Premium T-Mobile plans offer more feature value than AT&T and Verizon

All Post Times EditorialSeptember 1, 2022

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Premium T-Mobile plans offer more feature value than AT&T and Verizon

With carriers of the Big Three (AT&T, T Mobile and Verizon) to mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs like Spectrum and Xfinity Mobile, who roll out new plans every now and then, it’s difficult to keep up with exactly what they’re offering, according to the wireless services market Navi is here to help.

Wireless plans fall into four tiers:

entry level, which is affordable and offers a large amount of deprioritized data and not many perks, like AT&T’s Unlimited Starter, Spectrum’s Unlimited Plus, Essentials by T-Mobile, 5G launch by Verizon and Unlimited Basic by UScell.

Value, This is a new category of cheap plans that connects you to a generous amount of deprioritized data, such as: B. Value Plus by AT&T, Unlimited by Spectrum, Base Essentials from T-Mobile, Welcome Unlimited from Verizon and Xfinity is unlimited.

So what is deprioritized data and what benefits are we talking about?

Data deprioritization occurs when data speed is reduced for a subset of customers during times of severe network congestion. Customers with deprioritized data plans can expect to get the fastest 4G or 5G speeds in times without network congestion.

Customers who subscribe to premium data plans are prioritized over others and don’t have to worry about slowdowns when a network is busy. Many carriers offer plans that include both premium and deprioritized data.

At the bottom end of the speed spectrum is so-called 3G data, which will test your patience with 3G speeds, but such plans usually also come with a limited amount of deprioritized high-speed data.

Aside from what kind of unlimited data you get, you should also evaluate plans based on extras like hotspot data speeds and any included streaming services like Disney+ and Apple Arcade. Other things to consider are international features e.g. B. whether you can call, send SMS and surf in another country and whether the total plan prices include taxes or not.

With me so far? To simplify all of this and help consumers make an apples-to-apples comparison, Navi developed a “plan score” and methodology to evaluate 15 unlimited postpaid plans from the six largest carriers across seven functional dimensions (amount of deprioritized data, Amount of premium data, amount and type of hotspot data, video streaming quality, streaming services included, international services and loyalty programs).

The traits were assigned a numerical score based on the value provided, and each trait score was weighted according to its overall importance. Points have been totaled and price adjusted, including taxes. Final scores ranged from 0.58 (lowest) to 1.30 (highest).

Best mobile phone plans 2022

Navi has identified certain trends that have emerged recently. For example, AT&T’s Value category, launched in March, has grown significantly in popularity and was the most popular category at one point, presumably because people wanted to save money wherever they could. Interest in affordable plans has remained solid, and now entry-level and value plans account for half of all subscriptions, up from a third of customers previously. This is of course based on the navigation users.

The best provider for premium and mid-level plans: T-Mobile

After the entire exercise was complete, Navi concluded that T-Mobile’s premium and mid-level plans offer more than similar plans from competitors and offer 20 to 25 percent more price-adjusted feature value than similar plans from closest competitor Verizon or AT&T.

Top carriers for entry and price categories: Spectrum and Xfinity

Spectrum and Xfinity took the lead in the entry and price categories. Their plans are only available to those who are already subscribed to their home internet plans or to new subscribers residing in an area they serve who are interested in both home internet and cellular plans.

Due to the way data is allocated, UScell did not list a category. The thing about this provider is that customers are guaranteed to experience slowdowns when the network is busy, while premium customers from AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile don’t.