T-Mobile brings Data Stash to prepaid customers

As their latest 'uncarrier' event approaches, T-Mobile is shaking things up in prepaid. Now, qualifying Simple Choice prepaid plans can take advantage of T-Mobile's Data Stash, which lets users bank unused data for use later on. That also means T-Mobile prepaid customers via Simple Choice will get that impressive 10GB Start Stash, which is like a digital nest egg for data. Prepaid data stashing is set to start on March 22, so expect to have your 10GB stash ready for you at that time.

The move opens Data Stash up to all T-Mobile customers. According to T-Mobile, they're just giving us what we want. The company also says providing Data Stash is the "right thing to do" (while taking their customary shot at the competition).

T-Mobile's Simple Choice prepaid plans — called Simply Prepaid — come in three major tiers. The first, for $40/month, brings customers 1GB data/month at 4G LTE speeds. A $50 plan triples that monthly data to 3GB before throttling, while a $60 plan brings users 5GB data ahead of a slowdown. All offer unlimited talk and text, and every T-Mobile plan brings unlimited data — it's just throttled.

With Data Stash, you get to store data for use at LTE speeds, so while you may end up being throttled with a plan, using your data stash won't see you being throttled at all.

Prepaid customers will be treated the same as postpaid for Data Stash. Once the 10GB 'Starter Stash' is used up, customers will begin banking data. That data can be stored for 12 months before it starts peeling off, and your unused data always rolls over into your stash.

It should be noted that 'unused' data refers to your unused plan data before throttling. If you have that $40/month prepaid plan with 1GB data on LTE, and use 500MB, the remainder — 500MB — is placed in your stash for use later on, when you might go over the 1GB LTE threshold.

It's a bold move, and quite welcome. Data Stash on prepaid shows that T-Mobile, unlike many other carriers, won't take prepaid customers for granted.

Source: T-Mobile