T-Mobile announces $40 'Simple Starter' plan with unlimited talk, text, and 500MB of data

T-Mobile CEO John Legere has promised that a number of new Uncarrier initiatives will be revealed this week, and the first of those is a $40 "Smart Starter" plan. Set to launch on April 12th, Simple Starter bundles unlimited talk, unlimited text, and 500MB of wireless LTE data at a monthly rate that's $10 cheaper than T-Mobile's baseline Simple Choice plan. It also qualifies for T-Mobile's promotion where the carrier will cover your early termination fee from a rival provider so long as you trade in your current smartphone.

And T-Mobile is quick to point out that customers won't be throttled or dealt unexpected overage charges in the event they exceed 500MB. Instead, they'll simply be prompted to purchase a temporary data pass — covering either 24 hours or a week — or switch over to a regular Simple Choice plan.

Moving up to Simple Choice carries some legitimate benefits; the Simple Starter plan doesn't include any of the international coverage perks that T-Mobile has rolled out in recent months. Still, Legere thinks it's a better choice for many customers compared to the "bait-and-switch" services they'd find at AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. As we've come to expect, Legere didn't mince words when discussing the competition. "It’s been fascinating to watch the big, fat, old-guard carriers stumble as they try to respond and slow the change we are driving into this industry," he said in a statement. "I don’t know whether to laugh or cringe as they try to present themselves as anything other than the merciless greedy utilities they are." T-Mobile will unveil more news that stays true to its Uncarrier credo in the coming days, Legere promised. "We aren't done. We will never be done. We’ve hardly gotten started."