Smartphones and wireless cellular services are now essential for businesses to compete in today’s market and broad coverage is an expectation. After T-Mobile’s recent acquisition of Sprint, the US market is dominated by Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T. Each of these carriers offers various plan options for businesses of all sizes.
5G continues to roll out across the US, but reliable LTE service is still essential to getting work done. The pricing for business service is competitive, and as someone who has been in the industry for decades, it is amazing to see the reasonable pricing for such fast service that reaches across the nation.
Tablet, smartwatch, and hotspot options are available for additional costs on the Business Unlimited Start plan. The price also includes $5 per month savings for paper-free billing and auto pay.
Pros
Nationwide 5G coverageAble to add additional devices (watches, tablets) to the account
Cons
No support for mmWave, high-band, 5GData speeds slowed down during times of congestion
Pros
Nationwide 5G coverage, including mmWave spectrumEnhanced security bundle includedUnlimited mobile hotspot service
Cons
100GB limit during high usage time periods
This plan may be perfect for businesses using connected tablets out in the field and smartphones that are using data throughout the day away from Wi-Fi service. Pros
Nationwide 5G coverage with mmWave support50% cost savings on tablet plansEnhanced security bundle includedUnlimited mobile hotspot service
Cons
$50 price per line higher than other tiers
These plans include 5G network support, 5GB of high-speed mobile hotspot data, as well as unlimited calling/texting/data in Mexico and Canada. Pros
Very affordable small business planNationwide 5G coverageUnlimited service in Mexico and Canada
Cons
Unlimited streaming is limited to SD contentIncluded data in Canada and Mexico is 128kbps speed
Pros
Affordable per line price pointMicrosoft 365 productivity service includedOne hour of in-flight Wi-Fi service
Cons
40GB of high-speed hotspot100GB of premium data
Streaming content is provided with unlimited 4K UHD quality, WiFi on your flight is unlimited, and data in 210 countries is twice as fast (256kbps) as the other T-Mobile small business plans. Pros
Unlimited premium dataUnlimited WiFi on your flightMicrosoft 365 services included
Cons
5GB of high speed data in Canada and Mexico
Hotspot data allotments, priority data transmission, and higher definition streaming are features that improve as you move from the Starter tier to the Elite tier of service. Select the number of lines on the Unlimited Your Way website to view pricing for your company. Pros
Price per line decreases with additional linesMultiple tiers of service are offered
Cons
Limited to 10 lines of servicePriority data transmission restrictionsHotspot data limits
Plans start at $35 per month, but potential customers need to contact AT&T to discuss specific details and plan pricing. Pros
Affordable plan pricingUnlimited calls to Mexico and Canada
Cons
Shared pool requires management to allocate
Shareable data, rollover data, unlimited talk and text, mobile hotspot service, and international talk, text, and data are provided with these plans. Pros
Support for up to 25 lines of serviceRollover data supportMobile hotspot service included
Cons
Data caps allocated by service option
AT&T Business 4GB is available for tablets for $20 per month and for wearables for $10 per month. AT&T advertises this plan as best for small businesses. Pros
Unlimited talk and textControlled pricing per each phoneService options for tablets and wearables
Cons
4GB data limit per each line
A couple of examples include 50 lines with 100GB of data for $674 per month or 30 lines with 50GB of data for $385 per month. We had the opportunity to test out the two available US Mobile SIM cards and found the service to be fast and reliable. Pros
Specific service offering for businessesScalable to your business size and line needsCompetitive $9 per line base feeVerizon and T-Mobile serve as network providers
Cons
Data price per GB may be higher than unlimited plans
T-Mobile provides the network for Mint Mobile’s service so you will need GSM handsets for the service. Pros
Unlimited talk, text, and data plan optionsFlexibility for less expensive data limit plans
Cons
No specific business service plansLimited to T-Mobile coverage areaThree available contract period options
4G LTE and 5G data is provided, along with international support, cloud storage, and more. Pros
Established, trusted MVNOPhysical retail stores around the countryUnlimited and measured data plan optionsNo long term contract required
Cons
Service coverage area limited to AT&T networkFive line limit per account
One of the first things to figure out is where you will need service geographically in the US as all three carriers have slightly different coverage maps. Your geographic operating area may remove one, or more, carriers from your viable candidate list. The next step is to determine how many lines of service you will need and then the data needs of those lines. Calling and text messages are unlimited in all cases, but data speed and amount of data will drive your costs. Most carriers also offer additional incentives and services, such as hotspot, in-flight coverage, Microsoft 365, and more. Make sure to account for the value of these incentives in your decision-making process. Account management may require more time from businesses given the consumer focus of MVNOs. MVNOs are also subject to the infrastructure provided by the big three US carriers, but there are several established MVNOs with solid reputation and a record of high-quality service and support. The most popular smartphones in the US, Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones, support all wireless technologies in the US wireless market so there are no limits on using these phones with any US carrier. If you purchase these phones directly from Samsung and Apple, then you can choose to purchase unlocked models. Some phones are sold in a locked state so they can only be used on one specific carrier. This may be changing soon and there are processes to unlock your phone from your carrier if you decide to switch carriers. There used to be incentives for purchasing locked phones, but in today’s world purchasing unlocked phones gives you the most flexibility for choosing your service provider.
