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T-Mobile unveils unlimited family data plan amid price battles

T-Mobile US Inc. is driving the wireless price battles once again, this time cutting the price for unlimited data on its family plans by 29 percent.

Starting today, customers can get unlimited 4G LTE data for two lines on a shared plan for $100 a month, T-Mobile said yesterday on its website. The company had been charging $140 for two phones with unlimited data. By comparison, AT&T Inc. last month cut the price for 15 gigabytes of monthly data to $100 for a limited time.

T-Mobile, which has been a leader in escalating the wireless industry price wars, said its elimination of data limits and variable pricing is an effort to cut through the confusing mix of promotions from its competitors. Rivals have followed suit with a range of price reductions and promotions that both Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T said this week are cutting into wireless profits this quarter.

"People are saying loud and clear that they hate the confusion and complexity of the carriers' shared data plans, and they should," John Legere, chief executive officer of T-Mobile, said in the statement. "They threaten you with punishing overage penalties unless you police your own family's data usage or up your data bucket and spend more every month."

T-Mobile subscribers can add as many as eight more lines for $40 each. Customers have a limited time to sign up, but there is no expiration date once signed up.

"We are just breaking through all the clutter of the industry," Mike Sievert, T-Mobile's chief marketing officer, said in a phone interview.

T-Mobile shares fell 8.3 percent to $25.85 yesterday after the company separately announced the day before that it will raise money by offering mandatory convertible preferred stock.

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