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T-Mobile Kind of, Sort of Gets Rid of Overage Fees

On the third day of T-Mobile's latest "uncarrier" marketing salvo, the company proudly proclaimed that it would be getting rid of "predatory" overage fees -- sort of. According to a T-Mobile press release, the company announced they're "abolishing" overages, and is challenging other wireless carriers to follow suit -- in the form of a Change.org petition.

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So what is T-Mobile actually doing? The company says they're eliminating "overages" on Simple Choice, Simple Starter and the company's older plans. Instead of overages, where you're billed automatically for data used, you'll not be billed another dime until you buy an on-demand data pass.

Those data passes will run you $5 for 500 MB or a day's worth of data, or $10 for 1 GB or one week of data. International plans will cost you slightly more: a day or 100MB for $15, a week or 200MB for $25,or two weeks with 500MB for $50. T-Mobile already offers free international roaming at EDGE speeds (128 kbps) for Simple Choice customers.

Given T-Mobile had already been moving away from overages and toward throttling, this isn't a particularly dramatic change. Still, T-Mobile CEO John Legere insisted the company was again changing the industry to the benefit of consumers.

"Charging overage fees is a greedy, predatory practice that needs to go," stated T-Mobile CEO John Legere in a statement. "Today I'm laying down a challenge to AT&T, Verizon and Sprint to join T-Mobile in ending these outrageous overage penalties for all consumers - because it's the right thing to do," said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile in a statement."
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King P
Don't blame me. I voted for Ron Paul
Premium Member
join:2004-11-17
Murfreesboro, TN

King P

Premium Member

Good for T-Mobile

I would much rather have my data speed throttled than to be automagically charged an overage fee. Overages are a predatory tactic by carriers, and should be abolished, however T-Mobile really isn't doing anything more than they've been doing for months now, at least on their Pre-Paid brand.

AT&T and Verizon are the only idiots left to charge for overage fees. Jerks.

Mr Guy
@charter.com

Mr Guy

Anon

Re: Good for T-Mobile

said by King P:

I would much rather have my data speed throttled than to be automagically charged an overage fee. Overages are a predatory tactic by carriers, and should be abolished, however T-Mobile really isn't doing anything more than they've been doing for months now, at least on their Pre-Paid brand.

AT&T and Verizon are the only idiots left to charge for overage fees. Jerks.

Well considering the FCC refuses to allow Verizon to throttle 4G data what is their alternative but to charge overages? I guess Verizon should just let people rack up hundreds of GB and not do a thing about it?
BosstonesOwn
join:2002-12-15
Wakefield, MA

BosstonesOwn

Member

Re: Good for T-Mobile

That's reaching. There's an intelligent option. Shift the users to the 4g bands that we're not part of the deal and throttle those frequencies back.

Mr Guy
@charter.com

Mr Guy

Anon

Re: Good for T-Mobile

said by BosstonesOwn:

That's reaching. There's an intelligent option. Shift the users to the 4g bands that we're not part of the deal and throttle those frequencies back.

First of all the only other frequencies are the AWS frequencies. Most phones aren't able to even use those frequencies and also AWS is not everywhere. In fact it's in less than 10% of Verizon areas.

Second. Doing what you suggest would still violate FCC rules so it can't be done anyway. Blame the FCC not Verizon.

Use of devices and applications. Licensees offering service on spectrum subject to this section shall not deny, limit, or restrict the ability of their customers to use the devices and applications of their choice on the licensee's C Block network

Doing what you suggest would be "denying, limiting, and restricting the ability of their customers to use the devices and applications of their choice on the licensee's C Block network"
rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

rradina

Member

Re: Good for T-Mobile

How about forcing the device back to their 3G network?

scaredpoet
join:2001-03-26
Monmouth Junction, NJ

scaredpoet

Member

Re: Good for T-Mobile

That would still be "denying, limiting and restricting."
BosstonesOwn
join:2002-12-15
Wakefield, MA

BosstonesOwn

Member

Re: Good for T-Mobile

not at all.. it's not letting them access the 4g network. C-block

scaredpoet
join:2001-03-26
Monmouth Junction, NJ

scaredpoet

Member

Re: Good for T-Mobile

said by BosstonesOwn:

not at all.. it's not letting them access the 4g network. C-block

....which is exactly what they are not supposed to be "denying, limiting or restricting..."
ITGeeks
join:2014-04-20
Cleveland, OH

