Google Fi MVNO lowers prices after new T-Mobile deal

Google Fi announced that it will cut prices on its mobile service in a move that comes just a few months after T-Mobile officials announced they inked a new MVNO deal with the company.

"We're announcing reduced pricing for our unlimited phone plans and feature updates to all our phone plans to give you even more value," Dhwani Shah, Google Fi's product manager, wrote on the company's website.

The price reductions stretch across many of Google Fi's service plans. For example, Google said that it's now charging $50 per month for one line of unlimited service, rather than its previous $60. The company's "Unlimited Plus" plan – which includes mobile hotspot functions and international calling options – now costs $65 per month for one line of service, down from a previous $70.

"To celebrate this launch, for a limited time, you can save up to $500 on select phones or get $100 in Fi bill credit if you bring your own phone, when you join or add a line," Shah wrote.

Figure 1: Alphabet is the parent company of Google.
(Source: Askar Karimullin/Alamy Stock Photo)

T-Mobile CFO Peter Osvaldik discussed the company's new MVNO deal with Google during a recent investor event, explaining that T-Mobile is looking to make money from extra 5G network capacity with MVNOs that don't directly target the customers that T-Mobile itself is trying to nab.

The question, according to Osvaldik, is "how do we create good complementary businesses and can monetize in a smart way from a value creation perspective, the excess capacity on the network?" he said, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript.

Google isn't the only company moving under a new T-Mobile MVNO agreement. Thanks to its own new MVNO agreement with T-Mobile, cable company Altice is now offering its 1 GB mobile plan for free for 12 months to new mobile customers. T-Mobile has also said that its new MVNO with Dish Network is under review at the US Department of Justice.

Separately, as Light Reading previously reported, T-Mobile is moving forward with what are essentially MVNO agreements for fixed wireless access (FWA) services. Companies offering FWA via T-Mobile's network include Ultra Mobile and EarthLink.

Related posts:

— Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Light Reading | @mikeddano