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T-Mobile just brought back a true unlimited data plan with 5G and no throttling

T-Mobile just brought back a true unlimited data plan with 5G and no throttling

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The company claims there won’t be any speed throttling, and you get 4K video streaming, too

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An illustration of T-Mobile’s magenta “T” logo on a black field with color-matched graphical squares.
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

T-Mobile has just announced a new monthly phone plan called Magenta Max that the company says is designed for the era of 5G. According to this press release, T-Mobile claims Magenta Max is “the first and only 5G consumer smartphone plan that can’t slow you down based on how much data you use.” That makes it sound like the carrier is doing away with what’s known as deprioritization, where your speeds are subject to slowdown after you exceed a certain amount of data in a billing cycle.

“T-Mobile has lit up the highest-capacity 5G network available — a network so powerful it can start unleashing the power of 5G to deliver unlimited premium data,” the company said. Magenta Max promises “unlimited 4K UHD” video streaming compared to the DVD-quality (or 1080p at best) limit that comes with many unlimited plans. T-Mobile is also extending the company’s “Netflix on Us” promotion to single-line customers.

Magenta Max takes the place of the previous Magenta Plus plan and will be available starting on February 24th. It includes 40GB of high-speed tethering data, plus the usual T-Mobile perks like free in-flight Wi-Fi from Gogo, extensive international coverage, and Scam Shield protection.

T-Mobile says pricing is “$57 per line per month for three lines with autopay and monthly taxes and fees included.” For a limited time, that’s dropped to $47 per line per month for three lines. Single-line customers will have to pay more at $85 per month with autopay.

A lot of this has a “too good to be true” sound to it, so I’m also on the lookout for any asterisks or limits that T-Mobile isn’t talking about on the surface.

Alongside Magenta Max, T-Mobile is also making changes to the core Magenta plan. It’s bumping up the monthly deprioritization ceiling to 100GB from the 50GB it’s at currently. Customers will also get more high-speed tethering data: it’s now 5GB compared to 3GB before.