Latest news with #MikeSievert
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
T-Mobile launches a cheap new service amid customer struggles
T-Mobile (TMUS) , one of the largest phone carriers in the U.S., is struggling to reverse a concerning pattern of customer behavior after issuing a series of price increases over the past few months. During the second quarter of 2025, T-Mobile attracted 830,000 new postpaid phone customers. However, its postpaid phone churn (the number of customers who cut their phone service) increased by 10 basis points year-over-year. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter The increased customer loss comes after T-Mobile hiked the prices of its older phone plans (One, Magenta, Simple Choice, and Go5G 55) by $2 or $5 per line last year. Then, in April, it issued another price hike for select legacy plans, raising monthly prices by $5. It also increased its monthly Regulatory Programs & Telco Recovery fee. Related: T-Mobile's free perk for customers will soon disappear Recently, T-Mobile has been launching new deals and perks to prevent more customers from switching to other providers. Last month, it launched three new low-priced prepaid plans and offered customers a free DoorDash subscription (DashPass) through the T-Life app. During an earnings call on July 23, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said that the company is operating in a "highly competitive environment" where competitors are unveiling "unprecedented device promotions." The company expected churn to be elevated this quarter due to recent price increases. Now, it anticipates churn decreasing year-over-year, remaining flat, or slightly increasing during the third quarter of this year. Image source:Amid this major shift in customer behavior, T-Mobile has launched a cheap new service to attract and retain customers. In partnership with Starlink, T-Mobile is now offering a new direct-to-cell satellite messaging service called T-Satellite. Through over 650 Starlink satellites orbiting in space, the service provides extended coverage to more than "500,000 square miles of U.S. territory that traditional cell towers can't reach, including Verizon and AT&T," according to a recent press release. Related: Verizon hopes a new tactic will fix fleeing customer problem Non-T-Mobile customers can subscribe to the service for $10 a month for a "limited time" before it increases to $15 a month. For T-Mobile customers who have Experience or Go5G Next plans, the service is already included for free. T-Satellite automatically allows customers to send and receive text messages and share their location in areas where cell towers fail to provide coverage. However, T-Mobile warns on its website that satellite messaging "may take longer, depending on availability and connection conditions." T-Mobile plans to add picture and voice messaging to T-Satellite, among other features, over the next few months. T-Satellite currently works with over 60 phones; customers can find the full list of compatible devices here. During the July 23 earnings call, T-Mobile Business Group President Callie Field said that T-Satellite will especially benefit first responders. "We're also seeing the opportunities in our beta to use T-Satellite with first responders," said Field. "Also with state and local municipalities, you think of a bus driver that couldn't get in touch with parents when there was an emergency on the bus, and this really unlocks value for both the public sector as well as in enterprises where we start to see people use cases like oil and gas when they're out doing operations that require connectivity in places that are in that 500,000 square miles that are untouched by any carrier." More Telecom News: Verizon's push to make switching harder for customers hits a snagT-Mobile announces generous offer for conflicted customersAmazon pulls the plug on a free service for customers T-Satellite was also used during the deadly Texas floods, which took place a few weeks ago. T-Mobile was able to transmit emergency messaging to customers through this service, which was in beta testing. "Over a quarter of a million text messages went out over satellite during the most critical moments of this emergency," said Sievert during the call. "And people were able to be connected when it mattered." The official launch of T-Satellite comes after Verizon introduced its free satellite messaging service in March; however, it is only compatible with select Android phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S25 or the Google Pixel 9. AT&T is also working with AST SpaceMobile on a satellite service that offers "broadband connectivity: voice, data, and text in remote, off-grid locations," according to AT&T's website. Related: Amazon quietly plans to offer customers a convenient new service The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Apple's Surprise Free Offer To iPhone 13 Users Is Now Live For iPhones
