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T-Mobile, Sprint widen opening for media-rich experiences with unlimited data promises

Both T-Mobile and Sprint are promising unlimited data in groundbreaking new rate plans, and while some restrictions are still in place, the moves bring mobile one step closer to delivering the media-rich experiences that publishers, brands and consumers are demanding. 

T-Mobile?s new One plan replaces all of its existing rate plans with an offer for unlimited talk, text and 4G LTE smartphone data for $70 for a single line or $40 per line for a family of four. Sprint?s Unlimited Freedom plan offers unlimited talk, text and high-speed data for $60 for the first line, $40 for the second and $30 thereafter. 

?It?s a publishers and brand marketers dream to be able to deliver media-rich experiences to their customers,? said Margie Kupfer, vice president of marketing at 3Cinteractive.

?With unlimited text and data enabled via T-Mobile ONE and their 4G LTE network, a publisher/brand marketer can deliver that media-rich experience without a high cost to their consumers,? she said. 

Data costs
T-Mobile and Sprint are each looking to gain a competitive edge against the other as well as against industry leaders AT&T and Verizon. 

For T-Mobile, the move to a single plan is the next step in a strategy to position the brand as the ?un-carrier,? with simpler, more transparent offerings. The strategy has been paying, with T-Mobile attracting new subscribers at a healthy rate as of late. 


In the competitive environment for mobile service, easing the cost of data is one way wireless carriers are trying to attract new customers. As consumers continue to expand their use of mobile for consuming data-heavy content such as video, they are frequently frustrated by the cost of data overages. 

Limitations remain
More data consumption, in turn, means consumers are more likely to engage with ad-driven content, making both publishers and brand marketers happy. 


However, there are still limitations on both T-Mobile?s and Sprint?s new plans when it comes to video playback resolution, music streaming and gaming. These limitations are at the high end of where most consumption is, so they are likely to affect only the heaviest users. On T-Mobile?s plan, customers can pay more to avoid the limitations. 

?T-Mobile?s bold move is a big win for wireless customers,? Ms. Kupfer said. ?Customers with T-Mobile One will now have the power to interact with who they want, how they want and without the fear or burden of overages, and on 4G LTE ? the most advanced technology widely available.?