Bellevue, Wash. — T-Mobile became the first national cellular carrier to provide residual payments to master agents and sub-agents that sell cellular products and services direct to businesses.
“With the big legacy carriers long maintaining their iron grip on the business wireless market, the channel partner community has been relegated to the sidelines of the industry — which has also meant U.S. businesses have been prevented from buying wireless from some of their most trusted partners,” T-Mobile contended.
With the new channel-partner program, “we are providing wireless channel partners ongoing residual compensation for maintaining relationships with business customers who want access to our revolutionary un-carrier simplicity, transparency and predictability,” claimed Drew Kelton, T-Mobile’s of business markets executive VP. The effort is part of a 16-month-old uncarrier strategy that he said it “breaking down the barriers the old telecoms have built to protect themselves and their profits.”
Ted Schuman, CEO of master agent PlanetOne, is participating in the program and lauded the effort. “Until now, the big telecoms’ closed retail models and territorial approach to account protection have minimized the role of the channel community, restricting our business, as well as our client relationships.” With the new program, he said, “we finally have parity between the direct and brick-and-mortar sales forces with a compensation plan that rewards partners monthly for our commitment.”
Before launching the full program, T-Mobile signed up select master agents under an early enrollment program. They include Planet One, Innovative Communication Services, Cellular Optimization, Advocate Networks, TBI, and Nexlink.
