T-Mobile and Sprint are both introducing new unlimited 4G data plans.
The two announcements came within minutes of each other on Thursday morning, causing the two CEOs to publicly spar on Twitter over who came up with the idea first.
T-Mobile’s new plan, dubbed T-Mobile ONE, is $70 a month for the first line, $50 for the second, and $20 for additional lines, up to eight lines. A tablet can be added for $20 per month. Sprint’s Unlimited Freedom plan is $60 monthly for line one, $40 for line two, and $30 for lines 3-10.
Boost Mobile, a Sprint-owned prepaid company, will also be offering unlimited data plans, starting at $50 a month. Sprint’s plans launch on Friday, while T-Mobile users will have to wait until September 6th.
T-Mobile will eliminate data-tiered plans altogether, opting for a one-for-all unlimited plan. Sprint has already been offering unlimited plans, but at a significantly higher price.
The plans don’t come without their limitations. “Unlimited” data doesn’t really mean unlimited, and heavy data users can see slower data speeds once they consume 26GB of data on T-Mobile or 23GB on Sprint.
Both companies limit video playback to standard 480p, though T-Mobile offers an option of HD video for an extra $25 per month. On Sprint, music streaming will be capped at 500kbps, while gaming will be limited to speeds of 2Mbps.
Tethering will also be limited. T-Mobile offers unlimited 2G tethering, and each 5GB of LTE speeds will cost $15. Sprint’s plan includes 5GB of high-speed tethering, which later gets throttled to 2G speeds.
After T-Mobile CEO John Legere announced his new plans on Thursday, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure immediately took to Twitter, calling the plan “crappy” and writing that the “real one” will be out in 5 minutes. This lead to the two accusing each other of copying and pasting, with Claure labeling Legere a “con artist.”
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