ITGeeks to scaredpoet

Member

to scaredpoet
That's not denying or limiting. They're just moving the device to another network- the same as they would if the LTE service was not available. But according to your post, if LTE is not available that would be denying/limiting/restricting the customer.
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT
·Frontier FiberOp..
Asus RT-AC68

BiggA

Premium Member

Re: Good for T-Mobile

That likely would be "denying" access. It would also make a really bad UX to constantly be falling back to EVDO instead of 700c. I think Verizon is pursuing their legal options to throttle 700c, and if all those fail, they will just terminate the Unlimited accounts. Either way, problem solved.
BiggA

BiggA to Mr Guy

Premium Member

to Mr Guy
Yeah, the FCC's stupid rules don't really prevent Verizon from doing whatever bad things they want, but do stop them from doing reasonable and prudent network management...
Daemon
Premium Member
join:2003-06-29
Washington, DC

Daemon to Mr Guy

Premium Member

to Mr Guy
said by Mr Guy :

said by King P:

I would much rather have my data speed throttled than to be automagically charged an overage fee. Overages are a predatory tactic by carriers, and should be abolished, however T-Mobile really isn't doing anything more than they've been doing for months now, at least on their Pre-Paid brand.

AT&T and Verizon are the only idiots left to charge for overage fees. Jerks.

Well considering the FCC refuses to allow Verizon to throttle 4G data what is their alternative but to charge overages? I guess Verizon should just let people rack up hundreds of GB and not do a thing about it?

I'd be happy if AT&T and Verizon would just stop data service when you reach your cap, then charge you the same rates they are now to buy extra data.

Nothing is more irritating than a 36-hour behind schedule AT&T data counter that results in you using 1.01GB on a 1GB data plan, then paying $10 for than extra 10MB.
Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

Joe12345678

Member

Re: Good for T-Mobile

there should be some roll over
sonicmerlin
join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

sonicmerlin to Mr Guy

Member

to Mr Guy
You keep saying that. Do you have any evidence to back that claim up?
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT

BiggA to Mr Guy

Premium Member

to Mr Guy
Exactly. Throttling would make more sense, but they can't do it...

mackieg4
Premium Member
join:2003-03-24
Riverside, CA

mackieg4 to Mr Guy

Premium Member

to Mr Guy
Now I know who you used to be. Changed names huh?

TAZ
join:2014-01-03
Tucson, AZ

TAZ

Member

Is this different from what they've been doing?

The Simple Choice plans have always been limited 4G (if you don't buy unlimited) and unlimited 2G. Are they changing this to "limited 4G, no service at all after that unless you buy a data pass"?
amungus
Premium Member
join:2004-11-26
America

amungus

Premium Member

Re: Is this different from what they've been doing?

Yes. This specific plan cuts you off unless you buy more. Their other plans just do general throttling, unless it's the "real "unlimited" one.

Might be ok for the person who BARELY uses data, but their other plans are obviously better for those who use "normal" amounts of it.

Kind of a tricky move to say they're not charging overages here - they are with this one, it's just that it's not automatic, and you'd have to click "agree" or whatever they do with their phones.
existenz
join:2014-02-12

existenz

Member

Re: Is this different from what they've been doing?

Looks like Sprint is only one left with true unlimited with no throttling. But they need to finish the Spark rollout pronto -it's very good in my market.
amungus
Premium Member
join:2004-11-26
America

amungus

Premium Member

Re: Is this different from what they've been doing?

T-Mobile still has an $80 plan that is claimed to be truly unlimited...
»www.t-mobile.com/cell-ph ··· ual.html

That said, I'd still take Sprint's if I were to choose one.

Right now, I'm still on Verizon, though considering Republic Wireless at some point.

Mr Guy
@charter.com

Mr Guy

Anon

Re: Is this different from what they've been doing?

said by amungus:

T-Mobile still has an $80 plan that is claimed to be truly unlimited...

tethering is limited to 5GB. Not sure if you call that truly unlimited.
amungus
Premium Member
join:2004-11-26
America

amungus

Premium Member

Re: Is this different from what they've been doing?

Fair point, I'd forgotten about that part.

Mr Guy
@charter.com

Mr Guy to existenz

Anon

to existenz
And Sprint's network sucks. And If Sprint actually get new customers they will have major networks issues with their unlimited data.
existenz
join:2014-02-12

existenz

Member

Re: Is this different from what they've been doing?

I just got a Galaxy S5 on Sprint and it does 30-40Mbps often. Voice now does 800Mhz, excellent coverage in my area - no dropped calls in work garage 6 levels underground. Tmobile doesn't have a low band active yet to fill in the blanks. Too many dead spots with Tmobile. But yeah, Sprint needs to complete Spark rollout.

