Be aware that Tmobile has bought-out/merged (whatever) with Metro PCS and with the much better plans/coverage/speed/phones at Tmobile, they will soon begin coaxing Metro users to switch over.
Sometime around 2015 the last of the CDMA-based phones designed for MetroPCS will be cutoff completely. The combined networks of the two companies (in the limited areas where Metro PCS currently operates) will be used for some blazing fast LTE coverage that will knock the socks off anyone who currently uses MetroPCS’s data service. Tmobile customers with LTE capable phones in former MetroPCS markets will also see improvements with the combined spectrum and bandwidth, but since we’re already relatively spoiled with “4G”/HSPA+ it won’t always be quite as noticeable.
But to see those eventual data speed gains, current MetroPCS users will need a GSM phone, preferably one that’s LTE capable (though they’d see some gains just by switching to Tmobiles current network), and the right plan.
For those who want an unlimited plan, they’re calling their newly branded plans GoSmart Mobile.
-$30 Unlimited Talk/Text (no web)
-$35 Unlimited Talk/Text/Web (Slow, “2g” Web)
-$45 Unlimited Talk/Text/Web (unlimited 4g/HSPA/LTE HIGH-speed web for the first 5gb a month, then unlimited Slow, 2g web if you go over)
For those who don’t need unlimited everything, the regular Tmobile monthly/no-contract plans still have some attractive options.
Someone who wants a new smartphone, for a good price, that will function at optimal speeds now, and optimal speeds on the new combined “T-Metro” network, would be well advised to consider the Google’s Nexus4.