MVNO Space Getting Super Competitive Now
I have four lines coming up for renewal and because I currently have 10+ lines with USM, even a little savings would make a huge difference considering the volume. Therefore, renewing at the current rate just doesn't make sense for me.
I spoke to one of the mods here and while he couldn’t offer the official promo pricing, he did come back with a middle ground offer on 3 out of the 4 lines. I wasn’t completely happy or unhappy with it, but at the time, I figured it probably wasn’t worth the hassle of porting lines out.
That said, the MVNO space has gotten even more competitive over the past few weeks.
Total Wireless is now offering $25/month unlimited plans that even include international roaming. Then today I received a promo email from Google Fi offering Unlimited Premium at 50% off for a year. That works out to roughly $20 per line and includes T-Mobile QCI 6 priority data, 50GB of international roaming, plus up to four additional data-only devices for tablets and laptops.
With the Google Fi option alone, I’d actually be able to eliminate two existing lines currently being used for iPads.
To me, this is a serious game changer, especially when these two promos do not require an annual commitment.
All three major networks work perfectly fine for my day-to-day use and honestly, I rarely use the multi-network functionality anymore. At this point, I really have to reconsider whether it makes sense to stay put.
I also think the MVNO market is only going to become even more aggressive in the coming months. The old “$299 annual promo” type offers just don’t feel nearly as compelling anymore when there are now so many strong alternatives competing on both pricing and features.
The biggest shift is that we now have more options. Switching providers at renewal time is no longer difficult. This is why competition is great for the consumers. Can't wait to see the deals that are about to surface in the weeks and months to come.