It's not just the big guys following T-Mobile's lead in the way phones and plans are sold. US Cellular is announcing new no-contract plans and financed device options today. It's more or less the same deal you get at other carriers, but with some cheaper tiers.

The Simple connect plans come in three flavors – a $40 unlimited data plan for "basic phones," $50 unlimited (500MB of high-speed data), and $60 unlimited (2GB of high-speed data). All plans include unlimited voice and SMS. This is just the base cost – if you finance a device through US Cellular, you will add the monthly cost of that device (divided into 24 parts) to the plan.

Part of the Simple Connect plan is the equivalent of Jump, Next, and all those other early upgrade things. At no extra cost, you have the option of trading in your device after 12 months and starting the payments over with a new one. That's not a bad deal if US Cellular's coverage works for you.

[MarketWired]