T-Mobile launched their unlimited data plan earlier this month. It’s named “T-Mobile One” and it’s the only plan that T-Mobile is offering now, hence the “One” in the name. There is another plan, “T-Mobile One Plus” however, it is actually the same plan, just with an add-on included for $25/month per line. T-Mobile One brings unlimited data to the masses, but it’s not quite what everyone had hoped for. Binge On and Music Freedom are included here, as well as tethering being limited to 2G speeds. Which is how T-Mobile is able to keep up with the extra data hitting their network, with more and more people using unlimited data.
Unlimited data isn’t the only reason that T-Mobile One is great for the company. Speaking at Goldman Sachs Communacopia investor conference this week, T-Mobile’s COO Mike Sievert talked about the plan, stating that it allows for “radical simplification” for the company. Instead of having tons of plans available, they can limit themselves to just one plan. It makes it easy for them, as well as cutting costs. But more importantly, it keeps the consumer from being confused as to which plan is the best for them. Another feature of T-Mobile One is that it is automatically put on auto pay. So there is no bill – of course one is available if the customer wants to see what they are being charged. But for the most part customers are not getting bills and paying automatically. Kind of like your subscription to Netflix.
T-Mobile One even goes as far as making it easier for customers to switch to T-Mobile. Think about it, you’re at the T-Mobile store looking to sign up for service. But there are multiple plans to choose from. Which is the right one for you? That’s no longer an issue for T-Mobile. As they have basically made a “one size fits all” plan with T-Mobile One. Customers simply go in, pick out the phone they want and sign up for service. T-Mobile’s CFO, Braxton Carter who was also present at the investor conference, noted that this could cut “50% off the on-boarding time”. Which would be a big deal for stores, but an even bigger deal for their call centers.
There appears to be plenty more advantages for T-Mobile One over just providing unlimited data to all of their customers. T-Mobile’s COO Mike Sievert has said that it has proven to be pretty popular for their customers so far. But did not mention how many had switched over to the new plan just yet.