What are the potential rewards, risks from the latest AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile battle
Domestic wireless carriers have been busy over the past several weeks rolling out promotions taking advantage of the holiday shopping season in order to target consumers, and more importantly customers of their rivals.
The past week has seen T-Mobile US rollout programs targeted at both AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless customers, which followed previous moves against Sprint.
The offer for AT&T Mobility customers runs through Dec. 13, and teases all AT&T Mobility, GoPhone or Cricket Wireless customers willing to port their number to a T-Mobile US postpaid plan a 128-gigabyte version of the iPhone 6s for the price of a 16 GB model. The deal results in a $200 savings for those taking T-Mobile US up on the offer. The offer is similar to T-Mobile US’ Cyber Monday promotion, which provided all customers a “free” one-model upgrade on iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus devices.
In addition, T-Mobile US said it will provide switching customers a 50% discount on accessories, including Apple’s Watch and various Bluetooth-enabled speakers. The carrier said the discount is good towards any accessory priced at more than $70 available via its equipment installment plan, with a total discount value of up to $125 per switching customer.
The AT&T Mobility specific offer replaced the previous Sprint-targeted promotion of a $200 credit to customers willing to switch, which expired on Dec. 6.
Knowing it was next in the crosshairs, Verizon Wireless pre-empted T-Mobile US’ targeted promotion by providing 2 GB of free data per month to every device added or upgraded on a current XL or XXL data plan. The offer is good for up to 10 lines of service, with the bonus data included for as long as the line remains active on either the XL (12 GB) or XXL (18 GB) data buckets. The bonus data is shareable across all devices connected to the data package, including tablets and mobile hot spots, though customers adding or upgrading a tablet or mobile hot spot are not eligible to receive the 2 GB data boost.
T-Mobile US finally unveiled the Verizon Wireless-focused offer this week, noting that between Dec. 11 and Dec. 17, customers switching from Verizon Wireless would receive one free year of service from Hulu and a 50% discount on financed accessories. The Hulu offer comes in the form of a $100 subscription code, and is also somewhat connected to T-Mobile US’ recently launched Binge On service that allows some customers free cellular streaming of mobile video services, including Hulu. The accessory offer includes products such as smartwatches, Bluetooth speakers, headphones and fitness trackers.
RCR Wireless News Editor-in-Chief Dan Meyer spoke with Roger Entner, long-time mobile telecom industry analyst and founder of Recon Analytics, to look at the impact these promotions may have on the market heading into the final weeks of the year and any potential risks the moves could have moving forward.
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