Long-time T-Mobile subscribers could get angry today according to leaked internal email (UPDATE)
T-Mobile reportedly is informing customers on legacy plans that they are being assigned a new plan at a higher price.
T-Mobile making big change to legacy plans | Image by PhoneArena
UPDATE: T-Mobile has given us a statement that says, "We’re retiring our oldest plans, some of which were built nearly 15 years ago – in the 3G and 4G eras, and well before our 5G network was fully deployed. Customers will transition to modern plans that provide access to America’s best wireless technology, enhanced features and a 5-year price guarantee for peace of mind. Some customers will see no change to their monthly bill, while some will see a modest adjustment. Every customer moved to a new plan will keep their current benefits while gaining improvements in network and service experiences."
According to an internal T-Mobile email sent company-wide today by Chief Operating Officer Jon Freier and obtained by CNET, T-Mobile is retiring legacy plans that make up 1,100 legacy billing codes. The executive wrote, "Simplifying the plan mix means even more resources and focus on delivering the outstanding experience we're known for."
Leaked email written by T-Mobile COO Jon Freier.| Image by The Mobile Report
T-Mobile Chief Marketing Officer Allan Samson said in a briefing last week, "Absolutely nothing is required of the customer, and it just is going to happen." Samson said that the customers being moved off closing legacy plans will be moved to comparable modern plans available in the current T-Mobile lineup such as Essentials, Essentials Saver, Experience More, Experience Beyond and Better Value.
Customers pushed off their legacy plans will gain more features for a small monthly increase in price
Customers being moved to a new plan will get features they didn't have before such as premium 5G speeds, more hotspot data, and international roaming in more countries than available under their old plans. These long-time T-Mobile customers will also see monthly price increases estimated to be $4 per month. Thousands of T-Mobile customers will be impacted by this move, which will show up over the next few weeks in the next billing cycle.
Long-time T-Mobile customers on a legacy plan should be notified as soon as today
If you were a long-time T-Mobile customer, which option would you choose?
Accept change to new, assigned plan
7.74%
Stay with T-Mobile but move to a better plan.
15.95%
Switch to anther wireless provider
76.31%
Subscribers who are affected by this news, including small business customers, will receive a text with the information or see it when they open the T-Life app as soon as today. A T-Mobile representative would not tell CNET the legacy plans being retired, but did say that some of the plans go back 10 to 15 years. Such plans could include Simple Choice, T-Mobile One, One Plus and the Magenta family of plans.
Plans being closed include grandfathered Sprint plans
The legacy plans being shut down might include grandfathered Sprint plans that remained part of the T-Mobile lineup even after T-Mobile and Sprint merged in 2020. T-Mobile CMO Samson addressed the potential price increases by saying that in the huge majority of cases, affected customers will be paying less for the plans they are being switched to than what the price is for that plan today. Samson said, "We're not moving you all the way up to the rack rate."
T-Mobile Chief Operating Officer Jon Freier. | Image by T-Mobile
T-Mobile reps are also affected and the carrier's COO Freier said in today's email, "For our frontline teams...while the immediate future will bring increased customer contact volume, we are confident this plan simplification will make your job easier over time."
The other "Big 3" carriers in the US (AT&T and Verizon) have also tried to get subscribers on legacy plans to transition upward to a currently-offered plan. But unlike those wireless providers, T-Mobile isn't taking "no" for an answer and is automatically upgrading its subscribers on legacy plans to its current lineup.
We’re retiring our oldest plans, some of which were built nearly 15 years ago – in the 3G and 4G eras, and well before our 5G network was fully deployed. Customers will transition to modern plans that provide access to America’s best wireless technology, enhanced features and a 5-year price guarantee for peace of mind. Some customers will see no change to their monthly bill, while some will see a modest adjustment. Every customer moved to a new plan will keep their current benefits while gaining improvements in network and service experiences.
T-Mobile statement
T-Mobile customers losing their plans can choose one of three options
Those receiving the notification that they are being moved to another plan have three options. They can accept the new plan they've been assigned to, select a new T-Mobile plan to switch to, or move to another wireless provider.
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