T-Mobile US will offer a free subscription to video streaming service Netflix with select tariffs on its unlimited One plan, in the company’s latest move to snare subscribers from rivals Verizon and AT&T.
The operator announced it will offer Netflix On US as part of an exclusive partnership with the video streaming company. Subscribers with access to two or more qualifying T-Mobile One lines will be able to access Netflix at no extra charge. The company’s family plan for four lines costs $40 per line.
In typical fashion, T-Mobile used the latest promotion to launch an attack on AT&T and Verizon, and specifically its rivals’ unlimited offers.
T-Mobile said there were unlimited plans “begrudgingly” offered by carriers on networks which are “struggling under the weight”, while its own unlimited plan was “riding on the network built for unlimited”.
Both Verizon and AT&T have followed T-Mobile US in launching unlimited tariffs, but a recent report by wireless mapping company OpenSignal showed their network speeds had dropped due to increased data and video usage.
However, T-Mobile maintained its recent momentum by surpassing its rivals on network speed and LTE availability, according to the report, while also beefing up its LTE network with 600MHz spectrum.
Future is mobile
T-Mobile CEO John Legere (pictured) hailed the partnership with Netflix, stating the future of entertainment “is mobile, over-the-top and unlimited”.
“While the carriers spend billions on their franken-strategies to cobble together carrier-cable-content mashups, the un-carrier just leapfrogged them all by partnering with the best and giving it to customers at no extra charge,” he said.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said an increasing number of people were now binge watching video on mobile.
“This is the right move at the right time – for all the right reasons,” he said.
According to T-Mobile, Americans are spending more than 50 per cent of screen time on smartphones and digital devices versus traditional TV.
By 2020, the company said the trend will accelerate and mobile video is expected to more than double.
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