Bellevue, Wash. – T-Mobile teamed up with media company Univision Communications for the May 19 launch of Univision Mobile-branded wireless service available exclusively through about 1,800 Walmart locations and through 6,000 independently owned T-Mobile-branded stores.
The 3G service, said to be tailored to the Hispanic community, will include out-of-the-box Univision content, apps and a Univision as well as “affordable” no-contract plans and international calling features included in each plan.
To bolster its case for a Hispanic-oriented service, T-Mobile cited Nielsen statistics showing that 72 percent of Latinos own smartphones, almost 10 percentage points more than the U.S. average. In addition, 49 percent of Latinos say they plan to replace or upgrade smartphones within the next six months. The Hispanic population is almost 56 million.
Univision plans include unlimited nationwide talk and text plans for $30/month and unlimited nationwide talk, text, and web plans starting at $45/ month, which includes up to 2.5GB of 3G data. Data speeds are throttled back to 2G speeds after that up to an unlimited amount.
All of the rate plans include unlimited international texting from the U.S. to select Latin American countries and a total of more than 200 countries around the world. Subscribers also get 100 minutes to call mobile or landline numbers from the U.S. to eight Latin American countries, including Mexico.
Other key features include Univision rewards, ringtones, wallpapers, sneak peeks of new Univision shows, opportunities for behind-the-scenes VIP access to Univision events and television/radio personalities, and a Univision Mobile portal. There will also be access to news, sports and entertainment.
Consumers can bring their own phone to the service or choose new devices.