Updated July 26 with more details of T-Satellite. When Apple made the surprise announcement that its iPhone 13 series was suddenly compatible with carrier-supported satellite connectivity, it was ushering in a new way to stay connected. The first network to support this, T-Mobile, has just gone live with its new T-Satellite service for iPhones and other handsets. And even a temporary outage hasn't stopped the new service from arriving. More on that below. Apple iPhone 13 Pro T-Satellite works by connecting your phone to Starlink satellites (though, please note, it doesn't install Starlink on your phone as rumor-mongers previously claimed). T-Mobile's CEO Mike Sievert said in a post on X, 'Today marks a huge step in @TMobile's mission to end dead zones. T-Satellite is officially out of beta and available to anyone who wants it — including Verizon and AT&T customers,' he exclaimed. That's an important point: subscribers on other networks can sign up to T-Satellite by paying a monthly fee. Note that Verizon and AT&T are expected to offer their own versions of this service, but for now, T-Mobile has first-mover advantage. 'With 650+ satellites in orbit, the largest satellite-to-mobile constellation on the planet aims to connect you almost anywhere you can see the sky. It's already helping save lives during disasters and providing an extra level of safety for those who love to explore the great outdoors,' Sievert goes on. The service is available for compatible handsets, and that includes most current Android phones as well as all iPhones from iPhone 13 onwards. It went live on Wednesday, July 23, right on schedule — though had already been offered to customers impacted by the recent floods in Texas — and the new service has been called a game-changer because, unlike rival satellite options, including Apple's own Globalstar service, it doesn't require users to point their phone at the satellite. It works just like regular cell connections do, even in your pocket. The next day, Thursday, July 24, Starlink experienced an outage for more than two hours, with full service more or less restored by 5 p.m. Pacific the same day. "The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network," Starlink's VP of engineering Michael Nicolls said on X. Not much more is known now, though it's believed it affected tens of thousands of people, some of whom could have been T-Satellite users. By Friday, July 26, SpaceX, which runs Starlink, was searching for the root cause of the issue. Users in the U.S. and Europe were affected and Downdetector, the crowd-sourced outage tracker claims that as many as 61,000 people reported issues. It even affected Ukraine, where combat operations saw the service go down. The cause, it was speculated, could have been a botched software update, a cyberattack or some other kind of glitch. If T-Mobile is your carrier and you have the Experience Beyond service, you get this new capability included. Others, including AT&T and Verizon customers, can access the service for $10 per month. The T-Mobile satellite service is limited to texting with iMessage and SMS, and data is not supported, though more capabilities may follow. The T-Satellite service means that if you are outside the regular cellular network, your phone is able to remain connected via satellite, for text messages on compatible iPhones and Android handsets. More services will be added in due course but already other features are available to Android users, including multimedia messaging, picture messaging, and short audio clips. For now, this is the beginning of a new way to stay in touch wherever you are, even if your phone is in your pocket.
Forbes
5 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Apple's Surprise Free Offer To iPhone 13 Users Is Now Live For iPhones And More
When Apple made the surprise announcement that its iPhone 13 series was suddenly compatible with carrier-supported satellite connectivity, it was ushering in a new way to stay connected. The first network to support this, T-Mobile, has just gone live with its new T-Satellite service for iPhones and other handsets. Apple iPhone 13 Pro now has satellite connectivity with T-Mobile. T-Satellite works by connecting your phone to Starlink satellites (though, please note, it doesn't install Starlink on your phone as rumor-mongers previously claimed). T-Mobile's CEO Mike Sievert said in a post on X, 'Today marks a huge step in @TMobile's mission to end dead zones. T-Satellite is officially out of beta and available to anyone who wants it — including Verizon and AT&T customers,' he exclaimed. That's an important point: subscribers on other networks can sign up to T-Satellite by paying a monthly fee. Note that Verizon and AT&T are expected to offer their own versions of this service, but for now, T-Mobile has first-mover advantage. 'With 650+ satellites in orbit, the largest satellite-to-mobile constellation on the planet aims to connect you almost anywhere you can see the sky. It's already helping save lives during disasters and providing an extra level of safety for those who love to explore the great outdoors,' Sievert goes on. The service is available for compatible handsets, and that includes most current Android phones as well as all iPhones from iPhone 13 onwards. It went live on Wednesday, July 23, right on schedule — though had already been offered to customers impacted by the recent floods in Texas — and the new service has been called a game-changer because, unlike rival satellite options, including Apple's own Globalstar service, it doesn't require users to point their phone at the satellite. It works just like regular cell connections do, even in your pocket. If T-Mobile is your carrier and you have the Experience Beyond service, you get this new capability included. Others, including AT&T and Verizon customers, can access the service for $10 per month. The T-Mobile satellite service is limited to texting with iMessage and SMS, and data is not supported, though more capabilities may follow. For now, this is the beginning of a new way to stay in touch wherever you are, even if your phone is in your pocket.
