T-Mobile doesn’t want to be your cell phone carrier — it wants to be your “uncarrier.” At least, that’s what the company’s CEO John Legere announced on the CES stage today. Appearing toward the end of the press conference, Legere stated that T-Mobile planned to listen closely to it’s customers and be more in touch with their needs. Basically, Legere would totally be a better boyfriend than your current phone provider’s CEO. He proved the company’s dedication to the approach by taking questions at end the press event, which was quite the event on its own and a very unprecedented move.
Prior to the announcement of the “Uncarrier” plan, T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray made clear the expansion of the company’s LTE network was a top priority. “The LTE pace that we will be rolling out is accelerating,” he stated before promising to reach 120 million people by the end of the year. Network enhancements will be made to upgrade current cities including Denver, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Virginia Beach. The focus on metro areas is an important part of the T-Mobile strategy. Legere seemed to think stretching across the entire map was a non-starter, saying he was “pleased” that Verizon “covered the dust bowl with LTE.” Shots fired.
To entice more consumers to the T-Mobile network, the phone provider made another announcement that will definitely turn some heads in the mobile industry. Starting on January 9, T-Mobile is offering a completely unlimited talk, text, and Web data plan for $70 a month. The kicker: there’s no annual contract. This replaces the current $70 Monthly4G plan that caps data at 5GB. This seems to be a direct counter to companies using shared data plans, which were referred to as “passé” by Legere.
While the whole “Uncarrier” nickname ploy is a bit heavy of a PR move, the concept is a encouraging and we can’t knock the brand’s dedication to its customers. Innovation in mobile contracts is also a welcome idea. T-Mobile came to CES with the intention to make some noise, and it definitely accomplished that much.
