T-Mobile announces that streaming video on Netflix, Hulu, HBO, WatchESPN, and 20 other apps will no longer count against customers’ mobile data usage. The news comes at a particular satisfying time as the demand for mobile video continues to surge and cell phone carriers have penalties for going over data caps.
Aside from being an attractive addition to consumers, T-Mobile said this transition won’t undermine profits or overwhelm its networks as it’s working with media companies to enhance their apps.
“Customers have a huge and increasing appetite for new and innovative ways to use their smartphones,” T-Mobile Chief Executive John Legere said. “But what I see is there’s amazing content being created, but it’s being created for movie and TV screens. All content is going to the Internet, and I’m trying to get it mobile. It’s a huge disconnect. A big, big portion of data is wasted.”
The company’s push for 480p video streams is set to be three times more efficient in data usage.
Its new offering called Binge On will begin for free over the next two weeks on new and existing data plans.
Other content streaming apps on the list include Showtime, Vevo, Univision, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, and Vessel. T-Mobile is working to negotiate with YouTube, Snapchat, and Twitch. Video apps do not have to pay to be a part of the Binge On program.
Legere made it clear that no other rival carrier offers a program like this. Video streaming from Verizon’s new Go90 app and AT&T’s DirecTV app will be covered by Binge On. “Just because we can,” Legere said. Touché.
T-Mobile already offers unlimited Internet music streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and other apps, covering approximately 95 percent of the industry and 200 million songs a day, the company said.
T-Mobile also recently doubled its data caps to 2 gigabytes, 6 gigabytes, and 10 gigabytes, without increasing prices. And the limit on tethering (using a smartphone as a hotspot) was doubled to 14 gigabytes. As it currently stands, four lines with unlimited calling, texting, and data costs $180 a month with the wireless provider.
Over the past two years, T-Mobile has made a series of changes to its business, including eliminating two-year contracts and device subsidies that came with them, allowing customers to have upgrades more frequently. The company also began handing out free, high-end Wi-Fi routers and opened its plans to cover all of North America.
Investors have criticized T-Mobile for handing out things for free, but Legere countered that theory to say it has made consumers switch to T-Mobile. Other carriers have also copied some of T-Mobile’s changes and the company has acquired more customers than it has lost to other carriers for 10 consecutive quarters.
“This makes huge economic sense,” Legere said. “Both investors and customers are going to be real happy. This could be the biggest thing we’ve announced.”
Source: LA Times
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