T-Mobile isn't content to let Sprint keep its No. 3 spot in the U.S. wireless industry. Just days after Sprint began heating up the carrier price wars, T-Mobile has responded with a deal of its own that quadruples the amount of data for Simple Starter plan customers.

T-Mobile announced Monday that for just $5 extra per month, Simple Starter customers will get access to 2GB of LTE data. The Simple Starter plan, unveiled in May, gives unlimited talk and text and 500MB of LTE data for $40.

"People who use loads of data use T-Mobile," said John Legere, T-Mobile's president and CEO, in a press release. "And it's no wonder. The old guard telecoms punish people for using more data on their networks with crazy overage charges and fees. Get Verizon's $50 plan and use just one gig more data, and the price jumps to $65. It's crazy. At T-Mobile, we designed our network data-strong so our customers could use the hell out of it.  And that's just what they're doing." 

T-Mobile's move comes after Sprint began its aggressive strategy last week. Led by new chief executive Marcelo Claure, Sprint announced a new Family Share Pack plan aimed at giving customers up to 60GB of data to split among numerous phone lines and devices. The plans' pricing can get a little confusing, but it basically adds up to this:

Oh, and Sprint is also offering to buy out customers' existing contracts with other carriers with a Visa prepaid card worth up to $350.

"Sprint is offering the best value to data-hungry consumers. Period," Claure said in a company release. "We are doubling the high-speed wireless data because today's customers rely so much on their smartphones and tablets. We make it simple and easy for wireless consumers to get the data they need at affordable prices to make their lives easier, more productive and enjoyable. We are so certain that this is the best value on wireless today that for any customer who wants to switch to our new Sprint Family Share Pack, we will reimburse them for the cost to end their contract with another carrier."

Sprint then followed up on Thursday with a new $60 plan for unlimited data, which makes its deal $20 cheaper than the only other national carrier offering unlimited data.

Sprint currently boasts around 55 million customers, but recent data has shown Sprint is bleeding customers. The appointment of Claure as chief executive is expected to breathe new life into what has became the most stale of the four major wireless service providers. T-mobile, meanwhile, sits in fourth place with around 50 million subscribers but has overtaken Sprint in prepaid customers and is gaining quickly. The price-cutting moves by both companies highlight the importance of gaining ground against the dominant hold Verizon and AT&T have over the market. 

For more stories like this, follow us on Twitter!