T-Mobile is bringing some if its latest uncarrier initiatives to its MetroPCS prepaid brand to stimulate music and video consumption and give the brand a leg up on the competition.
MetroPCS on Thursday will roll out its Music Unlimited music-streaming program, a rebranded version of T-Mobile’s Music Freedom service. The services let subscribers stream unlimited amounts of music from 33 services without the data counting against their 4G LTE data caps. The MetroPCS offer is available to subscribers whose plans include 3GB or more of LTE data. The brand promises to expand the selection of eligible music services.
Also on Thursday, MetroPCS will also launch Data Maximizer technology, which uses the same technology as T-Mobile’s Binge On service, to let subscribers fill their LTE data buckets with three times more video than before. Almost all video services — including YouTube, Netflix and Periscope feeds – can be streamed more efficiently. The technology caps resolution at DVD or better while reducing data “overhead.” The service can be switched off by consumers to maximize video quality for mirroring on a connected TV.
Bigger buckets: In other data-related initiatives, MetroPCS is adding 1GB of LTE data to select LTE data plans at no extra charge. The $35 and $45 family plans with unlimited talk and text step up to 3GB and 5GB of LTE data, respectively, from 2GB and 4GB. The single-user versions of these plans also get an extra 1GB. Like before, the single-user plans cost $5 more than the family plans.
The prepaid brand also boosted mobile hotspot tethering on its Unlimited 4G LTE plan to 8GB from 6GB.
These initiatives also start on Thursday.
