MetroPCS is now Metro by T-Mobile

If you arrived here looking for MetroPCS, it is the same company under a different name. T-Mobile acquired MetroPCS in 2013 and rebranded it Metro by T-Mobile on 24 September 2018, keeping talk, text and data nationwide with no annual contracts. Accounts, numbers and plans carried across, and there was nothing for customers to do at the time.

The ownership detail matters more than the name. An independent MVNO buys wholesale access and sits behind everyone on the host network. Metro is owned by T-Mobile outright, which affects how quickly it gets new devices, how its support routes, and how its traffic is treated when a cell is busy. The practical residue of the rebrand is that searching the old name still turns up pages written before 2018, some of them quoting plans that no longer exist.

The three downsides worth knowing first

• DEPRIORITIZATION. Every tier except the $60 plan is served after T-Mobile's own postpaid customers when a cell is congested. In routine use this is invisible. At a stadium, a festival or a commuter platform at 8am, it is the whole experience.
• THE HOTSPOT LINEUP MAKES NO SENSE. The $25 tier has no hotspot at all. The $30 web-exclusive has 10GB. The $50 tier has less than the $30 one. Paying more does not reliably buy more tethering, so the tier has to be chosen on the spec rather than the price.
• THE FIRST MONTH COSTS MORE. The advertised rates are AutoPay rates. The $25 plan bills $30 the first month and the $60 plan bills $65. It's a small amount of money and a common reason people think they have been mischarged.

None of these make Metro a bad choice. Taxes included, five years of rate protection and a store you can walk into is a strong package between $25 and $60. They are simply the things worth knowing before the first bill rather than after it.

What makes Metro different

• 5-Year Price Guarantee: talk, text, and 5G data pricing locked for 5 years on eligible plans. No other major U.S. carrier offers a comparable structured guarantee.
• Retail stores nationwide plus Walmart presence — vs digital-only Mint, Ultra, and Kroger Wireless.
• All-in pricing: $40 advertised is $40 paid.
• Premium $60 tier with NO deprioritization — structurally like T-Mobile postpaid; most MVNOs can’t offer this.
• Amazon Prime included on the $60 tier — a $14.99/mo value that drops effective cost to ~$45.

The plans

• $25/mo BYOD (web-exclusive, AutoPay): unlimited 5G, no hotspot.
• $30/mo BYOD: unlimited + 10GB hotspot.
• $40 Period: unlimited flat, 35GB threshold, no AutoPay needed.
• $50/mo AutoPay: 50GB threshold, 8GB hotspot, 100GB Google One.
• $60/mo AutoPay: unlimited PREMIUM data (no deprioritization), HD video, 25GB hotspot, Amazon Prime, watch/tablet lines $5/mo, international texting to 210+ countries.
• 6-Month Unlimited: $120 total ($20/mo equivalent) for new BYOD customers.

Network and coverage

Metro runs on T-Mobile’s full 4G LTE and 5G network — the widest 5G footprint in the U.S., strongest in metros and along corridors. Lower tiers get standard MVNO deprioritization during congestion; the $60 premium tier doesn’t. Metro’s own disclaimers acknowledge “Metro may be slower than T-Mobile during congestion” for non-premium tiers: useful transparency.

Who it’s for, and who should skip it

Best for users wanting walk-in support on T-Mobile’s network, anti-price-creep buyers, Amazon households, heavy urban data users (premium tier), and BYOD users at $25. Skip it if you want the absolute lowest price (Mint’s $15/mo 5GB annual prepay), Verizon coverage, or a polished digital-only experience.