Is T-Mobile still the underdog after the plan price increases?

At its website section dedicated to the new plan price increase, T-Mobile waxes poetic that the subscriber will still “keep all the benefits you currently enjoy, including access to America’s largest and fastest 5G network, and no further action is needed from you.”

On the surface, this seems like a sneaky way to introduce plan price increases for nearly everyone on T-Mobile in smaller batches to avoid the mass public backlash that inevitably stems from such moves.

By spreading out the plan price increase notifications, T-Mobile introduces most subscribers to a done deal, as the price increases are now already in effect. Even subscribers on the former Magenta Max plan report getting those “second attempt” reminder messages, but some argue that they are now getting them on their primary line, while the first batch of notifications went to their secondary line. 

In short, not as sneaky, but still the T-Mobile price increase seems to be affecting everyone who isn’t on the current Go5G plan roster, rather than only some obscure ancient plan holdouts.

Is T-Mobile still the underdog with the new price increase?

The difference in plan prices among the major US carriers is not as big as it used to be, though. The fine print reads that T-Mobile‘s price advantage is only when “comparing cost of 3-line accounts on comparable plans (and estimated taxes & fees) with AutoPay discount, T-Mobile third line free, and equivalent streaming services where applicable.”

T-Mobile vs AT&T vs Verizon plan prices

As you can see from T-Mobile‘s plan price boast here, for those proverbial 3 lines they are still ahead when it comes to the combination of monthly outlay, benefits, and perks. When comparing other plans, however, the difference is not all that pronounced.

AT&T, for instance, offer the base unlimited plan at the same price for a single line, or for $5/line more for 3 lines, yet adds 5GB of hotspot data at full speed to each line. T-Mobile had way lower prices when it was trying to gain market share as the underdog a few years back.

T-Mobile vs Verizon vs AT&T subscriber count (Statista)

Now that it has become a direct rival to Verizon and AT&T in terms of subscriber count, T-Mobile is apparently starting to monetize its huge 5G network investment that allows it to brag with the most envious 5G coverage map and download speeds.