Does T-Mobile have too many plans?
T-Mobile announced on Tuesday that it is rolling out a cheaper unlimited plan for users, which undercuts both Verizon’s and AT&T’s unlimited plans. In fact, the plan even undercuts their own T-Mobile ONE plan, though it does offer fewer services.
This plan marks T-Mobile’s fourth unlimited plan, which is certainly more than most carriers provide. The T-Mobile Essentials plan will be $60 for one person or $30 per person for a family of four, and it will offer unlimited minutes, texting, and data. Although the T-Mobile ONE plan is $40 per person, it does not have the family option. The same goes for their other two plans.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere explains, “The other guys have got Above Unlimited, Unlimited Plus, Beyond Unlimited, Unlimited and More … Unlimited and More Premium. No wonder nearly half of Verizon and AT&T customers are still stuck on data bucket plans with overage penalties. The other guys make it so confusing! [T-Mobile] wants to make it easy. Give customers the options they want … but keep it simple.”
Although this does provide a new option for consumers, this can also exhibit diminishing marginal returns. When consumers face too many options, they can get confused and look elsewhere for simpler plans. Each one of T-Mobile’s unlimited plans offers niche features, but without sifting through the details of each one, it can be tricky to determine which plan is best for a user.
In the past five days, T-Mobile’s stock price has risen over seven percent. If this can grab them more users, then they will continue their dominance as the most popular phone carrier.
