T-Mobile Lowers Rates, AT&T Raises Upgrade Fees

T-Mobile's plan was first rumored earlier this year but so far, there hasn't been anything new about it, until Tuesday. TmoNews has posted images of the promotional material for the "Truly Unlimited Data + Talk + Text" plan that will be available on April 13. The name just rolls right off the tongue doesn't it?

Specifically, it includes unlimited domestic calls, unlimited data, and unlimited domestic SMS messages. It also mentions unlimited nights and weekends and unlimited T-Mobile to T-Mobile, but that seems redundant. There is a catch though. Unlimited data is good at normal speeds for up to 2GB of data. Once you go over that, bandwidth is throttled until the next billing cycle begins. It doesn't say though what the reduced speed is.

AT&T, meanwhile, is taking advantage of its superior market share by raising its early upgrade pricing by $50. Early upgrading is available to users that aren't eligible for the regular upgrade at fully discounted prices. The fee also applies if you upgrade but don't want to sign a contract.

Should the deal be approved by the FTC that allows AT&T to buy T-Mobile, I wonder if we'll see more of the competitive plans and effective price cuts like T-Mobile is doing above or more profit boosters that will juice the new larger company's bottom line?