T-Mobile Boosts Subscriber Base, Hints Of Price Hikes

A group of young people using their smartphones, only their hands and phones showing.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

T-Mobile hinted of coming price hikes in its latest quarterly earnings report, which was posted on the heels of news that AT&T and Verizon intend to raise rates on certain plans in March.

Customers and businesses are in an “unprecedented era” of value, with more data and faster speeds than ever before, G. Michael Sievert, head of T-Mobile US, said when asked during the company’s Q4 2023 conference call whether there were any plans for price increases.

“There's tremendous value being given to customers in this category, and if there are ways for us to find optimizations in terms of how we deliver that enormous value so that we can be more competitive and more efficient at how we operate — including looking in our rate card and looking at our rate plans and looking at our policies and procedures — we'll find those opportunities,” he said.

From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance

Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just ~~$107.88~~ $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues

CLICK FOR FREE ISSUE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/y99mlvgqmn1763972420.png

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters

Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.

Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.

In October, T-Mobile walked back a plan to switch users to pricer plans after facing customer backlash.

Earlier this month, the company raised its monthly promotional price for fixed wireless access for new home internet customers by $10, to $60, which includes a $5 monthly discount for automatic payments, according to a January 16 CNET. report.

Meanwhile, wireless rivals AT&T and Verizon recently began to notify certain unlimited and 5G plan customers that their monthly rates would rise in March, according to media reports.

AT&T price rise

In an email to Kiplinger, an AT&T spokesperson said the cost of its Unlimited plans would increase by 99 cents a month starting March 5. She said that AT&T is adding benefits and value to its best unlimited plans, including increased hotspot data and increased roaming in the Dominican Republic on its Unlimited Premium PL.

“We are also taking our Value Plus plan, now Value Plus VL, from 1 to 10 lines, including connected devices,” the AT&T spokesperson said. “Customers on our current Unlimited Starter, Extra, Premium and Value Plus plans will receive the additional benefits starting in March.”

Verizon rate increase

A Verizon spokesperson told Kiplinger in an email that monthly prices would rise by $4 per line for several older Unlimited plans beginning March 1, effective in the customer's next billing cycle. Prices for its newer myPlan platform will remain the same, he added.

“Customers on older plans can easily move to myPlan and take advantage of the network option that works best for them, plus exclusive savings on the entertainment, shopping and experiences that matter to them, including Disney+, AppleOne, Netflix, Max, Walmart and many others,” the Verizon spokesperson said.

As Kiplinger has previously reported, researching deals or switching to smaller carriers are ways to save on your cell phone plan.

In addition, Consumer Reports offers a buying guide with key factors to consider when shopping for a plan. The nonprofit consumer organization also provides the results of recently tested cell phone services.

Esther D’Amico is Kiplinger’s senior news editor. A long-time antitrust and congressional affairs journalist, Esther has covered a range of beats including infrastructure, climate change and the industrial chemicals sector. She previously served as chief correspondent for a financial news service where she chronicled debates in and out of Congress, the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and the Commerce Department with a particular focus on large mergers and acquisitions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and in English.

With contributions from