Cricket does away with its 8 GB and 12 GB data options

Cricket is making a change to its data plan lineup. The AT&T-owned MVNO recently added more data to its cheapest plans, but now it’s removed two others completely. Customers will no longer have the option to select 8 GB or 12 GB data allotments.

Now, the only options are a $30 plan with 2 GB of data, a $40 plan with 5 GB of data, and two unlimited plans. The two unlimited plans come in at $55 and $60 per month and offer unlimited data at different speeds. The cheaper plan caps you at 3 Mbps, while the more expensive plan bumps that up to 8 Mbps.

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The change was unannounced but doesn’t surprise us that much. The 8 GB and 12 GB plans were in the same price range as the two unlimited plans and felt somewhat redundant. By removing them, customers have less choice, but Cricket’s offerings become a little bit simpler. This could also help the company push customers toward the cheaper unlimited plan which is easier on its network. Since speeds are capped pretty low, Cricket’s network is able to handle the load easier.

Keep in mind that with Cricket, like most MVNOs, speeds are always capped. All of Cricket’s lines are capped at 8 Mbps, while the cheaper Unlimited 2 plan caps it at 3 Mbps. Those slower speeds on the Unlimited 2 plan should hopefully be enough for you to stream YouTube and Netflix videos at an SD resolution of 480p. You’re also capped at 22 GB of usage each on unlimited plans before Cricket will slow speeds. If you’re on either the 2 GB or 5 GB plan and go over your monthly data allotment, Cricket will slow you down to an unusable 128 Kbps.

If you’re shopping around for a new phone plan, don’t forget that we can help you out with that.