BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ready. Set. Travel! Today, T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) is taking coverage above and beyond, pushing the boundaries of their own coverage map to 30,000 feet and abroad. Introducing T-Mobile’s latest Un-carrier move, Coverage Beyond, with free high-speed data in 210+ countries and destinations AND free in-flight connectivity and streaming all flight long on the biggest U.S. airlines. And the Un-carrier is flexing its post-merger scale to negotiate exclusive benefits just for T-Mobile customers, like AAA on Us for a full year, 25 cents off per gallon of Shell gas through Labor Day, and launching T-Mobile TRAVEL with Priceline to hook up customers with exclusive deals, up to 40% off select hotels and rental cars. Boom. Start packing. Because this all starts rolling out on the first official day of Summer, June 21.
Check out the announcement video, here: https://youtu.be/-EQoD5eEeME
And the best part? It’s all free. Customers get loads more without paying a penny extra.
This news comes as Americans get back to travel after years of staycations, complications and frustrations. In fact, more than two-thirds of Americans say they’re planning to “go big” on their next trip1. And business travel spending worldwide is expected to jump more than 37% next year to over $1 trillion2. At the same time, people are watching their wallets more closely than ever, and with prices everywhere increasing, free travel benefits never sounded so good.
“Our mission is to be the best in the world at connecting customers to their world, and that means making sure your phone just works wherever you go – even if you travel beyond our signal,” said Mike Sievert, CEO, T-Mobile. “We pioneered coverage in-flight and abroad, and today we’re going full throttle to change the game again. This is what the Un-carrier does – hunts down pain points, smashes them, and changes the game for good.”
Right now, staying connected while traveling is cumbersome at best, costly at worst and yet ever so critical. American travelers fork over an estimated $1.3 billion per year just to stay connected while flying3. Two-thirds of travelers say they worry about staying connected while traveling, with more than half concerned about paying extra abroad4. And it’s easy to see why! AT&T could charge a whopping $2050 for a single GB of data abroad in most countries ($2.05/MB) if customers don’t buy their international pass ahead of time! If Timmy streams an hour of TikTok videos, that’s a roughly $6,000 bill from AT&T. There goes that college fund, Timmy!
Today, T-Mobile is fixing that.
Coverage Beyond: High-Speed Data Worldwide
T-Mobile introduced breakthrough travel benefits with Simple Global in 2013. This changed the game with how Un-carrier customers use their phones when traveling. T-Mobile customers – including businesses – now use a whopping 60 times more data overseas than before. And today, T-Mobile is back at it again.
Starting June 21, when touching down in a foreign country, T-Mobile customers will get 5GB of free high-speed data each month, up to 5G speeds where available, in 210+ countries and destinations on T-Mobile’s most popular plan, Magenta MAX, and on the Business Unlimited Ultimate plan. No passes to buy. No hoops to jump through. No BS.
This move is another first from T-Mobile, making the Un-carrier the only provider to offer this much high-speed data in this many places … over 10X more locations than AT&T and over 10X more high-speed data than Verizon.
Plus, customers get the same experience of 5GB of high-speed data in 11 European countries — Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and Slovakia — on Magenta, most business plans and equivalent Sprint plans thanks to T-Mobile’s partnership with Deutsche Telecom. Essentially, everywhere a phone says “T-Mobile” customers will get the highest speeds available for their plan.
And T-Mobile is doubling the speeds worldwide across all 210+ countries and destinations (from 128kbps to 256kbps) so customers’ phones just work from the moment they touch down for things like basic navigation and email. This is in addition to the free texting customers already enjoy in those destinations. And it all comes on top of 5GB of high-speed data and free calling and texting for Magenta, Magenta MAX and eligible T-Mobile for Business customers in Mexico and Canada.
Roam on without worry.
In addition, T-Mobile for Business customers will soon get the Secure Wi-Fi mobile app, included at no extra cost with Business Advanced and Ultimate plans. Secure Wi-Fi is a set-and-forget app that, when connected to public Wi-Fi, automatically helps protect customers’ data and enhance their experience on their smartphone – anywhere in the world. It’s perfect for when customers need to get work done and have no choice but to use public Wi-Fi. And it’s 100% on Us.
