Tello Mobile Review: Budget 5G Plan Offers Reliable T-Mobile Alternative

A WIRED review tests Tello Mobile, a budget MVNO using T-Mobile's network, finding comparable 5G speeds for a fraction of the cost. The $25/month unlimited plan includes 50GB high-speed data and 10GB hotspot. Testing in Portland, Oregon showed Tello's download speeds about 30% slower than T-Mobile but still sufficient for 4K streaming. Latency was higher, but upload speeds were faster on a newer Motorola Razr. Performance degraded in low-reception areas. The review notes Tello lacks family plans, phone subsidies, international roaming, and perks like AAA or Netflix. For low-data users on Wi-Fi, savings can be hundreds per year. Tello offers plans from $10/month (2GB) to $25/month (50GB) with no contracts. Signup via eSIM takes five minutes. The reviewer concludes the trade-offs are minimal for those who keep phones long-term and use little cellular data.