Simple Mobile, a provider that uses T-Mobile's network for service, has updated its phone plan offerings and it is now the cheapest place to get an unlimited LTE data plan from. Those that want the plan will pay just $47.50 per month with auto pay billing enabled in their account. Without auto pay billing enabled, the plan is just $50 a month.
The plan also comes with some additional perks, such as full roaming access while in Mexico at no additional charge as well as unlimited international texting and calling. Unlimited domestic talk and text are also included.
As always, the plan also comes with a couple of caveats. First off is that mobile hotspot is not included. However those that need mobile hotspot can simply opt for Simple Mobile's $57 plan which adds 8 GB of mobile hotspot with all other features being the same as the $47 plan. The other caveat is that like most unlimited LTE data plans these days, video streaming quality is limited to roughly 480p.
If you are not sure just how good and cheap this offering is compared to others, have a look at this list of unlimited LTE data plans that I put together.
Besides adding a new unlimited LTE data plan, Simple Mobile has made a few other changes as well.
- The $25 plan ($23.75 with auto pay) now includes 1 GB of data at high speeds. Previously it had none.
- Previously, the $50 plan only had 5 GB of LTE data, and has now been superseded by the unlimited LTE plan.
Simple Mobile's other plan, priced at $40 or $37.50 with auto pay billing enabled, remains unchanged and offers 4 GB of 4G LTE data before throttling.
All of Simple Mobile's phone plans offer full service roaming while in Mexico, as well as unlimited talk and text and unlimited international talk and text. Bring your own device is supported, and phones are available for purchase for those in need of one. Phone payment plans are also offered.
Taxes and fees are not included in the prices listed. Simple Mobile charges local sales taxes, E911 fee, and federal regulatory fees in addition to the prices shown. For those interested, this added about $5 to the cost of the $47.50 unlimited data plan when I went through the checkout process on the the Simple Mobile website. Charges of course vary based on location.
Only a matter of time before the FTC or FCC crack down on two things. So-called unlimited data and selling monthly plans that are only 30-day plans. Not sure which agency will do the crackdown(s) or which will get hit first. Unlimited data is a stupid concept after seeing how often the FTC and FCC have come down on companies that throttle it. Better to go with whatever the going customer usage is; usually 20 – 40 GB from what some companies report. Why anybody thinks unlimited is a good deal is beyond commonsense. Why should those of us who don’t use 100 GB+ have to pay for those who do? It would be like me putting 100 miles/day on a car and expecting you to cover it if gas stations offered similar unlimited fill-ups or if the electric company offered unlimited electricity and I was using 500MW/day running a data farm and you were using modest amounts.