Phone Arena
5 days ago
- Business
- Phone Arena
T-Mobile CEO Sievert reveals which of his rivals' customers he is gunning for
T-Mobile also raised its guidance for 2025, and that has led Wall Street to go, in the lingo of the pinstriped traders who work there, "Ape shit." Short sellers ran to cover, and combined with fresh buying, the stock soared over 6% by Thursday afternoon. T-Mobile shares are currently up $14 to $248 as I type this. No doubt that this market action pleases CEO Mike Sievert, who owns approximately 381,222 shares valued at more than $94 million. Today, the CEO has seen the value of his shares rise by more than $5 million. Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. | Image credit-T-Mobile Speaking of T-Mobile 's top executive, during the company's earnings call on Wednesday, after the earnings report was released, the atmosphere was full of love and joy. Some of those good feelings were directed at T-Mobile customers. Sievert said, "The quality of our customers continues to improve at a rapid pace." And speaking of quality, the quality of the T-Mobile network was also discussed. With accolades heaped on T-Mobile 's network, most recently by Ookla with its Speedtest Connectivity Report for the U.S. during the first half of this year, Sievert knows exactly which of his rivals' customers he is going after. Read this and see if you can figure out the name of the T-Mobile competitor Sievert is talking about. "This represents an enormous runway for us. Network perception has now become a major focus for us for a simple reason. There's a massive opportunity from all those tens of millions of customers who went elsewhere in the 4G era, deliberately choosing what was then the best network. Well, there's a new best network in America and you'll be seeing us bring that message to consumers and businesses in really innovative ways. Our network lead continues to widen." -Mike Sievert, CEO, T-Mobile If you said AT&T, go to the corner and stand there, looking at the wall, for the rest of the day. The rival carrier Sievert is talking about is Verizon. And things will only improve for T-Mobile . On August 1st, T-Mobile will close on its acquisition of UScellular's nearly 4 million customers, its retail stores, and 30% of its spectrum in the 600 MHz, 700 MHz A Block, PCS, AWS, 2.5 GHz, and 24 GHz (mmWave) frequencies. The executive said that the T-Mobile network will get better after the deal closes. T-Mobile will pay $2.4 billion in cash and assume $2 billion of UScellular debt to acquire its assets. Sievert added that the new T-Satellite service is off to a great start. Over 250,000 emergency texts were sent during the floods in Texas. Speaking with Yahoo Finance, Sievert was asked why T-Mobile isn't taking advantage of its success by raising prices. He stated that T-Mobile customers are moving up to pricier rate plans on their own. He said, "The highest rate plans we offer that are packed with the most value for customers, have doubled in their popularity over the past year. I mean, that's amazing. In one year, they've doubled in their popularity." Before you T-Mobile customers get totally relaxed, Sievert isn't completely ruling out a rate hike. "We're open-minded about it over the long haul," he said, "But I'd much rather attract people up the rate card with fantastic value." He also said that in the past, consumers choosing a wireless carrier had to choose between choosing between the best network and the best value. He says that it is unprecedented that one company can offer both. Of course, he is talking about T-Mobile .
Android Authority
6 days ago
- Business
- Android Authority
T-Mobile's T-Satellite service goes live nationwide: Already used by 2 million people
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR T-Mobile has officially launched T-Satellite, a satellite texting service available to all US smartphone users, including AT&T and Verizon customers. The service connects phones directly to over 650 Starlink low-Earth orbit satellites for off-grid messaging and location sharing. Over 2 million people used T-Satellite during its beta phase, helping communicate during hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. T-Mobile's satellite messaging service, T-Satellite, has officially exited the beta testing phase and is now available to everyone in the US, including customers on AT&T and Verizon networks. T-Satellite, developed in partnership with Starlink, enables users to send and receive text messages even without traditional cell coverage as long as they can view the sky. T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert announced the official start of the service, saying, 'Connectivity is critical infrastructure. This technology will save lives — and it's available starting today for everyone.' T-Satellite: Supported devices, plans, and pricing Users must have an unlocked phone with eSIM and satellite support to use the service. Over 60 devices are compatible with T-Satellite, including Google Pixel 9, iPhone 13 and newer, and Samsung Galaxy S21 and up. A complete list of supported devices is available on T-Mobile's website. T-Mobile's Experience Beyond and Go5G Next plans automatically include T-Satellite free of charge. Customers on other plans can add the service for a limited time for $10 per month under the 'Manage Data & Add-Ons' section in their account. Non-customers, a.k.a. those on Verizon or AT&T, can also get the service for a limited time at $10 per month by calling 1-855-964-2136 or visiting a T-Mobile retail location. T-Satellite was tested for six months and, according to the company, played a major role in recent disasters. During Hurricanes Helene and Milton, over 1 million people connected, sending over 650,000 text messages. In the Texas floods, nearly 94,000 users sent 287,000 messages via T-Satellite. The service also delivered hundreds of Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs), regardless of the user's carrier. T-Mobile plans to expand T-Satellite further in October, adding app-based features like maps, weather updates, and possibly international coverage. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
