T-Mobile’s Simple Choice customers will be covered in Mexico and Canada at no extra charge

On July 15, T-Mobile customers will be able to travel throughout three countries in North America and not be slammed with any roaming fees. The carrier announced Mobile Without Borders as its next step for being aggressive in the wireless industry, providing coverage to customers in Mexico and Canada in addition to the United States at no extra charge. Customers located in the former two countries will be able to place calls, send/receive texts, and utilize T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network just as they would in the United States.

The following is what T-Mobile CEO John Legere had to say about the launch of Mobile Without Borders:

“After spending billions buying up Mexican telecoms, AT&T’s CEO is promising ‘the first seamless network covering Mexico and the U.S.,’ something ‘unique’ that ‘nobody else will be able to do for the consumer.’ So much for that. They won’t be the first. And they won’t offer Canada for free. We’ve done this the Un-carrier way – reaching across borders, partnering with leading providers offering the best LTE networks, creating a simple solution right now – then not charging a penny more for it.”

Mobile Without Borders is an expansion to customers on Simple Choice plans. Those customers will not have to make any changes or opt-ins when it goes lives next Wednesday.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to see the full list of markets that fall under T-Mobile’s Mobile Without Borders expansion.

T-Mobile Introduces ‘Mobile without Borders’: Extends Coverage & Calling Across North America at No Extra Charge

Next in its series of Un-carrier Amped announcements, T-Mobile unveils a massive expansion of Simple Choice — adds calling, texting and 4G LTE data throughout Mexico & Canada

Bellevue, Washington — July 9, 2015 — T-Mobile [NYSE: TMUS] has unveiled the latest in its Un-carrier Amped announcements—and this one’s going to make history. The company today announced a massive expansion of its first industry-rocking Un-carrier™ move, Simple Choice™, extending coverage and calling across the U.S., Mexico & Canada for all Simple Choice customers at no extra charge. Called ‘Mobile without Borders,’ this first-of-its-kind move delivers calling to both land lines and mobile phones − as well as 4G LTE data straight from your plan − across all three countries at no additional cost. The epic upgrade makes Simple Choice the first and only wireless plan to span an entire continent.

The move eliminates a major pain point for U.S. wireless customers. Last year, a full 35% of all international calls and 55% of all international travel from the U.S. was to Mexico & Canada alone. Over 70% of international trips taken by small and mid-sized business travelers were to Mexico & Canada. And, the same year, the carriers raked in nearly $10 billion in global roaming charges at over 90% margins. Meaning the carriers are lining their pockets with billions of dollars in inflated roaming fees—for coverage the Un-carrier now includes at no extra cost.

“After spending billions buying up Mexican telecoms, AT&T’s CEO is promising ‘the first seamless network covering Mexico and the U.S.,’ something ‘unique’ that ‘nobody else will be able to do for the consumer.’ So much for that. They won’t be the first. And they won’t offer Canada for free,” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “We’ve done this the Un-carrier way − reaching across borders, partnering with leading providers offering the best LTE networks, creating a simple solution right now − then not charging a penny more for it.”

To hear more from Legere about Mobile without Borders, check out his latest video blog.

As with Simple Global, Mobile without Borders takes direct aim at the carrier practice of jacking up the cost and complexity for customers the moment you set foot over a border. The pain is real. AT&T and Verizon’s data rates jump an insane 120x or more when you leave the U.S. For example:

• Call or travel with AT&T to Mexico and Canada, and you have to navigate a maze of international calling and roaming packages that could ratchet up your monthly rate by an additional $30 to an astounding $245 per line per month.
• Even with the $30 “AT&T Passport” plan, add on your usage fees and AT&T could hit you with up to $285 in extra charges every week you use your phone in Mexico & Canada like you do at home.
• If you neglect to buy their costly, confusing add-on packages? You could rack up a ridiculous$10,000 or more in a single week just for using your phone like you normally do.
• And the insane charges aren’t limited to roaming—simply calling to Mexico & Canada can run up a huge bill.
  • Last year, US wireless customers’ long-distance calls to Mexico & Canada totaled approximately 25 billion minutes.
  • Assuming even half those minutes were mobile-to-mobile, the total pay-per-use cost could be as much as $7.5 billion. And, even if every customer paid for additional international long-distance (ILD) packages, the cost could still total up to $130 million.

