By Mike Robuck
T-Mobile US detailed plans to launch more affordable prepaid tariffs under a new consumer brand, targeting customers which do not consume great amounts of data.
The Connect by T-Mobile brand will offer plans priced from US$10 to US$35 per month, and include free caller ID and an app that blocks spam calls. The plans will be available from 25 March in the operator’s own stores and multi-carrier retailers across the US.
Connect by T-Mobile tariffs allow customers to use their own devices, but won’t include discounted new phone offers that come with the operator’s other tariffs. There’s a one-time SIM activation fee of US$10.
The services offer a fixed amount of data each month, with top-ups available for those who exceed the limit.
T-Mobile might also throttle data rates during peak periods.
The service isn’t available to business customers and there is a limit of five lines per customer.
Analysis
Founder and lead analyst with Recon Analytics, Roger Entner noted the Connect by T-Mobile plans are a more aggressive extension of an AT&T announcement a few weeks ago which included customers using their own 5G devices for its Value Plus plans.
“What is important here is this is T-Mobile branded, not Metro PCS branded, which is a traditional prepaid plan,” Entner stated. “So this diminishes the brand positioning between the two brands. Now you’re moving T-Mobile further down downstream.”
By charging US$10 per month, Entner stated the Connect by T-Mobile plans were ARPU dilutive when its previous positioning was about increasing the metric.
He also noted the plans aren’t eligible for the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Programme, which a T-Mobile US representative confirmed.
Entner noted the Connect by T-Mobile plans, particularly the US$35 plan, could enable the operator to upsell those customers from prepaid to post-paid going forward.
T-Mobile’s new plans could also fill a void on low-end tiers if Verizon pushes its Tracphone customers onto more premium tariffs, while also impacting Dish Network’s Boost Mobile service, Entner added.
