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US Mobile has introduced a series of changes to its service offerings, placing special emphasis on its “Dark Star” network. "Dark Star" is how US Mobile references the plans it provides over the AT&T network. According to US Mobile, customers can now get a “truly unlimited, never throttled, premium priority data plan” exclusively on the Dark Star network for $32.50 per month when paid for annually. It's $44 when paid for monthly. Taxes and fees are included in these prices.
Here's the full list of included plan features:
- Unlimited Priority Data (QCI-8)
- Unlimited Hotspot Data
- QHD 1440p Streaming
- Multi-Gig Speeds where available
- International Data in 90+ Countries up to 20GB
- International Calling & Texting
- Free Network Transfers
Previously, customers had to pay $12 per month for priority data, making it a notable addition at no extra cost. Video streaming now supports up to 1440p, up from 720p, and the maximum international roaming data allotment (which varies by country) has doubled from 10GB to 20GB.
US Mobile also offers this plan on its Warp 5G (Verizon) and Light Speed (T-Mobile) networks, though the feature set differs. Truly unlimited, never-throttled data is not available on those networks, and Dark Star provides higher streaming speeds.
A US Mobile representative told BestMVNO:
"We’re obsessed with empowering mobile customers. Now we’re handing over the keys. Mobile without limits."
As part of the new plan features launch the company is also offering a free Android phone to new customers who prepay for service three months in advance. The free phone is an Android Maestro 3 and requires a $132 payment for service on the Dark Star network.
Also as part of a promotional launch, today only, customers that use the code ENDGAME at checkout will be able to get the annual plan at a discounted rate of $29/month.
You can find US Mobile's updated plan and offers here.
Multi-Carrier Network Switching Exits Beta
In addition to the enhancements to its Dark Star network offerings, US Mobile announced that its multi-carrier network switching feature has exited beta but with some changes. BestMVNO first reported the beta feature launch in February 2024.
To enable network switching, customers need dual eSIM phones. Then they can add another line on any network to their account. Subscribers will be able to switch between networks as needed and stay on the exact plan that they have. US Mobile is offering this feature free until March 31, after which it will cost $15 per month as a paid add-on.
During the beta, US Mobile was using automatic multi-carrier network switching. It seems it didn't work well enough for the company to make it an actual feature and so they are allowing subscribers to manually switch networks instead.
Multi-carrier network switching is a bit different than their teleportal feature which allows customers to port their primary line to a different network as needed and costs $2 per network switch on all plans except their flagship premium plan. The feature is free on that plan.
Updates to Pooled/Shared Data Plans
US Mobile also enhanced its pooled/shared data plans, adding Mexico and Canada roaming. Pooled plans start at $10 per month for the first line with 2GB of shareable data, while additional lines cost $8 each. Data top-ups are $2 per GB, with more options available for higher data allotments.
Editor's Take
These are some really nice plan improvements from US Mobile. Truly unlimited 5G data for an MVNO on the AT&T network is unheard of, and premium priority data access is another big differentiator. Only a few other AT&T MVNOs have offered any form of priority data access including Consumer Cellular, PureTalk and H2O Wireless. Cricket Wireless, one of AT&T's prepaid brands, also offers priority data access but only on its most expensive $60/month unlimited plan.
US Mobile previously tried offering a truly unlimited high-speed data plan back in 2021. However, that had to be quickly walked back due to a small number of power users taking advantage of the offering. MVNOs typically can't profitably offer truly unlimited high-speed data because they don't own the networks they operate on and have to buy network access from carriers who do own their networks. It remains to be seen how US Mobile will manage power users this time, or if there might be an undisclosed usage threshold in place, or if AT&T simply has excess capacity right now to allow this. However, industry history suggests they'll have to remove users from the network or cap the usage of those they consider data abusers.
Update: Truly unlimited data is a limited time promotional offering. Here's an excerpt from US Mobile's terms and conditions explaining the offer:
Dark Star Network – Unlimited Premium on Dark Star (Limited Time Offer):
•For customers who activate their Unlimited Premium plan on the Dark Star network during the promotional period offering a version of the Premium plan with no throttling (the “Unlimited Premium on Dark Star” offer), premium data for regular usage will remain unthrottled. However, all usage remains subject to our Acceptable Use Policy, and excessive or abusive usage that negatively impacts network performance may result in throttling or capping at our discretion. Customers who activate their Unlimited Premium plan on the Dark Star network after the promotional period has ended may be throttled after using more than 100 GBs of data in one billing cycle.
•Speeds and performance: Lines on the promotional, unthrottled version of the Unlimited Premium plan on Dark Star will not be throttled even if using more than 100 GBs of data in a billing cycle. However, speeds are not guaranteed and may vary based on factors outside of US Mobile’s control, including but not limited to network congestion, cell tower performance, device performance. Any advertising referencing phrasing including but not limited to “never slows down”, “no slowdowns”, “no speed limits” strictly refers to the fact that US Mobile will not intentionally place a throttle on lines using more than 100 GBs of data as long as they are in compliance with the Acceptable and Reasonable use policies, and is not guaranteeing that speeds will not vary due to other factors."
US Mobile has turned to these updates as a way to further push growth. The company ended 2024 with over $100 million in annual run rate and have their eyes set on crossing $1 billion.