BELLEVUE, Wash.—T-Mobile USA Inc. has upped the ante in a pricing duel with Cingular Wireless L.L.C. by adding a $40 service plan with 1,500 minutes.
The Get More 1500 plan was available during the holiday season and has been resurrected in response to Cingular’s recent rollout of a $40 plan with 1,000 minutes. T-Mobile’s plan does not include unlimited night or weekend calling and is for one line of service only.
The move gives T-Mobile three calling plans at the $40 per month level: In addition to the 1,500-minute plan, there is also the Get More plan, with 600 minutes and unlimited night and weekend calling; and the Get More 1000 plan, with 1,000 minutes and no unlimited night and weekend calling.
Cingular’s new 1,000-minute plan does not offer unlimited night and weekend calling or mobile-to-mobile calling, but the latter option can be added for an extra $10 per month. At the $50 per month mark, T-Mobile offers its Get More 1000 Plus plan, which does include unlimited night and weekend calling.
Cingular’s $40 a month plan is available in select markets and with a two-year contract. The T-Mobile plan is a limited-time offer available nationally. New customers taking the plan must sign a one-year contract, and existing customers who move to the plan have to sign a one-year extension.
The plans from T-Mobile and Cingular are the most aggressive among the four national U.S. carriers. At the $40 price point, Verizon Wireless offers 450 minutes with unlimited night, weekend and mobile-to-mobile calling. Sprint Nextel Corp.’s most similar plan costs $36 for 400 minutes and unlimited night and weekend calling.
