When I think about Cricket Wireless, and I mean when I think about Cricket Wireless, the first thing that comes to mind is this phone carrier's speed cap: unless you subscribe to Cricket's most expensive unlimited data plan, this budget carrier caps its speeds at Most plans allowed only a maximum of 8 Mbps data downloads. This severely limited Cricket's appeal as an alternative to pricey wireless providers.

However, Cricket clearly wants to change the way we think about its services. Until now, 5G has been limited to the most expensive unlimited plans from discount carriers.

The elimination of the speed cap will affect Cricket's three plans - a 2GB, $30/month plan, a 10GB, $40/month plan, and Cricket's entry-level $55/month unlimited data option. These plans, like Cricket's $60/month unlimited option, eliminate speed limits, but Cricket reserves the right to reduce the speed of the $55 unlimited plan if the AT&T network it uses becomes congested.

Data speeds were one area where Cricket could not compete with other discount carriers such as Metro By T-Mobile and Visible; Cricket's 10GB plan is particularly competitive with Metro by T-Mobile's similar plan ($40/month) Cricket customers can save an additional $5 off their bill by signing up for automatic payments.

As noted above, Cricket uses AT&T's network, and AT&T also owns and operates the discount brand. Testing firm OpenSignal ranked AT&T first in overall download speeds in its July 2021 report, slightly ahead of T-Mobile, but the Uncarrier has faster 5G download speeds.

Cricket's top unlimited data plan has also received a boost, as it is no longer the only Cricket plan with unlimited speeds. Subscribers who choose the $60/month unlimited plan will get 15GB of mobile hotspot speed as well as access to HBO Max's ad-supported tier.

With these perks, and the elimination of speed limits, Cricket may challenge rival carriers for the title of best prepaid phone plan in the near future.