By contrast, with T-Mobile, virtually everywhere you call or travel in Mexico & Canada is now just like home—at no extra cost.

One Big, Happy Continent
Mobile without Borders provides a simpler, saner way to connect—everything’s covered. Using your phone throughout Mexico & Canada is as easy as driving across the border. It’s simple and doesn’t cost you a penny more to talk, text and access your 4G LTE data just like home. Now, we’re all one big, happy continent.

Beginning July 15^th, calls to, from and between the U.S., Mexico & Canada − whether mobile or landline − are included in our latest plans at no extra charge. And, when you’re in Mexico & Canada, you’ll use 4G LTE data straight from your Simple Choice 4G LTE data plan. Now, wherever you call, wherever you travel in Mexico & Canada, your phone just works— like at home. It doesn’t matter whether you’re calling Mexico City from Toronto or Tallahassee—it’s now all part of your plan. Get off a plane in Puerto Vallarta, Poughkeepsie or Prince Edward, and you’ll have the same outstanding Un-carrier experience. Zero ridiculous calling rates, zero jacked-up data rates, zero hoops to jump through. And, as always, you get all the other Un-carrier benefits like Music Freedom and Wi-Fi calling and texting. You’ll be even able to tap into your Data Stash in Mexico & Canada starting later this year.

Everyone’s eligible, including Simple Choice postpaid and prepaid customers. Starting next Wednesday, every new Simple Choice customer will automatically get Mexico & Canada included in their plan at no extra charge. Current Simple Choice customers can simply opt-in online, by phone, or in-store by switching to our latest plans for free. Business customers can also add coverage and calling across North America to their Simple Choice plan at no extra cost for the first 10 lines and only $1 a month for each line beyond that.

“We keep giving you more without asking for more from you,” Legere said. “Now, wherever you call or travel in Mexico & Canada is just like home. This is the perfect complement to Simple Global, which led the way with free texting to virtually anywhere in the world and free roaming data in more than 120 countries and destinations worldwide. The Un-carrier goodness keeps on coming.”

For more information about Simple Choice and Mobile without Borders, check out t-mobile.com/3countries. For information about Mobile without Borders for business, check out t-mobile.com/3countries1price4biz.

Qualifying Simple Choice North America service req’d. Credit approval, deposit & $15 SIM starter kit may be req’d. For  U.S. residents with primary use on T-Mobile’s U.S. network; not for extended international use. See T-Mobile.com/3countries for details.

About T-Mobile US, Inc.
As America’s Un-carrier, T-Mobile US, Inc. (NYSE: TMUS) is redefining the way consumers and businesses buy wireless services through leading product and service innovation. The Company’s advanced nationwide 4G LTE network delivers outstanding wireless experiences to approximately 59 million customers who are unwilling to compromise on quality and value. Based in Bellevue, Washington, T-Mobile US provides services through its subsidiaries and operates its flagship brands, T-Mobile and MetroPCS. For more information, please visit http://www.t-mobile.com.

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T-Mobile continues carrying momentum in second quarter

Early Thursday morning T-Mobile announced second quarter customer addition numbers and they are very good. T-Mobile announced they have added 2.1 million total net customer additions which is a 41% increase year over year and the ninth consecutive quarter with over 1 million. In addition, the carrier had over 1 million branded postpaid net customer additions for this quarter. This makes the fourth consecutive quarter with over 1 million branded postpaid net customer additions. The company also had over 760,000 branded postpaid phone net customer additions which is up 31% since this time last year.

John Legere, T-Mobile CEO, commented on the carrier’s momentum:

“T-Mobile continues to win with the industry’s most valuable customer segment – postpaid phone customers. We attract phone customers with signature moves that resonate and with the nation’s fastest 4G LTE network.”

T-Mobile’s largest gain since last year came in the number of branded prepaid net customers additions. This quarter T-Mobile added 178,000 branded prepaid net customers additions which is a 75% increase year over year. The branded postpaid phone churn of 1.3% which is down 16 basis points year over year. These results are a good sign that T-mobile is ongoing improvements to it’s network.

As you all now, these are incredible numbers. It leaves us excited about what T-Mobile has in store store the future. And this is on the heels of the carrier’s announcement of Mobile Without Borders. T-Mobile’s quarterly full financial results will come on July 30th. We will bring you those numbers when they become available.