Mr Guy
@charter.com

Mr Guy

Anon

Re: Is this different from what they've been doing?

Good for you. Let Sprint get 100 million customers like Verizon as well as a fixed mobile service that uses the same LTE frequencies as regular mobile LTE and see how well that unlimited data works out.
existenz
join:2014-02-12

existenz

Member

Re: Is this different from what they've been doing?

Sprint has much more capacity at 2500 band, their challenge will be having enough backhaul. As for the here and now, I've been using over 10GB/month, which would be too expensive on ATT/VZW.

Mr Guy
@charter.com

1 recommendation

Mr Guy

Anon

Re: Is this different from what they've been doing?

said by existenz:

Sprint has much more capacity at 2500 band, their challenge will be having enough backhaul.

Good luck using that in rural places like where I live where Sprint has very few tower spread out over wide areas. 2500 MHz won't go far and wont be good trying to get through buildings.

As for the here and now, I've been using over 10GB/month, which would be too expensive on ATT/VZW.

great and as long as Sprint doesn't gain customers you'll be ok. of course not gaining customers doesn't bode well for Sprint's future.
existenz
join:2014-02-12

existenz

Member

Re: Is this different from what they've been doing?

Yeah, 2500 is for capacity in the cities/towns/burbs (where 85% of us are). And there is no way Sprint can double customers for years. As long as they can provide enough backhaul, they should be able to sustain unlimited and attract back users at a decent pace (not huge) once they get Spark turned on most everywhere. Unlimited might go away someday but for now, I'm using 10GB+/month, have good/fast service and not paying too much.
ITGeeks
join:2014-04-20
Cleveland, OH

ITGeeks

Member

Re: Is this different from what they've been doing?

Sprint will need to do more than offer unlimited data. Maybe re-brand the company? Offer lower prices, especially since they're prices are higher than most others when it comes down to it. $2 fee to have services with them?

CodeeCB
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Minneapolis, MN

CodeeCB to Mr Guy

Premium Member

to Mr Guy
I can tell you my unlimited data on Verizon is absolute horseshit. 50-200k in peak times (noon-10pm) in the twin cities. Wanna stream Google music? Too bad! Navigation? No network connection available! Never mind the 4G LTE icon. Yeah great network Verizon has. And no I'm not throttled, it's a real unlimited corporate account.

Mr Guy
@charter.com

Mr Guy

Anon

Re: Is this different from what they've been doing?

said by CodeeCB:

I can tell you my unlimited data on Verizon is absolute horseshit. 50-200k in peak times (noon-10pm) in the twin cities. Wanna stream Google music? Too bad! Navigation? No network connection available! Never mind the 4G LTE icon. Yeah great network Verizon has. And no I'm not throttled, it's a real unlimited corporate account.

Yes because mobile data is SHARED. So the more users using more data then of course you are going to encounter issues. I'm not sure why people don't get this yet.

It's like water pressure. When you're in the house by yourself you can take a nice shower with a strong spray. Then someone turns on the dish washer the clothes washer decides to wash the car, flushes the toilet etc etc. Now you're down to a trickle.

••••••••••

antdude
Matrix Ant
Premium Member
join:2001-03-25
US

antdude to CodeeCB

Premium Member

to CodeeCB
I thought Verizon didn't have unlimited package.

CodeeCB
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Minneapolis, MN

1 recommendation

CodeeCB

Premium Member

Re: Is this different from what they've been doing?

Customers that had them before are grandfathered in, with some stipulations such as you must pay full price for a new handset, jumping through hoops for some stuff with customer service at times, etc. Corporate accounts can still start new lines of service and get unlimited data though to this day.

I downloaded a map update today that's was around 120mb in under a minute, with the typical cap on Verizon or T-Mobile using your connection to it's potential for 10-20 mins could max out your data for the month - how is 20 mins of usage fair?

TAZ
join:2014-01-03
Tucson, AZ

TAZ to amungus

Member

to amungus
said by amungus:

Yes. This specific plan cuts you off unless you buy more. Their other plans just do general throttling, unless it's the "real "unlimited" one.

