T-Mobile "Data Only" Simple Choice phone plans: Unlimited Texts (No Voice) + 2GB + unlimited music streaming for $20/mo, 6GB + unlimited video streaming for $35/mo

Update 03/30: Existence of these plans has been confirmed by the Wall Street Journal [wsj.com] and by one slickdeal user.

Quote from Wall Street Journal : The pricing of the T-Mobile data-only phone plan is the same as the carrier's wireless plan for tablets: It costs $20 a month for 2 gigabytes of usage. The data-only phone plan, however, includes unlimited texting. Customers can call 911 but the phone feature doesn't otherwise work.

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If you're someone who really only uses texting and apps to communicate, T-Mobile's new Data Only Simple Choice plans might be a good option, available starting tomorrow, March 30th, as reported by TmoNews [tmonews.com]. The plans are as follows:

2GB for $20 - Includes Music Freedom [t-mobile.com] unlimited music streaming, Binge On "stretch your data 3x further when streaming video" (NOT unlimited)
6GB for $35 - same as above plus unlimited video streaming and Data Stash [t-mobile.com]
10GB for $50
14GB for $65
18GB for $80
22GB for $95
(all prices per 30-day "month")

All plans include free unlimited texting. This is a key difference from using a true "data only" plan (including the recently unveiled FreedomPop Global SIM) because if you're a texter, it allows you to communicate while leaving mobile data turned off, which saves battery.

As someone who uses Google Voice as the basis of my communications (and mostly texting), I see using this as follows:

- Google Voice forwards to the T-Mobile number. Texts can be received even when data is off. Voice calls go to GV voice mail and you receive an auto-transcribed text with the message.

- Reply to texts directly with stock messaging app or turn on data and reply through Google Hangouts or the GV webpage through your browser.

- If you need to make a call, wait until you're on Wi-Fi, or use mobile data if it can't wait. Hangouts uses data at a rate of about 700KB/minute, so a 10 minute call would use 7MB. (Alternatively, KakaoTalk or Facebook Messenger use about 320KB/min -- see a comparison [androidauthority.com].)

It's important to note that if you plan on leaving mobile data off when not actively using your phone, you wouldn't receive calls (through Hangouts, KakaoTalk, whatever). If you spend most your day in a place where you have Wi-Fi access, I could see just leaving Hangouts running and any calls would be received there.

This plan won't be useful to everyone, but it may be useful to some. Either way, it's nice to see a carrier acknowledging that many of us just need an internet connection, and giving us that (plus the bonus of free texts) without having to pay extra for voice minutes we don't need or use.

Binge On and other perks

Update (04/01/16): Binge On and Music Freedom have been confirmed.

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All indications are that these plans are slight variations of or identical to T-Mobile's Tablet Plans, with one user in this thread commenting that when they signed up for a tablet plan recently, they were informed that it included unlimited texting. However, it is not yet confirmed that simply signing up for a tablet plan will get you unlimited texts.

A look at T-Mobile's Simple Choice Tablet Plans [t-mobile.com] shows the pricing is identical (2GB/$20, 6GB/$35), also noted by the Wall Street Journal. On that page, it is stated:

Quote : Does this plan include all Un-carrier benefits such as Binge On™, Data Stash, Mobile without Borders and Music Freedom? YES, all Simple Choice plans regardless of the amount of 4G LTE include Simple Global, Music Freedom, Mobile Without Borders and now optimized video streaming with Binge On, allowing you to stretch your data 3x further when streaming video, at no extra charge. For customers with 6GB or more, you also get Data Stash included and unlimited video streaming from your favorite streaming services without ever using your high-speed data.

Note the wording above: unlimited video streaming requires the 6GB/$35 plan.

As for international data, if you go to the Mobile Internet page [t-mobile.com] and scroll 3/4 of the way down to click on "Compare Tablet Plans", you can see that international data is included on postpaid plans that included a credit check.

To get the plan: At present, it seems the only way to get on this plan is to go to a T-Mobile store or give them a call. According to an online T-Mobile rep, it's not available on the website. When speaking with the rep, make sure you specify that you want a data plan with unlimited texting, but no voice.

T-Mobile Telesales: 1-800-289-6664 available Monday - Friday 5 A.M to 10 P.M Pacific Time, Saturday and Sunday 6 A.M to 6 P.M Pacific Time.