Seeking to walk the line between high data plans and affordability, Ultra Mobile this week launched two new plans that include both 3G and 4G data allotments in users’ monthly allowances.
The MVNO in a Monday press release rolled out two new plans with more data: 10 GB and 20 GB. Those are being offered at $45 and $54, respectively.
But while they appear on the surface to just be two new data buckets, the plans include a unique data setup, namely the distinction between 3G and 4G.
A closer look at the $45 per month plan, for instance, shows the carrier is specifically offering 5 GB of 4G LTE data and 5 GB of 3G data in its “high speed” allotment. The same is true for the $54 monthly plan, which offers 10 GB of 4G data and a matching amount of 3G data.
The delineation between 3G and 4G data is part of Ultra Mobile’s DataXtra program, which was introduced as part of its $19 unlimited data plan back in February. Ultra Mobile bills the feature as “a bonus layer of high-sped browsing power.”
Ultra Mobile’s unlimited $19 plan, though, only includes 100 MB of 4G LTE data and the MVNO’s other plans previously only extended to 4 GB of combined 4G and 3G data. The move to higher data tiers, the company said, comes in response to rising data use across the board. Specifically, the company cited Ericsson’s recent Mobility Report, which pegged the average data consumption for 2016 at 5 GB.
“Our customers and retail partners continue to request larger data offerings and we’ve listened by rounding out our portfolio with these new data plans,” Ultra Mobile President Tyler Leshney commented. “At Ultra Mobile, we are always looking for the next best way to service our rapidly growing customer base and with these new data plans, we truly see an opportunity to satisfy the needs of a growing customer base while also offering our current subscribers additional upgrade options. As our international customer base grows we will continue to innovative and provide valuable service to our users.”
