In late 2010 MetroPCS was the first mobile operator in the United States to launch LTE wireless broadband service. However, being first didn't mean it was necessarily
good -- the company initially offering no data card service, no tethering, limited coverage, 3G-esque speeds and only one supported device: the underwhelming $300
Samsung Craft. While cheap, the plans raised the hackles of network neutrality advocates by
charging for "unlimited" LTE that blocked off much of the Internet while offering "unlimited" Youtube access.
As 2012 arrived MetroPCS has shaken things up slightly, with the company offering a
significantly better selection of smart phones, though still nowhere near the selection you'll find at major carriers. They've also
shaken up pricing slightly, eliminating their $40 plans. Users interested in MetroPCS now have
three options if they want LTE, all designed to upsell, nudge or otherwise shove you in the direction of MetroPCS's own
Metro themed content offerings:
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$50: Unlimited talk, text, Metroweb, email, "with 1GB of multimedia streaming."
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$60: Unlimited talk, text, Metroweb, email "with unlimited multimedia streaming and Rhapsody® Unlimited Music."
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$60: Unlimited talk, text, Metroweb and email "with unlimited multimedia streaming and MetroSTUDIO Video On Demand."
Note their MetroWeb service limits the number and type of websites users can visit, something shaped undoubtedly by their sparse spectrum holdings. As the market shifts toward more open networks, platforms, and application stores MetroPCS seems intent on late 90's era funneling of users to their particular, closed vision of their own Internet. It would be interesting to see just how many users are willing to pay a premium for content in MetroPCS's little
walled garden Utopia.
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