to increase their customer retention times and reduce monthly churn. Annual plan options are obviously a great way to increase customer retention.
Over the years different wireless providers have also attempted to offer loyal customers rewards such as more data or lower prices the longer they stay on board. BestMVNO has yet to witness this strategy leading to long-term growth. Boost Mobile attempted it from 2015 to 2016. Their growing data plans were on the market for less than a year before they got replaced with unlimited data plans. Meanwhile, since June of 2020, Verizon Prepaid has been attempting a strategy of offering customers lower prices the longer they stay subscribed with maximum benefits obtained after 9-months of service. Verizon has had a lot of trouble growing its prepaid base over the years leading to its eventual acquisition of Tracfone and all of its associated brands.
Jeff Moore, Principal of Wave7 Research added: "I think Lycamobile is launching its new ‘Grow Your Data’ plans to manage churn, incenting customers to make that second monthly payment and get in the habit of remaining with Lycamobile. Sure, 9GB of data at $29/month is pretty generous, but I’m skeptical of major impact, in part because we see very little from Lycamobile in the way of building awareness of its offers.”