If this is actually the case, it's pathetic to try to frame this as an "improvement" or whatever. Assuming we're both understanding this properly:

Before: $50/$60/$70(non-unlimited) plans had limited amount of 4G data; exceed that and you're throttled to 2G but it's still unlimited
Now: $50/$60/$70 plans have limited 4G data; cut off after you exceed that with no throttling (but with the option of buying more 4G data)

An actual improvement would be to take the "before" and add the option to buy more 4G data after you're throttled to 2G.
amungus
Premium Member
join:2004-11-26
America

amungus

Premium Member

Re: Is this different from what they've been doing?

Re-read my sentences there - it's ONLY on this new one that they're doing a hard cut - the other plans are just as they were. They're throttled after whatever point, except for the $80 one.

n2jtx
join:2001-01-13
Glen Head, NY

n2jtx

Member

Pricing

Frankly, this is one area that keeps me from wanting to deal with AT&T or Verizon. If I have a 2GB limit I want it to either be a hard limit or throttled when I reach the limit. I do not want an automatic charge to keep the service going when I reach my cap. If I am doing something and I reach the limit, then so be it. The data connection should be terminated or throttled to 128K. But adding a $10 or so charge without my permission is something I would happy to see go.

At the moment I am on Sprint but with the lousy speeds I get, even if they had a 2GB cap, I would probably not be able to reach it. At the moment, I am starting my fifth month of zero Sprint data usage. I would be happy to drop the data service altogether and save my employer the $20 or so data add-on charges.
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT
·Frontier FiberOp..
Asus RT-AC68

BiggA

Premium Member

I LOL'ed

The theatrics. Oh the theatrics. A change.org petition. HAHAHAHA.

The reality is that they aren't putting the steel in the air and the fiber in the ground that AT&T and Verizon are, so no matter how cute their little stunts are, they are irrelevant.

••••

chip89
Premium Member
join:2012-07-05
Columbia Station, OH

chip89

Premium Member

Sprint

He does know that Sprint has unlimited data right?
twofourtysx
join:2014-03-07
USA

twofourtysx

Member

Re: Sprint

I think verizon uses SONET, TDM and ethernet. with fiber backbone for cellular interconnects with LTE towers from node to node. That's what I saw on a recent job listing with their headquarters in Norcal. FIOS infrastructure is growing.
steevo22
join:2002-10-17
Fullerton, CA

steevo22

Member

There should be no "overage fees" at all.

Why should there be any such thing as "overages" at all? Why should you have to buy your cellphone minutes, your data, or anything else in advance?
You buy the minutes or data you think you will need, and if you don't use it all they confiscate the extra every month, but if you use too many they fine you for using too much?

Why does that make sense? it doesn't. It's a scam cooked up by those cellphone companies. They are not nice guys. Nothing else is sold that way.

If you buy water you buy as much as you need, they charge you for what you actually used. You might have to pay for the service, but your usage is based on usage.

If you buy natural gas they charge you for the service, and then for what you needed. If you are on vacation and didn't use as much, you don't have to pay for what you didn't need.

If you run out of gasoline, you buy more.
No one tries to contract you for 500 gallons of gas for your car and if you don't use it all they just keep the money and confiscate the extra unused gas. But if you use too much they fine you? That sounds insane to me. A completely one sided deal, which should be made illegal.

For your cellphone, they should charge you for the line, a minimum amount with no minutes or data. Then they should charge you for what you needed. So you are not paying for air. And not being fined for going over your "allotment".

Allotments should be made illegal. You should pay for the service, and your usage, afterward. They should be encouraging you to use more, not fining you if you use more. That's contrary to how business is.

In fact, if you use more you should be able to get a discount, since you use more. Not be fined for using too much. Those companies should be glad to have bigger users, who pay for more. Why not? That's how business is supposed to be.

•••••
FrontirCynic
join:2006-10-25
Long Beach, CA

FrontirCynic

Member

Question

So if I am on the "simple choice" plan (started in Nov 2013) with "free included" min. data (just barely over 570 mb mo.) I am "grandfathered" in to the "slow down" method/plan meaning that they slow my data from 4g to 2g for anything over the 500mb allotment that is included? Or do I now have to choose how much extra data I want at the end of the 500mb and then pay extra? I never hit that limit as I am on wifi a lot. I was thinking of going to 40.00 mo plan but not if I loose the 2g slowdown and have to get my cc out once I hit the 500 limit. I my opinion the 'slow down" method was a money looser for t mobile so they are pretending to innovate while really just following vz and att but they just make you agree with the touch of a button each month you go over. Att and vz just zap you per prior agreements. No difference in my mind.

I am also in favor of paying for what you use like electricity. No caps. No allotments. no overages. No loosing what you bought. The data pigs have to pay more. I dont get whats wrong with that type of a system