T-Mobile looks ready to start offering its new “GoSmart” prepaid MVNO service nationwide at some point in February. We heard back in early December that T-Mobile was planning to launch a new MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) under the brand name “GoSmart” as it started market-specific trials of the service near the end of the year. FierceWireless is now confirming that the service will be going live on a nationwide scale in February. The prepaid service, although completely owned and operated by T-Mobile, will carry no T-Mobile branding and offer three plans:
- $30 per month for unlimited talk and text
- $35 per month for unlimited talk, text and 2G data
- $45 per month for unlimited talk, text and 5GB of “high speed” data
It still isn’t clear what T-Mobile means by “high speed” data, but we have to assume at this point that it means HSPA+. Similarly to current T-Mobile plans, users hitting that 5GB threshold will be throttled to 2G speeds rather than charged overages. T-Mobile is indeed planning to prioritize it’s own postpaid and prepaid customers over GoSmart customers, however, meaning that in times of congestion the GoSmart customers will be a lower priority. This can often be the case with prepaid providers, and at the prices you see above it’s not surprising.
The service is said to launch with a “mobile SIM kit” for $8 that lets users bring their own unlocked GSM devices. This may be a compelling option for many of us looking to cut down the monthly cost of our phone bills, but we’ll have to wait and see what the fine print says when these plans come out officially.
Source: FierceWireless; More: GoSmart Mobile