Source: T-Mobile

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T-Mobile widens roaming as it becomes the third biggest carrier

Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure recently said he was tired of T-Mobile’s “Uncarrier bullshit,” but that BS has almost certainly helped it displace Sprint as the nation’s third-largest carrier. T-Mobile’s preliminary earnings report shows that it added 2.1 million new customers this quarter, giving it 58.9 million in total. As of May, Sprint had 57.1 million customers after adding 1.2 million in the previous quarter. Depending on Sprint’s performance over the past few months, T-Mobile might sprint ahead of it by next quarter. As if that isn’t enough, Legere also announced the company’s latest Uncarrier move, and it’s sure to make Claure “mad, bro.”

T-Mobile is extending its Simple Choice plan to include calling in Canada and Mexico as part of what it’s calling “Mobile without Borders.” Simple Choice already allows users to text and use data in well over 100 countries, but the addition of calling to the plan means that you’ll be able to use your phone as if you were at home from anywhere in the continent. If that sounds a little familiar, that’s because AT&T recently announced it plans to create a “North American Service Area” after the purchase of Mexican carrier Nextel goes through. Unfortunately, AT&T’s North America forgot about Canada, meaning T-Mobile’s roaming deal seemingly tops AT&T’s before it’s even launched.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, T-Mobile

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Source: T-Mobile

T-Mobile will “continue to rewrite the rules” on Thursday

Normally, summer is a time for companies to relax and prepare for new products launching in a few months. T-Mobile apparently takes no breaks. The carrier will be hosting a media call on Thursday morning with CEO John Legere and COO Mike Sievert participating. Consumers, too, can join the executives by tweeting them questions and comments on Twitter. Apparently, T-Mobile will further amplify their Un-carrier initiative and make their own rules in the wireless industry.

#UncarrierAmped. Tomorrow. Get ready!!!

— John Legere (@JohnLegere) July 8, 2015

The next #UncarrierAmped will seriously AMP something we’ve done before. You will like. A lot. See you at 6AM PT/9AM ET #SomeoneGetMeCoffee

— Mike Sievert (@SievertMike) July 8, 2015

This is what the media alert reads:

T-Mobile (NYSE: TMUS) will share how they continue to rewrite the rules of wireless by amping up their signature Un-carrier moves. You can be among the first to get the details on the company’s next industry-rattling move via live executive QA on the call and via the execs Twitter handles.

Soon after, we expect reaction tweets from Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure.

Source: T-Mobile

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T-Mobile’s partnership with MLB expands for this year’s All-Star Game

For this year’s MLB All-Star Game in Cincinnati, Ohio, T-Mobile is elevating its participation. The carrier announced today that its partnership with Major League Baseball would expand, making T-Mobile the Presenting Sponsor of the event. What will that role entail for T-Mobile? Its brand will have “marquee stadium presence inside Great American Ballpark, on-air integrations throughout the All-Star Game broadcast on FOX and FOX Deportes and in social media.” And, just like the last two years, T-Mobile will host All-Star FanFest in the days leading up to the game from July 10-14.

John Legere, T-Mobile CEO, commented on the carrier’s partnership expansion:

“It’s All-Star Week and we’re going to go big and paint the town magenta! As the first-ever presenting sponsor of the All-Star Game, and the returning title sponsor of T-Mobile All-Star FanFest, I’ve got some surprise Un-carrier style plans to make this year’s All-Star Game a fantastic experience for fans across the country Stay tuned!”

T-Mobile has a true commitment to sports and more specifically baseball. The carrier already sponsors the Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, and Seattle Mariners. T-Mobile also offers its customers access to the premium features of the MLB At Bat app at no cost.

The 2015 MLB All-Star Game will be televised on FOX on July 14 at 8:00PM ET.

T-Mobile Named as First-ever Presenting Sponsor of MLB All-Star Game

July 8, 2015 – Cincinnati, OH Major League Baseball (MLB) and T-Mobile USA (NYSE: TMUS), today announced an expansion of their partnership that will make T-Mobile the first-ever Presenting Sponsor of the MLB All-Star Game on FOX. Under the agreement, T-Mobile will have marquee stadium presence inside Great American Ballpark, on-air integrations throughout the All-Star Game broadcast on FOX and FOX Deportes and in social media. T-Mobile will also conduct a national fan promotion connected to the All-Star Game with details available soon. The MLB All-Star Game presented by T-Mobile will be broadcast live on FOX on Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00 pm ET.

