T-Mobile announced Friday it will release new versions of its Simple Choice plans that have more high-speed data and unlimited international texting services.
The amount of data customers can use on T-Mobile's standard 4G LTE service plan will be doubled for no additional cost, according to CNET.
First revealed last year as part of T-Mobile's Uncarrier rebranding, the Simple Choice plans were designed to make it more convenient for customers to choose their rate plans when buying wireless service, the Verge reported. T-Mobile said that 13 million customers that are currently on Simple Choice plans will automatically get upgraded to the new plans on March 23.
T-Mobile Chief Marketing Officer Mike Sievert talked about the benefits that customers will receive with the new plan, CNET reported.
"When customers see their bill in April, they'll see that their data has automatically increased," Sievert said. "Everyone gets it automatically. There's no signup or additional fee to switch plans. It will just be there, and not one single customer will pay more for it."
If customers agree to the $60 per month plan, they will receive 3 GB of high-speed data, according to the Verge. The $70 per month plan will provide 5GB of data. T-Mobile said it will raise the price for the unlimited plan and add 5GB, which is twice as much as before, of data for connecting to a laptop or tablet to $80 per month.
When T-Mobile customers go beyond their monthly limit, they are not charged extra for usage, as they would in data plans for AT&T, Sprint or Verizon Wireless. Connection speed is slowed down, but users can still gain access to the data network without an additional charge. The company is also offering free texting to phone numbers outside the U.S. and free texting while traveling on foreign networks in over 120 countries, CNET reported.
Sievert said the changes T-Mobile are making shows that the company is paying attention to the interests of its customers, CNET reported.
"Our customers are using way more data today than when we introduced Simple Choice last year," Sievert said. "Data usage has grown 50 percent compared to a year ago on the Simple Choice plans. Customers are demanding more and using more data. So we're listening to them and giving them what they want."
