The anti-cell phone contract crowd might have scored a victory on Monday, when T-Mobile USA appeared ready to stop using two-year contracts and instead create installment plans for service. Further explanation is expected at an event scheduled for Tuesday in New York.
According to the Associated Press, T-Mobile USA, which currently is the fourth-ranked cell phone company, changed its website over the weekend to sell the new plans. Visitors to the revamped website are greeted by a banner that reads, "Unlimited Nationwide 4G Data. No Caps. No Overages. Now With No Annual Contract."
But the changes might not be as simple as they appear at first. According to Time's Techland blog, while there might not be data overages, you do run the risk of having your service slowed down significantly if you go over your data allotment. Also, getting rid of contracts means also losing the discounts off the price of a full phone often given with contracts. So expect to pay full price, which is often several hundred dollars more, when buying a new phone with a contract-free plan.
The plans still might draw new fans who are attracted by the potential savings in the long term by having a cheaper plan, despite paying more for a phone. According to TIME, $50 will get you unlimited minutes, unlimited text messages and 500 megabytes of data. Going up to $60 bucks more gets you two gigabytes of data. Various family plans also are options for those people considering T-Mobile.
Why the change? T-Mobile, which is headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., has slipped to fourth among United States cell phone companies with approximately 34 million customers. One thing possibly hurting the company is it doesn't offer the popular iPhone. It also is the only national carrier that doesn't offer 4G LTE, according to techspot.com.
