T-Mobile Sends Out Invites to March 26th Event; Plan to be First 'Uncarrier' In US

[dgstorm]

It looks like T-Mobile will soon take a big gamble to shake-up the carrier industry in the United States. They plan to implement their new "uncarrier" strategy in the US on march 26th and have sent out invites for the press event. They will be moving forward with their "contract-free" wireless approach in an attempt to woo customers away from the big three competitors, Verizon, Sprint and AT&T. As you can see in the leaked @evleaks twitter post above, the invite says, "We're still a wireless company. We're just not going to act like one anymore." This could be more than just marketing hype too. Here's a quote with more of the details,

T-Mobile just sent out invites to a press event on March 26 in New York which very interestingly reads, “We’re still a wireless company. We’re just not going to act like one anymore.” EVLeaks tweeted a picture of the invite, which gives us a lot more information about the new strategy which includes -

• No contracts! As the invite says, “We think you should be able to upgrade your phone when you want, and not when you carrier says so.” This definitely makes a lot of sense and is a great move, as the 2 year contract system isn’t suited for the way mobile technology is changing, with new devices releasing in at least a yearly cycle, if not sooner.
• T-Mobile will be the only network to offer unlimited talk, text, and data without the need of an annual contract.
• If you’re worried that a move to no contract would mean having to pay full price for smartphones, don’t worry, because T-Mobile will be introducing new plans to buy devices with just $99.99 down. This is of course, applicable to only “well-qualified” buyers on activation of a new rate plan, so now would be a good time to check that credit score.

Apart from the new strategy, we can also expect T-Mobile to announce the activation of its 4G LTE network in select cities during the event. Considering the fact that T-Mobile will be carrying both the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4, along with its new strategy and growing 4G LTE network, the company is definitely on the right path.

This definitely seems like a truly intriguing idea. Do you guys think it could catch on? If it does we could see T-Mobile rise to prominence, or at the very least force AT&T and Verizon to offer more competitive pricing.

Source: AndroidAuthority

 

[kodiak799]

I just don't get the fuss over contracts. If the service is lousy - which you should know within a matter of days - you can cancel (maybe not easily, but you should be able to). Turnover is ridiculously low - even when people can switch at the end of a contract, they don't.

We can argue if phones were unlocked with no contract people would be jumping around to the best deals every month. But we could look at land lines, home broadband, cable, utilities...just doesn't happen.

 

[johnomaz]

I have to see the cost of the plan first. Right now, I'm happy with AT&T because I dont' deal with them. I fix all my own stuff unless it is from their towers and not my phone. The minutes and data I have are just fine too. I have LTE service where I live, not sure if TMobile does. Texting is the only thing I don't pay for and would probably use it if it was unlimited and part of my service cost. But I pay around $70 a month and dont' want to pay an additional $20 a month for the few texts I do send.

I just don't get the fuss over contracts. If the service is lousy - which you should know within a matter of days - you can cancel (maybe not easily, but you should be able to). Turnover is ridiculously low - even when people can switch at the end of a contract, they don't.

We can argue if phones were unlocked with no contract people would be jumping around to the best deals every month. But we could look at land lines, home broadband, cable, utilities...just doesn't happen.

Also, there are still activation costs and what not so it wouldn't' be very feasible to jump around.

 

[kodiak799]

Texting is the only thing I don't pay for and would probably use it if it was unlimited and part of my service cost.

Just go with Google Voice. I guess it can't do MMS, but I don't usually get those. My problem is getting people to use that number - I missed out on porting my cell number before doing so would have cost me my unlimited data.

 

[thc1967]

The contract thing is far less relevant to me than coverage and cost. If T-Mobile can give me LTE in the places I travel for business and the cost is appreciably less than my current carrier, I'll consider switching.

 

[liftedplane]

^^^ I'm with THC1967 if they can get better service where I live I'd consider switching. It really is a step in the right direction, sadly it's being taken by the low man on the totem pole because they're hurting....

 

[pc747]

I like T-mobile's strategy problem is they just do not have the infrastructure to make a big enough dent. In the end people will ask the question "will this work here" in other words will I get 4g at home, office, and in between. If the answer is no then why would I leave AT&t or Verizon. Verizon is able to charge what ever they want and do what ever they want because they know there is no one in the US that can touch their coverage. The best chance T-mobile had at making a big impact died with the At&T-mobile deal. I really wish more carriers would follow T-mobile's non contract deal but why would they when they can continue making money hand over fist.

 

[johnomaz]

Just go with Google Voice. I guess it can't do MMS, but I don't usually get those. My problem is getting people to use that number - I missed out on porting my cell number before doing so would have cost me my unlimited data.

I do use Google Voice, but trying to get the lemmings I know to actually text me with that number and not my phone number has been a very VERY challenging process.

 

[MissionImprobable]

Same as U.S. Cellular re-introducing unlimited now that they're going to 4G devices: great concept, bad carrier. Once they improve coverage and reliability it becomes a viable option.

 

[skennelly]

I do use Google Voice, but trying to get the lemmings I know to actually text me with that number and not my phone number has been a very VERY challenging process.

That's true. I thought the same thing about gtalk. Unfortunately, there is no good integration. A friend of mine has an iPhone and says that he can tell when another iPhone user texts him because it appears in a different color. I believe he said that it ends up not being billed as a text message, but rather a free service from apple like Google's gtalk. That would be a great thing to implement on android.

 

[sweeeeet]

this makes sense since their contract priced phones are almost as much as the retail price

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

 

[trestevenson]

I like T-mobile's strategy problem is they just do not have the infrastructure to make a big enough dent. In the end people will ask the question "will this work here" in other words will I get 4g at home, office, and in between. If the answer is no then why would I leave AT&t or Verizon.

Perhaps they'll have better coverage if the merger with MetroPCS ultimately goes through. Wasn't Metro the first U.S. carrier with a 4G phone? I don't know much about their coverage, but I've heard it's pretty decent within the cities in which they operate (Atlanta, Tampa, etc.). Anything outside of those major metropolitan areas, however, is pretty abysmal. The combination of their two networks could be a good thing for their customers and make the combined company more competitive.

 

[droidbionicmaster]

T mobile and metro have bad coverage especially in the new england area. If you come to new england you will have a hard time finding a t mobile retailer . At&t is starting to fade here as well

 

[pc747]

4 years later I feel like T-Mobile did manage to shake up the industry. I don't think Verizon would have ever considered going back to an unlimited data plan if it was not for T-Mobile doing it first followed by the other carriers. Argue if we may about an unlimited data plan that caps you at 22gigs (but then again wasn't the old plan back during the og Droid days suppose to have capped at 5gigs despite VZW not really enforcing it then).

I'm still not ready to switch to the pink because of my concerns with their network coverage, but you can bet I'm rooting for the pink. A victory for pink seems to be a victory for all of us.