The Uncarrier is at it again. T-Mobile’s CEO (and mullet aficionado) John Legere has announced yet another innovation in mobile data that customers are going to love: Tablets can have 200MB of data from T-Mobile for free with no strings attached. As long as you have a compatible tablet, you’re eligible.
The idea, according to Legere, is that “[T-Mobile] believe it’s time that tablets operated the same way that smartphones do and should be connected all the time.” To help spur this, T-Mobile is allowing any device compatible with its HSPA & LTE network to connect and receive 200MB of free data each month, even if you don’t have T-Mobile service on your smartphone. “We’re just happy to give you 200MB of data for the life of that device as long as you own it,” added Legere.
This service is slated to start on November 1st, just a day after another big “Uncarrier” move by T-Mobile that offers free international roaming in more than 100 countries. T-Mobile is certainly lining up plenty of exciting new services for its customers in preparation for the coming holiday season, possibly to help convince customers to come on over when they’re looking for new smartphones during their holiday shopping.
So What’s the catch? You do have to have an Internet account with T-Mobile. It hopes its free taste of data will lure you to take the plunge and buy full-on data plans from T-Mobile in the future. The plans include daily, weekly, and monthly options from 500MB to 5GB and beyond. Just like all of T-Mobile’s other “Uncarrier” services, these plans are contract-free and have no obligations. This is very similar to the niche carrier FreedomPop, which offers customers free data in exchange for buying their equipment or opting in for monthly service.
This is yet another crazy way T-Mobile is trying to change the game for wireless carriers. We’ll have to see how much of a success it is for T-Mobile or, more importantly, if any carriers decide to follow suit. Read here why Jeff is making the switch.
