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T-Mobile tweaks its One plan to address your complaints

You get faster unlimited hotspot data, HD day passes and a Plus tier with everything you'd want.

Ron Wurzer/AP Images for T-Mobile

T-Mobile's One plan rubbed a lot of people the wrong way: sure, you got unlimited on-device data, but anything better than 480p video or 2G hotspot tethering was going to cost you an arm and a leg. The (un) carrier isn't deaf to your complaints, though. It's modifying its strategy to not only tackle key gripes with the One plan, but add a second plan that covers what gaps are left. The base One plan (still $70 per month for the first line) now includes 512Kbps unlimited hotspot data instead of 128Kbps -- still pokey, but you can at least do more than check your email. Also, October will bring the option of daily HD passes that, at $3 per day, are decidedly more affordable when you only want high-quality video for a weekend trip.

As for that second plan? It's called T-Mobile One Plus, and it really amounts to bundling all the previous add-ons into one more reasonable package. The $25 extra per line that you would have paid just for HD video now gets you unlimited HD passes (you have to turn it to always-on yourself, oddly enough), LTE hotspot data and twice-as-fast data roaming in over 140 countries.

Both the modified One plan and the new One Plus tier will launch on September 1st, or 5 days earlier than originally planned. Clearly, T-Mobile is feeling the heat from rivals who've stepped up their game -- all four major networks now have at least 'overage-free' plans, and Sprint's unlimited HD video plan is still less expensive than One Plus at $80 per month (albeit capped at 8Mbps for video and game streams). Not that we're about to object to T-Mobile changing its tune. The One Plus plan doesn't cap anything beyond the potential for throttling after 26GB, and those who stick to the base One plan are getting a much better deal before it's even available.