Verizon's new 'Above' plan launches, but you chose T-Mobile as the best unlimited option (results)
Starting today, June 18th, Verizon launched its new Above Unlimited plan, as well as the ability to mix and match plans on each separate family line. Thus, they who pay the bills in the house can have 75GB throttling threshold, their spouse can keep on using their Beyond plan, while the kids make do with Go Unlimited, all for a lower price than before. T-Mobile has been mixing it up for a while, however, and, even though Verizon has greater coverage and very similar pricing, our poll respondents from last week still chose it as having the better unlimited options.
Verizon's new Above Unlimited plan is very similar to T-Mobile's most expensive One International, as you can see from the table below, and is even priced accordingly. It includes five free days of TravelPass activations per month (up to a $50 value), plus free 500GB cloud storage, and, above all, more than triple the 25GB speed de-prioritization (aka throttling) limit of the previous, Beyond Unlimited plan. AT&T, on the other hand, decided it's had enough of freeloading on its grandfathered unlimited tier for $30/month, and raised its price to $45, prompting a quick response from T-Mobile, which immediately outed a switching bonus for disgruntled AT&T subs on the grandfathered plan.
Taking a note from Sprint's unfortunate race-to-the-bottom $15/month unlimited offer that didn't last long, Verizon decided to compete upmarket with a VIP plan, and offer a mix and match strategy in its turn. Still, T-Mobile is seemingly still the beloved underdog in the fight against Big Bad Red, no matter the pricing.
| AT&T Enhanced Plus/Choice | Verizon Above/Beyond/Go | T-Mobile International/Plus/One | Sprint | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 line | $80/$65 | $95/$85/$75 | $95/$80/$70 | $60 |
| 2 lines | $150/$120 | $180/$160/$130 | $170/$140/$120 | $100 |
| 3 lines | $170/$140 | $210/$180/$150 | $215/$170/$140 | $100 (until 3/21/2019) |
| 4 lines | $190/$160 | $240/$200/$160 | $260/$200/$160 | $100 (until 3/21/2019) |
| 5 lines | $210/$190 | $300/$250/$200 | $305/$230/$180 | $100 (until 3/21/2019) |
| Perks | Free HBO streaming. Data plan usage in Mexico and Canada, as long as talk, text or data there doesn't surpass 50% of total for two months in a row. | Mix&match plans on each line Go90 streaming 500GB Verizon Cloud, as well as 5 free TravelPass days per month for Above Unlimited customers | All taxes&fees included, mix&match Free std. Netflix for 2+ lines at full price. Up to 5GB of 4G LTE for Canada and Mexico. International: Unlimited 4G LTE mobile hotspot data, calling to landlines in 70+ countries and mobiles in 30+ countries, and in-flight Wi-Fi | Free Hulu streaming |
| Data caps and limitations | After 22 GB/Any time (Choice) HD streaming for Plus with Stream Saver turned off, SD 480p for Choice plans | After 75GB/22 GB/Any time (Go) HD streaming, SD 480p for Go plans | After 50 GB HD streaming for Plus, SD 480p for One plans | After 23 GB Unlimited video in high-definition: - Streaming video (up to 1080p) - Streaming gaming (up to 8mbps) - Streaming music (up to 1.5mbps) |
| Hotspots | 15GB/none (Choice plan) | 20GB/15GB/600kbps (Go plan) | Unlimited 4G LTE/10GB LTE/3G speeds (One) | 10GB |
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
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