T-Mobile’s lowest-priced plan costs $50 per month and includes just 2GB of data, but T-Mobile is now the only company that excludes video streaming data from data usage. First up, the company is doubling the amount of data available for its Simple Choice plans. We won’t stop. Any new or existing customer with 3GB data plan or larger can stream for free without worrying about your data. Yes, Verizon’s Go90 and AT&T’s DirecTV are part of the lineup. At the Un-carrier X event held earlier today in Los Angeles, Legere announced Binge On, a new program that allows customers to stream video in 480p without having it count against their data caps, joining their Music Freedom program that did the same for streaming music.
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People using the Binge On service must have LTE data buckets of at least 3GB.
But the plan could also make T-Mobile the battleground in the fight between net neutrality proponents and companies that want to be able to steer users toward certain kinds of content. “Most of the carriers in the U.S. don’t even want to be in this business, but they’re stuck”, Legere said. Other streaming video apps will be added to the Binge On line-up over time. Not all of the big-name services such as YouTube have signed on board yet although customers can nominate services they’d like to see added. T-Mobile’s competitors don’t have anything similar.
Legere during a Tuesday event said users can expect “DVD quality” video that the operator has optimized to use less data through a few proprietary technology.
“At this moment they didn’t meet the technical requirements and/or desire to”, Legere said in a Q&A after with audience members.
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In celebration of Binge On’s launch, T-Mobile is teaming up with Sling TV to provide Simple Choice customers a 30 percent discount on a 1-year subscription to Sling’s “Best of Live TV” service, according to TmoNews. Those with an unlimited data plan, meanwhile, can get a free movie rental each month throughout 2016 from Vudu. “Data Day” was plastered across the screen and John announced that the standard Simple Choice Plans were getting Amped up with the following upgrades. For a limited time, the company is offering a family plan with four lines of service for $120 with 6GB of data each, with no sharing required.