“T-Mobile is an innovative partner that is always looking for new ways to reach fans and provide value for their customers,” said Bob Bowman, MLB President, Business & Media.  “The expansion of our partnership is a great example of T-Mobile’s commitment to baseball and we are looking forward to T-Mobile’s creativity on display at the Midsummer Classic.”

“It’s All-Star Week and we’re going to go big and paint the town magenta!” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “As the first-ever presenting sponsor of the All-Star Game, and the returning title sponsor of T-Mobile All-Star FanFest, I’ve got some surprise Un-carrier style plans to make this year’s All-Star Game a fantastic experience for fans across the country Stay tuned!” 

T-Mobile has been deeply involved with Major League Baseball for several years now and after sponsoring T-Mobile All-Star FanFest in 2013 and 2014, the Un-carrier™ returns as title sponsor of this year’s fan-focused event in Cincinnati at the Duke Energy Convention Center, from July 10-14. T-Mobile also sponsors the Cincinnati Reds, hosts of the 2015 All-Star Game, along with several other MLB teams including the Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals and their hometown Seattle Mariners. Team sponsorships include player appearances, retail promotions, T-Mobile title nights at the ballpark and other fan activities. T-Mobile also has a license agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association.

Earlier this season T-Mobile brought back its offer to customers for free access to the premium features in the hugely popular MLB.com At Bat for the 2015 MLB season ($19.99 value). At Bat, the official app of MLB, offers premium features such as live home and away radio broadcast feeds, the MLB.TV Game of the Day and up-to-the-moment pitch tracking. Customers can download At Bat through Google Play or the Apple App Store where it is available across all supported Android smartphones and tablets, iPhone and iPad. 

At Bat Offer: Ltd offer; subject to change. 2015 At Bat 15® season subscription only; addit’l in-app purchases not included. Data usage applies.

About the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 86th Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be played on Tuesday, July 14th at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati and will feature the best of the American League taking on the top players of the National League. Building up to the excitement of the All-Star Game, Major League Baseball will conduct a wide variety of special events and charitable activities for fans both inside and outside of GABP. At the ballpark, the events will include All-Star Sunday on July 12th featuring the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and the All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game, and Gatorade All-Star Workout Day on Monday, July 13th featuring the Gillette Home Run Derby presented by Head & Shoulders on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Radio. Outside of the ballpark, fans will have an opportunity to experience All-Star Summer through a variety of special events including T-Mobile All-Star FanFest, the five-day interactive fan festival; and the MLB All-Star Red Carpet Show presented by Chevrolet, a free parade of All-Stars. The Midsummer Classic will be televised nationally on FOX, broadcast on ESPN Radio and will be shown around the world by Major League Baseball International. For more information about 2015 All-Star Summer, visit AllStarGame.com.

About T-Mobile 
As America’s Un-carrier, T-Mobile US, Inc. (NYSE: TMUS) is redefining the way consumers and businesses buy wireless services through leading product and service innovation. The Company’s advanced nationwide 4G LTE network delivers outstanding wireless experiences to approximately 57 million customers who are unwilling to compromise on quality and value. Based in Bellevue, Washington, T-Mobile US provides services through its subsidiaries and operates its flagship brands, T-Mobile and MetroPCS. For more information, please visit http://www.t-mobile.com.

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T-Mobile pushes out Lollipop update for the LG Leon & G Stylo

T-Mobile is now distributing the long-awaited Android 5.1.1 update to all LG Leon’s and G Stylo’s in the United States. This upgrade transports the functionality of Lollipop, an improved battery life and better performance to the handsets.

Hit the break for the full changelog.

