US Mobile Operators Adopt Flat Rate Calling Plans
AT&T and T-Mobile USA join Verizon Wireless in introducing flat rate unlimited calling plans for cellular subscribers. Together, the three companies serve more than 65 per cent of all wireless customers in the U.S.
Verizon Wireless and AT&T, the two largest U.S. mobile service providers, both announced a USD99.99 monthly plan for unlimited calling. On Thursday, T-Mobile is expected to do the same. There will be no domestic roaming or long distance calling charges. T-Mobile includes text messaging in the price. Yet, popular family plans with shared minutes are not included in any of the USD99.99 offerings.
The unlimited calling plans are a novelty for the big operators. Small mobile providers such as Leap Wireless and MetroPCS already use the flat-rate business model.
However, the third largest mobile operator Sprint Nextel is expected to offer flat-rate calling plans at up to a 40 percent discount to its rivals, analysts said. That could force competitors to cut their prices again and lead to a full-blown price war.
Verizon also changed its data plans to reach different types of customers. A USD39.99 plan will allow for 50MB of data traffic per month, and a USD59.99 offering will cover 5GB. Sprint already offers unlimited data use for that price.
AT&T still has to come up with a matching plan. Its customers can choose a data plan such as USD5 for 200 text, picture, video and instant messages or USD35 for unlimited messaging. However, users of smartphones, PDAs or the iPhone are excluded from this offering.
Source: Reuters, Macworld, ATT, Verizon Wireless
