T-Mobile UK to Offer Whole Year’s Worth of Unlimited BlackBerry Service for One-Time Fee

Here’s a head-scratcher: as of May 1st., T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) UK will be offering a new unlimited BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) data and messaging plan that will cost £179.99 (around $US 260) and keep you covered for a full year. That’s a pretty hefty initial investment T-Mobile is expecting from consumer in a recession, especially considering there’s still pay-as-you-go voice on top of that, although data alone works out to around £15/month. That could be less than what you’d pay on Vodafone (NYSE: VOD), as the cheapest unlimited data plan starts at £35 (but includes voice and text). I’m curious to see if anyone bites at this plan, and if the idea spreads to other carriers; I’d much rather see pay-as-you-go BlackBerry plans become more popular than this annual option. Regardless, the GPS-enabled BlackBerry 8110 Pearl will be heading the charge for T-Mobile’s new plan, so keep your eyes open for it next Friday.

[via Reuters]