Monday, February 13, 2017

T-Mobile Announces HD Video Streaming on Unlimited Plan

T-Mobile announced the addition of high-definition quality (HD) video and 10 GB of T-Mobile hotspot access, at no extra charge, with monthly taxes and fees included, for T-Mobile US customers on “T-Mobile One” customers,  T-Mobile US says.

T-Mobile US also introduced a new offer of two lines on T-Mobile ONE for $100 a month.  

The upgrades are available starting February 17, at no extra charge for customers on “T-Mobile One” service plans. Customers can simply activate their new features in the T-Mobile app or at my.t-mobile.com.

Previously, T-Mobile US had been offering unlimited video streaming--without usage charges on the customer’s mobile data plan--at standard definition. The latest move bumps up image quality, and also bandwidth consumption per minute of use.

Customers will get HD quality video streaming and up to 10GB of high-speed Mobile Hotspot data per month, so they can ‘tether’ a laptop or other device to access the Internet. And, after the included 10GB of high-speed data, customers still get unlimited 3G data through the end of the month.

As the latest move by T-Mobile US shows, unlimited data plans might have disruptive consequences.

Now that all four leading U.S. mobile service providers now offer some form of unlimited usage plan, consumer behavior and service provider behavior become crucial. Will consumer usage increase, and by how much, where and when? Will service providers keep the unlimited offers prominent in their marketing efforts?

If mobile network usage profiles change, how will that affect quality of experience on the various networks? And what will mobile service providers have to do to maintain quality in the face of increased network demand? How much can they do, near term?

In other words, will network congestion suddenly become a much-bigger issue?

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