T-Mobile increases prepaid offers, as postpaid users leave

T-Mobile is expanding its contract-free offers with the announcement of a new Monthly4G plan and three Pay by the Day deals.

The Monthly4G plan offers unlimited talk, text and Web, with the first 2GB of data at up to 4G speeds, for $60 a month — a more ideal plan for those as inclined to talk as text than the $30 unlimited, contract-free deal it announced with Walmart earlier this month. That plan offers unlimited 4G Web use and texting, but 100 minutes of talk time and a fee of 10 cents per minute afterward (CP: T-Mobile and Walmart announce 4G no-contract offer).

For users tending to turn to their phones in a pinch, if at all, the Pay by the Day plans charge only for the days the phone is used. Users can choose from:

-- $3 a day for unlimited talk, text and Web and the first 200MB of data at 4G speeds;

-- $2 a day for unlimited talk, text and Web at 2G speeds; or

-- $1 a day for unlimited texting and 10 cents a minute for calls.

T-Mobile, now the only tier-one carrier without an iPhone, has been losing post-paid subscribers — likely not the type to take note of today's deals (CP: T-Mobile customer losses continue as do its smartphone gains). Contract-free plans are gaining momentum in the current economy, and all the operators are taking note.

In September, Verizon, the nation's largest carrier and a provider of the new iPhone 4S, expanded its $50 pre-paid unlimited plan nationwide (CP: Verizon to offer $50 unlimited prepaid plan this week). A Verizon spokesperson explained: "In these times, there are some people who would prefer living on a prepaid plan."