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During Black Friday 2024, Ultra Mobile offered a limited-time deal: 50% off its truly unlimited 5G data plan, bringing the price down to $20/month. That offer is now back, unsurprisingly, as it mirrors the same deal recently launched by its sister brand, Mint Mobile.
What You Get With This Deal
Ultra Mobile's truly unlimited 5G data plan comes with the following features:
- Truly unlimited 5G data
- Unlimited talk and text
- Unlimited calling to over 90 international destinations
- Unlimited Global texting
- $5 international calling credit that renews each month
- A one time $5 international roaming credit
- Talk and text roaming in Mexico or Canada
- 10GB Mobile hotspot
- Instant activation via eSIM
- 480p video streaming
The plan requires a one-time upfront payment of $240, plus applicable taxes and fees, which vary by location.
Data speeds are deprioritized. If you use over 35GB of high-speed data during a billing cycle, your data speeds will be further deprioritized. This means your data speeds will be slower compared to other customers on the network who have a plan with priority data access.
The offer is available on Ultra Mobile's website and possibly through dealers.
An end date for this offer has not been specified.
After the year of service is up, customers can expect to renew the plan for $480 or an average cost of $40/month.
Discussion
Although this offer matches Mint Mobile's, the two brands have historically served different markets. Ultra Mobile's demographic has historically been focused on customers with international calling and texting needs. The brand is sold through independent wireless dealers and also carried in retail stores including Best Buy, Target, and Walmart.
Mint Mobile, in contrast, was initially aimed at budget conscious consumers who preferred a digital shopping experience without any extras. It is not sold through dealer networks, but did launch in Target stores several years ago.
Both Mint and Ultra offer deprioritized unlimited data with a 35GB threshold before further deprioritization, 10GB of hotspot use, and unlimited domestic talk, text and global texting. However, their are some differences:
- Mint includes 3GB of roaming data in Canada, while Ultra does not.
- Ultra includes free international calls to 90+ international destinations; Mint limits free calling to Mexico, Canada, and the UK.
- Data usage in Canada on Ultra costs 2¢/MB.
Mint and Ultra, both T-Mobile-owned, currently offer the lowest-cost unlimited 5G data plans on the network. But they also share the same catch: the $20/month price requires paying for a full year upfront. For those unwilling to commit to an annual plan, Metro by T-Mobile remains an alternative, offering a $25/month unlimited plan to BYOD customers with taxes and fees included. However, it lacks extras like hotspot access and international calling.
Truly unlimited plans from carrier owned prepaid brands around the $25/month price point continues to be a highly competitive price segment. Carrier-owned prepaid brands offering them right now include:
- Cricket Wireless (AT&T)
- Metro by T-Mobile (T-Mobile)
- Mint Mobile (T-Mobile)
- Straight Talk (Verizon)
- Total Wireless (Verizon)
- Ultra Mobile (T-Mobile)
- Visible (Verizon)
This ongoing price war among carrier-owned prepaid brands is great for consumers, at least for now. But as mentioned in previous articles, if independent MVNOs continue to be blocked from offering truly unlimited plans, it could harm long-term competition and innovation in the wireless industry.