T-Mobile really, really wants you to like them.
Competition is tight between the three biggest mobile carrier companies, AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ) and T-Mobile, especially after the latter's merger with Sprint.
Now that the industry has followed T-Mobile’s lead to largely due away with multi-year contracts to allow customers to pay month per month, there’s more fluidity in the market base for carrier service, and cellphone customers are notoriously not a loyal bunch.
But T-Mobile (TMUS) is continuing to put forth other incentives to stand-out, as customers on the Magenta Max program are eligible to get a free one-year subscription to Apple+ (APPL) , Netflix (NFLX) or Paramount+ (PARA), as well as a free year’s worth of AAA services.
And it s latest ongoing effort should appeal to the share of the population that finds themselves on airplanes, from time to time. Which is to say, most people.
T-Mobile Has Partnered With Another Airline
This summer, T-Mobile announced plans with a number of airlines, including Delta (DAL), American (AAL) and Alaska Airlines (ALK), to offer free, unlimited wi-fi to customers, including streaming, as part of its Coverage Beyond program.
Now, that offer has been fully extended to passengers on United Airlines (UAL). Starting this month, customers will get free Wi-Fi and streaming, where available, on select domestic and short-haul international United flights. The coverage will be available on 737s, MAX8s, MAX9s, select 757-300s and select A319s
Customers will now be able to text, email, and stream the entire season of Apple+’s cult hit “Severance” or whatever they might find to like on Paramount+.
To be eligible for this perk, you need theMagenta MAX or Magenta plans, which run between $60 to $70 a month. The lower priced plan only covers four flights per year, with a free hour for every flight after that.
“Whether it’s for business or leisure, we know staying connected in the air is important, and we’re excited many of T-Mobile’s customers will experience our free inflight Wi-Fi on their phones when flying United,” said Grant Milstead, United’s Vice President of Digital Technology. “With the free in-flight coverage, customers can take advantage of Wi-Fi to text their family and friends or browse their favorite sites and apps.”
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T-Mobile Also Has An Interesting Plan To Tackle Dead Zones
T-Mobile is all about making certain your in-flight experience is comfortable, and that you have plenty of ways to distract yourself from the often horrid conditions of flying.
But there are still plenty of places in the world where you can’t get a signal to save your life, known in the industry as “dead zones.”
T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert recently revealed at a luncheon at the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce that the company has partnered with SpaceX to tackle “maybe one of the biggest pain points.”
As noted by GeekWire, the partnership will entail the creation of a network, composed “of Starlink satellites that can use T-Mobile’s mid-band spectrum nationwide.”
The beta testing will begin next year, following a series of SpaceX satellite launches. That testing will at first involve text messaging, including SMS, MMS and messaging apps, with voice and data coverage will come later.
“We don’t know exactly how fast it will come together. But our dream is that your existing smartphone, the one you already have, with no new technology required, will be able to connect to Starlink satellites orbiting the Earth and you’ll be able to have real-time messaging, emergency messaging, picture messaging, real-time communication not only via text, but popular messaging apps,” said Sievert.
“If everything goes to plan we should be in full beta by the end of next year.”
