Walmart Family Mobile, which offers service through T-Mobile US' (NYSE:TMUS) network, recently increased its monthly high-speed data allotment from 1 GB per month to 2.5 GB on its most expensive plan. The service also introduced a new plan that provides unlimited voice and texting (and no data) for $29.88 per month.
Previously, Walmart Family Mobile offered unlimited voice, texting and 1 GB of high-speed data for $40 per month. Now, the company is offering unlimited voice and texting and 2.5 GB of high-speed data for $39.88 per month. If users consume more than 2.5 GB per month, their data speeds are slowed.
Walmart Family Mobile is available across a wide range of full-price phones, including Android and iOS devices.
Walmart Family Mobile launched in 2010 with a $45 per month offer of unlimited voice and texting, with additional lines costing $25 per month. Users could also share a pool of data by buying chunks ranging from $10 for 200 MB to $40 for 1 GB. Those plans are no longer available.
Walmart Family Mobile is just one of many wireless options from the big-big retailer. Indeed, Walmart Family Mobile appears to have taken a backseat to TracFone Wireless' Straight Talk service, which is available exclusively through Walmart and offers unlimited talking, texting and data for $45 per month across a range of phones, including Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone.
Straight Talk "is the fastest growing segment of our wireless business," Gibu Thomas, global head of mobile at Walmart, told FierceWireless in May.
The tweaks to Walmart Family Mobile's data allotment make the service more competitive with other T-Mobile MVNOs. For example, Ultra Mobile offers unlimited voice and texting (as well as global messaging and calling services) with 1 GB of high-speed data for $49. Solavei, meanwhile, offers unlimited talking and texting and 4 GB of high-speed data for $49 per month.
T-Mobile's own GoSmart Mobile brand offers unlimited voice and texting and 5 GB of high-speed data for $45 per month.
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