The mobile internet market is vast, and over the past decade it has become increasingly competitive. This past decade has seen the rise of a new giant in the internet provider industry: T-Mobile. Even more recently, Elon Musk led Starlink onto the scene in 2019. Here we will cover the new price increases which both companies have recently announced, as well as new upcoming satellite dish designs from Starlink.
T-Mobile Pricing
T-Mobile pricing has remained relatively consistent with most of its plans over the past decade. Yesterday some customers began receiving text messages from T-Mobile regarding price increases on some older plans, citing rising costs and inflation. The following plans are confirmed to be affected in the upcoming months according to The Mobile Report.
The Magenta, Magenta 55+, Magenta First Responder, and One plans have been reported to be increasing by $5/month per line. While the Magenta MAX, Magenta Amplified, and Simple Choice plans are reported to be increasing by $2/month per line. Many customers may have not received these messages yet as T-Mobile is sending them out periodically to prevent an influx of calls to their support system. These price increases are slated to take effect in billing month following the notification of the customer.
You are probably familiar with T-Mobile’s “Price Lock Guarantee” campaign which they have been promoting since the beginning of this year. This campaign covers many of their mobile wireless and home internet plans, though there are some stipulations. At the beginning of this campaign the price lock guarantee was eligible for nearly all of their plans. Now however, there are only a specific handful of plans eligible, and circumstances for retaining the price lock. For existing customers their current price lock will remain so long as there are no changes made to the plan with a few exceptions. Existing customers can still obtain a price lock guarantee if they are switching to the more expensive Go5G, Go5G Plus, Go5G Next, Go5G Business, and Go5G Business Next plans. If you want to change to any other plans or add lines T-Mobile is not obligated to maintain your price lock. Once a plan change is made you can not recover your price lock plan so make sure to contact a T-Mobile service representative to inquire before making any changes. This stipulation is possibly an attempt to move customers to newer plans which they attempted to do last year, but ceased amidst backlash. For new customers looking to take advantage of the Price lock guarantee the following plans are eligible according to T-Mobile website: Go5G Next, Go5G Plus, Go5G, Essentials Saver, Magenta, MAX, Essentials, 55+, Military, First Responder, Home Internet Plus, Unlimited Home and Business Internet, Away, Go5G Business, Go5G Business Next, Business Unlimited Select, Business Unlimited Advanced, Business Unlimited Ultimate, Legacy Business Unlimited, and tablet with unlimited data. For more information regarding the T-Mobile Price Lock Guarantee visit their FAQ page.
Starlink Pricing: “Mobile - Global” Plan Price Hike
A recent Starlink pricing change has caused an uproar on Twitter and Reddit, pertaining to their effective immediate price hike for their Mobile - Global plan. Initially this plan was offered at $200/month, which was just $50 more than their Mobile - Regional plan which covers the continent in which customers reside. Now Starlink is beginning to charge a staggering $400 for this same plan. The reason for this change has not been made public. As this CNET article speculates, “It’s possible Starlink is eliminating the Mobile Global plan. As mentioned above, Mobile Priority 50GB comes with the same features, plus 50GB of priority data, for $150 less each month. Starlink also appears to have removed Mobile Global from its plan selection.” Though, the standard mobile priority plan still doesn’t cover cross-regional use.
New Starlink Dish Designs
According to PCMag, the FCC has recently approved a new Starlink dish design for in motion use, which is known currently as the “Mini Dish”. This is a delightful surprise for Starlink customers as the main appeal of their satellite internet is the ability to to be connected in remote locations on the go. Though, the current “Standard” Starlink dish only functions in motion at 10 mph or less according to their service plans page. In addition, their mobility mount for vehicles is only compatible with the “Flat High Performance” model. While this may be acceptable for slow modes of transportation such as boating, customers who want to stay connected on the road currently have to shell out another $1,900 for the “Flat High Performance” Starlink dish. This announcement brings potential hope that customers may be able to use Starlink mobile internet on the go at a more affordable price, though the pricing details have not yet been made public. Keep an eye out for Starlinks official announcement regarding these 2 new devices in the future.
Anders, David. “No, Starlink Isn’t Doubling in Price. Well, Not for Everyone.” CNET, 17 May 2024, www.cnet.com/home/internet/no-starlink-isnt-doubling-in-price-well-not-for-everyone/.
Jman100. “Confirmed: T-Mobile Is Raising Prices on Some Legacy Plans.” The Mobile Report, 22 May 2024, tmo.report/2024/05/confirmed-t-mobile-is-raising-prices-on-some-legacy-plans/.
Kan, Michael. “SpaceX Gets FCC License to Use New Starlink Dishes on Planes, Ships, Cars.” PCMAG, PCMag, 20 May 2024, www.pcmag.com/news/spacex-gets-fcc-license-to-use-new-starlink-dishes-on-planes-ships-cars.
“Price Lock: Frequently Asked Questions (Faqs): T-Mobile.” T-Mobile, www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans/price-lock-faqs. Accessed 23 May 2024.
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