US Cellular drops data cap with new $55/month unlimited plan

U.S. Cellular, the nation’s fifth-largest wireless carrier, has introduced a new unlimited plan that removes previous caps on LTE data.

The new plan launches Aug. 12 and starts at $55 per month for one line, with discounts available for each additional line.  Customers can get four lines of unlimited data for $30 per month, per line.

U.S. Cellular said the offer is available to new and existing customers, with no upgrade or activation fees. The carrier previously capped LTE data at 22 GB, but that has been removed on the new unlimited plan.

On the company’s recent second-quarter earnings call CEO Ken Meyers said 32% of U.S. Cellular’s postpaid customers take its unlimited plan, compared to 20% a year prior.

RELATED: U.S. Cellular loses 26K postpaid subs in Q2, readies for 5G launch in 2020

“As we continue to invest in the latest technology and make enhancements to our network, we’ve created a better data experience for our customers,” said Jay Spenchian, senior vice president of marketing at U.S. Cellular, in a statement.   

In July, a J.D. Power study ranked Chicago-based U.S. Cellular first (tied with Verizon) in the North Central Region for wireless network quality performance. The North Central region includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. In the region, U.S. Cellular had lowest network quality problems per 100 connections across call, messaging, and data quality, according to J.D. Power.  

U.S. Cellular has been investing in a multi-year network upgrade and continues to deploy VoLTE this year as it prepares to launch 5G services in its largest markets in 2020.

RELATED: 2019 Rising Star Winner - US Cellular's Mike Irizarry

The regional carrier scooped up a good amount of high-band millimeter wave spectrum licenses in the last year while participating in the FCC’s 24 GHz and 28 GHz auctions. Combined, U.S. Cellular spent about $256 million at the 5G auctions, acquiring 690 mmWave licenses.

This week, FierceWireless named U.S. Cellular CTO Mike Irizarry a 2019 Rising Star winner.