T-Mobile’s whole “uncarrier” thing, an occasional series of events where CEO John Legere gets on a stage and puts down his cellular competition, has been going on for a few years now. But for its tenth event, T-Mo went big. Say goodbye to video streaming nomming away your data.
We had a feeling this was coming, and Legere just confirmed things during an event in LA, describing the move as “disrupting the scam” that is cellular data. It works a lot like Music Freedom, which T-Mobile introduced in June last year. It works with 24 different services including Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Sling TV, Watch ESPN, Vevo, and all kinds of others. T-Mobile calls the service Binge On that delivers DVD-like quality (480p) or better. It’s all free.
Obviously, the biggest missing link is YouTube, but T-Mobile says they’re working with Google on getting YouTube in the program. Legere clarified that they currently didn’t meet the tech specs to be included just yet.
Legere also said porn sites would be welcome, so there’s that, too.
Of course like Music Freedom, you could also say that this move falls under Net Neutrality scrutiny, since T-Mobile users would most likely be more inclined to use services tied up in T-Mobile’s free streaming plan rather than a smaller service (or more importantly) some future Netflix trying to enter the video streaming game. But Legere says it won’t be a problem and allows for any service to join the program (that meets their technical specifications) and will allow customers to offer input for future services.
Another announcement that’s a bit on the smaller scale (but not much) is that T-Mobile is bumping all Simple Choice data plans by double. So the original 1GB, 3GB, and 5GB tiers are now 2GB, 6GB, and 10GB for no extra cash (unlimited is still unlimited, obviously). Unlimited users can also use 14GB of data for mobile hotspots instead of just 7GB, and as a small bonus, a free rental per month from Vudu.
Binge On is available starting November 19 for existing customers and November 15 for new plans, and if you can get Sling TV 30 percent off now if you’re on T-Mobile. If that’s a thing you want to do.
With free music streaming and video streaming, I’m not exactly sure what I’ll even be spending data on anymore, so cool!
[T-Mobile]