T-Mobile to launch a new basic plan, but it doesn't sound like much of a bargain

On April 21st, T-Mobile will allegedly launch a new postpaid plan. As The T-Mo Report and Redditor “a9uirre” reported, in addition to its Essentials, Magenta, and Magenta MAX subscriptions, T-Mobile will offer a new, fourth plan, called Base Essentials.

Base Essentials will include unlimited talk and text, and it will come with a 20GB limit of high-speed data. When you deplete it, the speed will be directly cut down to 1.5 mbps, which is a big down point. In comparison, when the premium data on the unlimited plans runs out, you may still use 5G, although at lesser speeds owing to data priority in times of congestion, and T-Mobile will not throttle it to 1.5 mbps.

The pricing, without the taxes and fees, will be:

• $45 for one line
• $80 for two lines
• $100 for three lines
• $120 for four lines

The new plan includes a few familiar perks: T-Mobile Tuesdays, which enables you to get exclusive deals and offers every Tuesday, a one-year free Paramount+ subscription, and Scam Shield, T-Mobile’s protection feature against scam calls. Unlimited talk, text, and 2G data in Canada and Mexico and unlimited 3G hotspot data (up to 600 kbps) are also included in Base Essentials.

Now, let's see what Base Essentials subscribers won't receive. The plan is not eligible for most device promotions, and customers also won't be able to set up autopay with discounts. You will still be able to finance a phone with Base Essentials, but most likely without any special pricing. The plan will also be ineligible for promotions that could add more benefits to it.

So, for a single line, Base Essentials will cost you $45 versus $60 for the current Essentials. That's $15 in savings, which isn't too bad. But for two lines, and above, as we can see in the handy comparison table below, it's not worth it. Especially if you want three or four lines where Base Essentials will even cost you more or the same price as the others, but you will get less for your money. With the other plans, you will get more high-speed data, better offers, and more benefits like Autopay and free subscriptions to other streaming services.

So, who is this for? Base Essentials may be suitable for people who need only one line, don't use a lot of internet data, don't upgrade very often, and don't want the Autopay discount. And even then, as The T-Mo Report pointed out, for $50, which is $5 more than the one-line Base Essentials' price tag, you can get unlimited high-speed internet with the Unlimited prepaid plan.

We can’t imagine many customers that have multiple lines on a single plan would gravitate towards Base Essentials. But who knows, maybe T-Mo is preparing a pricing overhaul in the following months, which would make this plan look like an actual bargain. Here’s hoping that is not the case!Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection
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