T-Mobile on Tuesday announced the official launch of the GoSmart Mobile prepaid service.
The new service is part of a new Deutsche Telekom and MetroPCS partnership meant to turn the US prepaid market on its head.
Instead of up-selling prepaid customers with additional data, GoSmart Mobile simply throttles customers on the lowest plan in order to provide lower mobile data speeds.
The cheapest T-Mobile GoSmart Mobile plan is just $35 per month and includes unlimited talk, text, and web browsing. GoSmart Mobile however says data on that plan is only suitable for “web browsing, e-mail and social networking.”
Customers who choose the $45 plan receive 3G speeds; however, those speeds drop to 2G speeds if the user exceeds 5GB in any single month.
Finally, customers who do not require mobile data can take advantage of unlimited texts and calling for just $30 per month.
Attempting to carve out a niche for itself, the company is also offering a $5 add-on for unlimited text messages to more than 200 countries. An additional $10 per month also adds unlimited texting capabilities and unlimited landline calling to more than 50 countries.
While GoSmart Mobile does offer a $49 phone from Alcatel and a $99 smartphone from ZTE , the GSM network is focusing its efforts on customers who already have or purchase their own unlocked GSM devices. A note on the prepaid service’s own website even tells customers to bring their own phone.
Will you be switching over to GoSmart Mobile when your current cellular contract has expired?