T-Mobile to Offer $15 Monthly Cellphone Plan -- 2ndUpdate
2019年11月8日 - 2:35AM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah Krouse and Drew FitzGerald
T-Mobile US Inc. opened a new front in the cellphone pricing
wars, unveiling a monthly data plan that starts at $15 as the
company responds to critics that its planned merger with Sprint
Corp. will lessen competition.
The No. 3 carrier by subscribers said Thursday it would sell
phone plans with 2 gigabytes of high-speed data for $15 a month,
one of the lowest entry-level prices from a major U.S. provider, if
its Sprint takeover is allowed to proceed. The company previously
charged $30 for its lowest-cost unlimited plan.
A monthly allotment of 2GB is enough to support most
online-browsing and social-media use, but below the data needed to
support extended music and streaming-video binges. T-Mobile said it
would gradually increase customers' data caps over time for five
years.
AT&T Inc.'s prepaid Cricket service offers a similar 2GB
plan for $30 a month. Sprint's Boost charges $35 a month for
3GB.
T-Mobile's proposed takeover of Sprint, the No. 4 provider, has
secured approval from federal telecommunications and antitrust
officials, but has been delayed by an antitrust suit brought by a
coalition of state attorneys general.
The states, led by New York and California, worry the deal would
stifle competition, especially in the market for prepaid mobile
plans that tend to cost less. A trial is set for Dec. 9.
T-Mobile Chief Executive John Legere said he wrote to attorneys
general Thursday morning, including New York's Letitia James,
laying out the new pricing plan and other moves, and said he had
met with several in recent weeks to hear their concerns.
"What's important to these states is exactly the things we're
talking about," Mr. Legere said, adding that he was confident the
Sprint deal would be able to progress after either a settlement or
successful trial.
In addition to offering the $15 prepaid plan, T-Mobile said it
would also offer free in-home internet for some low-income and
rural households with children, as well as free wireless service to
first responders. It plans to offer free internet to 10 million
households with children, a move that amounts to a $10 billion
commitment by the combined company. First responders will have
access to free 5G wireless service for 10 years, T-Mobile said.
"This is something we could never do if the merger doesn't
happen," T-Mobile operating chief Mike Sievert said.
T-Mobile and Sprint have tried to pick off individual states
from the state-led lawsuit, successfully getting Colorado and
Mississippi to drop out and support the transaction. Executives
said they hope the new commitments would help spur more
defections.
T-Mobile also said it would launch a 5G network that covers 200
million people on Dec. 6, three days before the case is scheduled
to begin. Executives said T-Mobile won't charge more for 5G
service.
Mr. Legere said the parties are discussing how to extend their
deadline for the deal and didn't rule out the possibility of
renegotiating its price. The deal's outside date passed Friday,
which opened the door for either company to walk away.
While T-Mobile has been adding subscribers at a consistent clip,
Sprint has continued to shed phone customers.
Shares in T-Mobile were up slightly at $82.19 at midday, while
shares in Sprint were up 1.5% at $6.24.
Cellphone bills have marched downward for American households
over the past year. In September, the consumer-price index for
wireless phone service -- an indicator of current offers from
providers -- fell 2.8% from a year earlier, the 13th straight month
of declines, according to the Labor Department.
Verizon Communications Inc., the market leader, in August
revamped its stable of unlimited data plans, shaving about $5 off
customers' monthly bills. The move helped it attract more lucrative
postpaid phone customers in the third quarter.
AT&T followed in November, overhauling its own lineup of
unlimited plans and making most of them less expensive, while
changing some streaming content perks. Its least-pricey plan, for
example, now costs $5 less for one line.
Cable companies have also entered the market with low-cost
wireless plans for their television and broadband customers.
Comcast Corp. sells a wireless plan with 1 gigabyte of monthly data
for $12 to its customers, while Altice USA sells an unlimited-data
plan for $20 a month.
Carriers have also been offering free video services to woo or
keep customers. T-Mobile gives free Netflix to most unlimited
customers. Verizon will give unlimited customers a free year of
Walt Disney Co.'s new streaming service. AT&T plans to give
away its HBO Max to some wireless customers when it is launched
next year.
Write to Sarah Krouse at sarah.krouse@wsj.com and Drew
FitzGerald at andrew.fitzgerald@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2019 12:20 ET (17:20 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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