T-Mobile’s John Legere Open to Partnering with Google and Comcast

T-Mobile US announced that in the current year, it expects to add 3.4 to 3.9 million branded customers, up from the company’s prior guidance between 3-3.5 million that it issued in April.

Another strong quarter of subscriber growth has been reported by the carrier and offered on profitability. Earlier this month, T-Mobile had pre-proclaimed its subscriber results and so investors were anxious to learn the carrier’s financials. 

MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett wrote in a research note “With T-Mobile’s (blowout) subscriber growth having already been reported for Q2, profitability was all that was left to learn today… and investors will surely view today’s report as very good news indeed.” He also said, “Broader profitability metrics (EBITDA, earnings, and free cash flow) were all in-line or better.” 

Speculation has rolled over whether T-Mobile and Dish Network will cement a deal at the company’s earnings conference call. John Legere further clarified that he is open to partnering with other distinct companies. He also said that in the coming years, brand names such as Google and Comcast are being introduced into the wireless market and T-Mobile has opened its door for the partnership.

When questions were raised regarding Verizon Wireless forthcoming over the top mobile video service that is set to debut this summer, T-Mobile COO Mile Sievert spoke that video is essential to the company and is considered as the top application as well as a source of traffic on T-Mobile’s network.

He asked, “The question is this: Do people want their wireless carriers to curate their video options?” If they do, we’ll be there.” Sievert also said that rather than “gobbling up” companies, as Verizon has done with AOL, T-Mobile will follow and implement according to customer expectations.

C Spire Averts Surplus Data Charges for its Customers

With its new customer-friendly initiative, C Spire Wireless is helping its customers avoid surplus data charges.

The program seems to be based on a strong working model. A text message alert is typically sent to the customer when 20% of the monthly data plan remains and once the monthly limit is reached, C Spire gives them a chance to purchase “Top Up” data and those charges are then deducted from their balance. Subscribers also have the option to choose from 500 MB data for $10, 1 GB data for $15 and 3GB for $45. Moreover, if there is any unused data, it can be added to the next month’s plan. 

Suzy Hays, senior vice president for customer marketing noted “Our approach is simple: if you reach your monthly data limit, we’ll let you decide if you want more”.  She also said, “We won’t use it as an opportunity to charge you huge fees without ever asking.”

C Spire found out that smartphone users in the U.S use up to 2.98 GB of data in a month on an average, but 30% of the users consume about 500 MB. This report fits with Chetan Sharma, an industry analyst who shared that U.S subscribers consume around 2.5 GB of data every month during the first quarter. 

Hays said, “It’s a real dilemma because most users struggle to gauge accurately how much data they really need”. He also said “If you purchase too much data, you’re wasting money. If you buy too little, you get hit with surprise overage fees or your data speeds get throttled or slowed down.”

On the overage alert program, it is doubtful if C Spire is working with some other vendor. But on its video passes, the carrier had worked with monetization and network analytics vendor Openwave Mobility in the past. C spire spokesman did not comment immediately on the same.

John Legere, T-Mobile CEO, is constantly pressuring Verizon Wireless, Sprint and AT&T Mobility to reduce surplus charges on their data plans, as T-Mobile did a year back. Legere announced that if the petition started by him reaches 250,000 signatures, a message will be sent to them that can’t be ignored. Change.org/AbolishOverages online petition has nearly 218,000 signatures.