U.S. Cellular, the nation’s fifth largest wireless carrier, is adding unlimited to its prepaid lineup, the company announced Monday.
According to a press release, the carrier will now offer unlimited high-speed data as well as unlimited talk and text for $70 per month. The plan will serve as the new top tier for U.S. Cellular’s prepaid offerings, which also include plans offering 1 GB of high-speed data for $35 per month and 5 GB of data for $45 per month.
The unlimited option will be available for both U.S. Cellular’s Simple Connect and Ready Connect Prepaid lines. Customers can also add unlimited talk and text to Mexico and Canada for $10 per month.
“With these simplified plans we are providing value and flexibility to our prepaid customers, while also giving them an unlimited option so they can use their phone however they want,” Grant Leech, U.S. Cellular’s VP of brand management, commented.
U.S. Cellular’s new plan comes amid a flurry of activity around unlimited, including the introduction of unlimited plans by all four major U.S. carriers – yes, even Verizon – and U.S. Cellular as well. The latter launched a $60 per month (with AutoPay) unlimited plan for postpaid customers back in February.
But the prepaid move comes just a month after major U.S. rival AT&T rolled out a $60 unlimited offering for its GoPhone prepaid brand. However, that offer came with a catch – instead of getting unlimited high-speed data, AT&T said GoPhone users would be limited to maximum data speeds of 3 Mbps and max video streaming speeds of 1.5 Mbps.
But like postpaid plans from other carriers, U.S. Cellular’s unlimited prepaid plan comes with a cap. After 22 GB of usage, the carrier said customers will automatically be shifted to 2G speeds.
Filed Under: Carriers
