T-Mobile is adding another phone plan to its lineup, and it’s the plan you may want to go for if you’re a heavy data user with a 5G-compatible phone. Why? The company says that it won’t throttle users — no matter how much data they use.
The new plan is called Magenta Max, and T-Mobile says it’s the first plan to allow for unlimited 5G data use without being throttled based on how much data you use. Not only that, but you won’t be limited in other ways either — you’ll be able to stream 4K video, and you’ll get a hefty 40GB of hot spot data per month to share with other devices. (And of course, if you find yourself in a 4G-only area, you still get unlimited data.)
It’s important to highlight T-Mobile’s wording here. T-Mobile says you won’t be “throttled based on how much data you use,” but that doesn’t mean you can’t be throttled for other reasons — like network congestion in your local area. On a 5G network, congestion should be limited, and speeds would likely still be exceptionally good, but it’s still possible.
Magenta Max replaces the existing Magenta Plus plan, and will likely serve as the go-to for T-Mobile customers who want no limitations on their data usage. The company is also updating its existing Magenta plan, which doubles the amount of unthrottled so-called “Premium Data” to a massive 100GB. The new Magenta plan also ups hot spot data from 3GB to 5GB. Most users will never use anywhere near 100GB of data per month, and as such won’t really need to pay extra for the Magenta Max plan, unless you want the extra perks, like the Netflix Standard subscription instead of Netflix Basic, and the extra hot spot data.
It’s rare that users will need more than 100GB of data in a month, however, the move also kind of future-proofs T-Mobile’s plans. When 4G first launched, we didn’t have apps like Netflix and YouTube streaming 4K content so effortlessly, and it’s expected that 5G will make for similar changes. Already, services like game streaming are set to boom thanks to the expansion of 5G networks.
Pricing remains enticing for those who have multiple lines, but starts to get steep for a single-line user who wants Magenta Max. The new Magenta plan now costs $47 per month per line for three lines (with auto pay), or $70 for a single line. The Magenta Max plan raises that price to $57 per month per line for three lines, or a hefty $85 for a single line. Of course, prices will vary depending on how many lines you have, and whether or not you add wearables, tablets, or hot spots. The new plans will be available starting on February 24 for all of the 5G power users out there.