Starting October 31, Simple Choice individual and business customers automatically get unlimited data and texting in more than 100 Simple Global countries worldwide, and will only pay a global flat rate of 20 cents/minute for voice calls when roaming in the same countries. No activation or extra monthly fee necessary.
The company offers discounted calling and texting from the US to all Simple Global countries for $10/month. It includes 20 cents/min. for voice calls and unlimited texting to all Simple Global countries, as well as unlimited calling to landlines in over 70 of the Simple Global countries at no extra cost.
T-Mobile US offering, which also includes unlimited U.S. calls to overseas landlines for a $10 monthly fee, is the latest effort by the No. 4 US mobile operator to distinguish itself from bigger rivals and claw back years of customer losses.
T-Mobile US, which is also capping overseas voice-roaming charges at 20 cents per minute, said the new offers will be available for customers roaming in about 115 countries starting on Oct 31. It will be available for customers who sign up for its Simple Choice service plans starting at $50 per month.
“This is going to be solving one of the biggest pain points that people have,” T-Mobile US Chief Executive John Legere told reporters ahead of the launch, referring to the extraordinarily expensive mobile phone bills that often shock consumers.
Legere said that operators generate billions of dollars a year at margins as high as 90 percent from roaming charges that can climb into thousands of dollars for just a short trip.
T-Mobile itself currently charges $10 to $15 per megabyte of data for overseas data roaming fees, according to Chief Marketing Officer Mike Sievert.
However, the company does not expect a decline in roaming revenue as a result of the elimination of data roaming fees, according to Legere, who said T-Mobile’s revenue from traveling customers is far smaller than its rivals.
