BusinessCategoryBlog

The Un-carrier Means Business

By Mike Katz, EVP, T-Mobile for BusinessMay 03, 2021

Whether it’s sports, business, or life in general, nobody likes to be at the back of the pack, right?

Hah! Trick question. The correct answer is: WRONG!

Sometimes, starting at the back of the pack is the best way to win the race. That’s partly because seeing your competition out ahead is a powerful motivator. It’s also a great opportunity to watch the competition run the race, observe their strengths and weaknesses, and figure out the best strategy to beat them to the finish line.

This is the fundamental Un-carrier story. In 2013, when T-Mobile was still the smallest major U.S. wireless provider, we looked at the big bad Carriers and saw that they were coasting on the strength of a lazy and broken customer service model that everybody hated. So, we changed the rules of the race. Through a series of bold Un-carrier moves, we got rid of data overages and surprise fees, went unlimited, and ditched indifferent service. In the process, we made wireless communications simple, uncomplicated — and fun.

The results speak for themselves. Our customer-first approach has made T-Mobile America’s fastest-growing consumer wireless company. We’ve passed AT&T in the race for first in consumer wireless and we’re closing in on Verizon.

Now there’s another race underway—the race for first in the enterprise wireless market.

Guess who’s lurking at the back of the pack?

That’s right. The Un-carrier.

Today, our market share is less than 10 percent.

Ten percent. I love that number!

Seriously.

Why? Because when I look at enterprise communications, I see a world transformed by the pandemic and advanced technologies like 5G that have given us a decade’s worth of progress in a single year’s time. It’s a world where 9 out of 10 U.S. enterprises expect employees to work remotely at least three days a week in the future and people want to work from virtually anywhere using the mobile devices they love best.

I love that number because in the race for enterprise customers, I see how the two old Carriers are using their 90 percent market share to shackle business and governments to technologies and plans that cost a lot and deliver very little. In the year before the pandemic, enterprises spent $6 billion on communications technology from another era, like desk phones and PBX equipment. Over the next 5 years, they’ll spend $2.5 billion on overages. And while the Carriers make big promises about the 5G future, they’ve locked their enterprise customers into data plans that limit access to 5G, if they can access it at all.

And I love that number because when I look at T-Mobile, I see a company that is bringing the same Un-carrier approach to business that turned the consumer wireless world upside down.

Here’s where the race gets interesting!

Our market share may be small but our impact on the enterprise market is considerable. Already, we have deployments or pilots with many of America’s most respected brands, including:

  • Four of the nation’s five best-known banks,
  • Three of the five largest energy companies,
  • The five biggest pharmaceutical companies, and
  • 60 percent of national retailers.
  • All told, we count 80 percent of Fortune 50 companies among our customers.
by the numbers

These companies are giving T-Mobile a close look because we’re at the forefront of innovation, starting with the country’s largest and fastest 5G network, with Ookla, and Opensignal all awarding T-Mobile top marks for 5G speed and availability. Our outstanding customer experience has made the Un-carrier #1 for wireless customer satisfaction for businesses of all sizes four years in a row. And we offer better value through business plans that include integration with productivity apps like Microsoft 365, inflight texting and data, and unlimited 2G data in more than 210 countries and destinations.

I believe they are also giving T-Mobile a try because they recognize that outdated technology and the old way of doing business in the wireless industry are barriers to progress, productivity, and innovation. They’re as hungry for disruption as the Un-carrier is. 

I’m confident we will more than double our enterprise wireless market share during the next five years. We’re already seeing excellent momentum following the March WFX announcement that we’re bringing our Un-carrier mission to the enterprise, starting with three solutions to help businesses and their employees thrive in today’s work-from-anywhere world and embrace the future of hybrid work.

So where do we go from here?

The best way to answer that is to look at our track record. The Un-carrier loves a good race, and we know that companies appreciate great service and unlimited, surprise-free plans just as much as consumers do. So, while 10 percent market share may not sound like a lot, you can be sure we are just getting started.

That makes this a good time for you to join the race with us. I am pleased to invite you to visit https://www.t-mobile.com/business to learn more.