When I stood up and announced our first Un-carrier move just over a year ago, I wasn’t making a pitch. I was making apromise– to all wireless customers – to do the hard work of fixing an arrogant, out-of-touch US wireless industry.
I started Un-carrier as a mission, today it has become a movement. It’s not a marketing strategy. Since that first announcement, this has been about nothing less than freeing Americans from the greedy, absurd practices of the old wireless companies.
Over the past year, my Un-carrier team and I have worked relentlessly, tearing up the old rules and restrictions and solving pain point after pain point, so that American consumers can finally enjoy all of the benefits that mobile technologies are capable of. Not just what the old school carriers decide for them. It's working! The movement has momentum …I call it a revolution!
Consumers have joined T-Mobile and this revolution by the millions. When we announce our first quarter results for 2014, I think you’ll share my conviction. It will be plain as day that we have got it right and they haven’t figured it out, or worse yet are selfishly unwilling to give consumers what they really want and need.
Just look at the frenzy of knee jerk moves the competition launched in recent weeks. It’s been fascinating to watch the big, fat, old-guard carriers stumble as they try to respond and slow the change we are driving into this industry. I don’t know whether to laugh or cringe as they try to present themselves as anything other than the merciless greedy utilities they are. They must be thinking that we are done, because they’ve thrown a ton of money at short-lived promotions that come and go and they’ve rolled out painfully lame knock-offs of Un-carrier innovations like our JUMP! upgrade program. Pay twice for your phone? (I’m looking at you, AT&T.)
They’ve even taken to dressing up their ads in magenta. I mean, really? Where’s their sense of shame?
Here is the silly thing. All of their moves are responses to the moves we have made, because I don’t think things have gone so well for them in recent quarters. We’ll get an opportunity to check on that in a couple of weeks, but did they really think we were done? That we wouldn’t continue to change it up? The other guys don’t seem to be demonstrating any real creativity! Or do they really believe they know what is best for consumers? Go figure!
And we aren't done. We will never be done. We’ve hardly gotten started. We will keep listening to our customers because they are innovating and showing their creativity in the way they are using wireless. So, starting with this morning’s news, we have three days of Un-carrier announcements for consumers – again the result of listening directly to their wants and needs. That is what the Un-carrier does!
We start today with an all-new Simple Starter plan, a $40 monthly price plan specifically designed to deliver a predictable, affordable solution to millions of value-conscious Americans – and to provide a desperately needed alternative to the high-risk, overage-intensive plans that the biggest carriers target directly at Americans looking for entry-level wireless service. With AT&T’s entry-level plans, for example, your costs immediately jump by increments of $20 when you slip over the threshold into massive overages — in what amounts to an obscene 44% price hike on those customers least able to absorb overages and bill shock.
It’s wrong. And I personally want to drive those predatory bait-and-switch schemes out of this industry.
Our new Simple Starter plan represents our commitment to advocate for consumers and to change this industry. With Simple Starter, you’ll never pay data overages again – ever. Come to T-Mobile and experience complete freedom from the fear of bill shock. This Un-carrier approach to value plans – and the announcements to come this week – are purpose-built to accelerate this momentum, continue disrupting and innovating this industry, and deliver even more amazing value and freedom to our customers.
Our work of transforming wireless on behalf of American consumers is far from done. Stay tuned in the days ahead.