Shock and Awe as US Carriers War Over Unlimited Plan Offers
by Debi Jones
Hours after Verizon Wireless announced their unlimited calling plan for $99, AT&T responds with a $99 plan of their own. And not to be outdone, T-Mobile USA this afternoon announced a $99 calling plan and then ups the ante by adding unlimited messaging. Sprint, the other of the top four carriers, has yet to release their nationwide unlimited plan. The question is: will they further up the ante and put pressure on these shiny new flat-rate plans?
Verzion’s Offer Details
- $99 - Nationwide Unlimited (voice)
- $119 - Nationwide Select Unlimited (voice, SMS, MMS)
- $139 - Nationwide Premium (voice, SMS, MMS, VZNav, VCAST, email)
- $149 - Nationwide Email and Messaging (voice, SMS, MMS, and data)
- $169 - Nationwide Global Email and Messaging (voice, SMS, MMS, and international data)
- $199 - Family plan with two lines, $99 per additional line
- Subscribers not required to extend their contract to select these new offers.
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AT&T’s Offer Details
- $99 - Nationwide Unlimited (voice)
- $134 - Nationwide Unlimitied with unlimited messaging and Media Net
- New customers can choose month-to-month or 12-24 month contracts
T-Mobile USA’s Offer Details
- $99 Nationwide Unlimited (voice, SMS and MMS)
So Sprint? Last May Sprint began offering an unlimited rate plan bundling nationwide voice, web access, email and messaging for $119. The offer has been limited to markets in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Tampa, Fla., and parts of Northern California and Western Nevada. Today Sprint claims they have no plans for expanding their unlimited plan beyond these markets. The office pool betting opens at COB today. Place your bets on an announcement for tomorrow morning. Anyone?
Winners: Power Users
Losers: Stock Prices Fall for All Four Top US Carriers
Yawners: Non-Power User Mobile Subscribers
Carriers strike quickly to eliminate Verzion’s differinator on price announced this morning, and up the ante each time. Craig Moffett, analyst at Sanford C. Berstein, compares Verzion’s bold move on flat-rate plans to Sprint’s long distance flat rates for landlines in the 1990s, removing confusion from pricing plans, making them easier to compare and hastening a rapid decline in prices. Today’s standard for long-distance is either free or as a feature in a service bundle.
Let the games begin!
