GoSmart mobile, a new pre-paid low-cost mobile brand from T-Mobile will be coming in February, according to Fierce Wireless sources. T-Mobile has already received encouraging numbers from select test markets last December, and has used those numbers to determine the efficacy of a nationwide rollout.
The pricing scemes are very reasonable, and give other prepaid plans a run for their money, or should we say, bandwidth. GoSmart Mobile will be offering plans at three different price points; $30 per month for unlimited voice and texting, $35 for unlimited voice, texting and 2G web service, and $45 for unlimited voice, texting and 5GB 3G “high-speed” web service. GoSmart is offering the Alcatel OT 838 for $49 and a “mobile SIM kit” for $8 that allows users to use their unlocked GSM devices to the service.
T-Mobile has made it clear that “certain T-Mobile plans may be prioritized over GoSmart Mobile plans during period of congestion” meaning that there is a chance your traffic will be prioritized behind that of T-Mobile’s. It could create problems for other MVNOs who use T-Mobile’s network, such as Ultra Mobile, Ready SIM and Solavei, who also offer low-cost prepaid services. If T-Mobile decides to prioritize GoSmart Mobile traffic over others, customers of the aforementioned MVNOs could suffer from slow data rates and bad connections.
It makes sense that T-Mobile is refining it’s pre-paid strategy, as many other carriers are seemingly doing the same. Verizon Wireless is rumored to be launching two new prepaid plans on Feb.1, and will be offering unlimited talk and text and 500 MB of EVDO data for $60 a month and unlimited talk, text and 2 GB of EVDO data for $70 a month.
Looks like it’s time to ditch those pesky contacts folks. Are you interested in GoSmart’s new low-cost service? Let us know.
[Via: Fierce Wireless, Tmo News]