• Material Design: You will quickly notice a whole new colorful look and feel to your device – from fluid animations to new application and system themes, colors and widgets.
• Notifications UI & Priorities: In order to alert you to the most timely and relevant information, the format and behavior of notifications have evolved:
  • notifications will appear on the lock screen and are intelligently ranked by type and who sent them.
  • you double-tap to open one, swipe left or right to clear one, or clear all notifications from the bottom of the list.
  • you can set the priority and privacy of notifications for each application.
  • very high priority notifications will pop up briefly over other applications so that you can take action.
  • when you dismiss a notification on one device it will be dismissed on your other Android devices, if they are connected to the Internet.
  • you can further tailor how notifications behave with the new Downtime and Ambient Display settings (see below).
• New Interruptions & Downtime Settings: You can tailor how interruptions behave, choosing to allow all, none, or only priority interruptions.  You can personalize what counts as a priority interruption (reminders, events, calls, messages) and even tailor them to be from only contacts you specify.  The Downtime setting will allow only priority interruptions during the times and days that you specify.  e.g. allow only priority interruptions on the weekend.
• Recent Apps (Multi-tasking): The redesigned Overview space (formerly called Recents) will include both applications and separate activities within those applications.  For instance, each open tab in Chrome will also appear here along with recent applications; both your Gmail Inbox and a draft email message will appear as separate cards.  This provides a consistent way to switch amongst tasks.
• Flashlight: Lollipop includes a new flashlight option as part of Quick settings (swipe down with two fingers from the status bar to see it).
• Pin a view/app: Screen pinning allows you to keep a specific app or screen in view. For example, you can ‘pin’ a game and your child will not be able to navigate anywhere else on your phone.
• Battery: The Battery settings panel now shows an estimated projection for how much time you have left while discharging or charging.  You can also enable a new battery saver mode that will save power by reducing performance and most background data operations to extend your battery life.
• Smarter Internet Connections: With Android Lollipop, your phone will not connect to a Wi-Fi access point unless there is a verified Internet connection. This feature improves hand-offs between Wi-Fi and cellular connections, helping to maintain your video chat or voice-over-IP (VoIP) call as you switch.
• Performance: Your phone now uses the new Android Runtime to help optimize application performance.  After upgrading to Lollipop, your applications will undergo a one-time optimization process.  Note that the optimization for ART requires more space.
• Security: Encryption can now use a stronger 256-bit key to help protect your data.  Note that the stronger key willonly be used after you perform a factory reset on Android Lollipop.  Otherwise encryption will continue to use 128-bit key.  You can turn on encryption in the Security settings menu.

As is customary with all manufacturer updates, the upgrade is being rolled out in stages, but if you don’t feel like waiting for a notification confirming that it’s ready for your device to hit your unit, you could always search for the update manually. To do so simply follow the four steps below:

1. Open the Settings app
2. Scroll to the bottom and tap on “About Device”
3. Hit “System Updates”
4. Tap on “Check for update”

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Sprint CEO tired of T-Mobile’s ‘bullshit’

Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure has reached his threshold of T-Mobile CEO John Legere’s antics.

Legere, in typical fashion, took to Twitter this week to needle Sprint’s new All-in plans. Calling it a swing and a miss, the CEO used the opportunity to revisit his #sprintlikehell hashtag. While Legere tends to focus his attention on AT&T and Verizon, he’s been getting more confrontational with Sprint.

I give credit to @sprint for swinging the bat when they do – but #allin is a swing and a miss, guys!! #sprintlikehell http://t.co/qDxDoK3BY9

— John Legere (@JohnLegere) July 2, 2015

It didn’t take long before the Sprint CEO noticed and replied with his own, brash talk. Claure said he’s tired of T-Mobile’s misleading claims, even referring to it as “bullshit” in the process. The entire sentiment was spread out over a series of tweets which, when compiled, read as follows.

“I am so tired of your Uncarrier bullshit when you are worse than the other two carriers together. Your cheap misleading lease imitation is a joke. You trick people to believe that they have a $15 iPhone lease payment when it’s not true. You tell them they can upgrade up to 3x but you don’t tell them the price goes up to $27 when they do. You say one thing but behave completely different. It’s all a fake show. So it’s really #Tmobilelikehell.“

T-Mobile CEO, Legere, is not known for mincing words or holding back. The last few years have seen him cursing and talking in very direct manners in press announcements, videos, tweets.

Sprint’s newly appointed CEO, Claure has proven to be confident and aggressive in his first year. With rate plan changes and, now, a more public persona to get behind, Sprint seems to be shaking to life.

It will be interesting to see if this escalates or somehow plays out in commercials and advertising. We’re a fan of of this sort of thing, how about you?

Header image courtesy of Flickr

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