Coverage Beyond: Free In-flight Connectivity
To keep Un-carrier customers connected in-flight, T-Mobile is working with in-flight Wi-Fi providers to give customers free connectivity WITH streaming all flight long on the biggest U.S. airlines. Delta, American and Alaska Airlines will launch first on select flights starting June 21. United Airlines will follow. And T-Mobile will continue to work hard to keep customers covered on even more airlines over time.
This means T-Mobile customers are connected overseas and now in America’s skyways … at no extra cost. More airlines. More flights. Full-flight connectivity. And better connectivity.
This isn’t the in-flight Wi-Fi of decades past. In addition to texting, browsing and emailing on your phone, T-Mobile customers can also stream, where available, all flight long too. Meaning customers can watch all the streaming services they get for free or at a discount with T-Mobile – like MLB.tv, Netflix, Paramount+, Philo, YouTube TV and more.
Coverage Beyond includes:
- Free connection all flight long on EVERY flight with Magenta MAX, Business Unlimited Ultimate and equivalent Sprint plans.
- Free connection all flight long on four flights the customer chooses per year, with a free hour for every flight after that with Magenta, Business Unlimited Advanced and equivalent Sprint plans.
Coverage Beyond: T-Mobile Customers FTW
T-Mobile’s not just going full throttle on keeping customers connected, the Un-carrier is going to the mat, leveraging the post-merger size and scale of the new T-Mobile to negotiate deals for customers that they can’t get themselves. All so more Un-carrier customers can get back to travel this Summer. Starting June 21 the official first day of Summer, T-Mobile will be rolling out the magenta carpet in the T-Mobile Tuesdays app.
First up, big news for road trippers. The Un-carrier is now AAA’s official wireless partner. And that means T-Mobile customers get a year of AAA on Us, with 24-hour roadside assistance, on Magenta, Magenta MAX and eligible small business plans! Driving is the #1 mode of travel – 1 in 3 people in the U.S. travelled by road for the holidays pre-pandemic5. With the most 5G coverage on US highways – more than twice the next provider – T-Mobile customers can rest easy and road trip with confidence.
Plus, AAA is now seamlessly integrated with T-Mobile’s SyncUP DRIVE that turns the car into a hotspot on wheels and monitors vehicle health. Right now, all T-Mobile customers can get SyncUP DRIVE for FREE when adding a qualifying line.
Second, to help take the sting out of rising gas prices, T-Mobile teamed up with Shell and the Fuel Rewards® program to give customers an exclusive 25 cents off per gallon of gas this summer through the week of Labor Day via T-Mobile Tuesdays.
Finally, with travel prices skyrocketing, the Un-carrier is going the extra mile to help customers save. T-Mobile tapped Priceline to launch T-Mobile TRAVEL with Priceline, a new site with travel deals exclusively for T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile customers. Save up to 40% and never pay full price on hotels or Pay Now rental cars, plus customers can book flights and more!
And while travel deals are advertised everywhere, thanks to the size and scale of the T-Mobile customer base, the Un-carrier was able to negotiate some travel deals so remarkable they can’t be found anywhere else. Just last month, a T-Mobile customer traveling to Hawaii for 9 days stayed in Waikiki and got a $300/night hotel for just $200/night, knocking $900 off the total trip. Another stayed at a 4-star oceanside beach club in Miami and got a $551 hotel for $351 for all 6 nights.
Already, during the pilot, customers saved over 17 MILLION dollars on hotels alone in just this past year, with many saving more than $500 on a single trip. That’s enough savings for an upgrade to business class or a few noise-cancelling headphones. Enjoy.
Every single T-Mobile customer, including businesses, can head to t-mobiletravel.com or the T-Mobile Tuesdays app, enter their number and get a code to unlock exclusive savings to start planning their next trip today. Easily scroll through ratings, reviews and see the T-Mobile savings in Magenta upfront. Now start saving and get packing!
Coverage Beyond? Check. Free Trips of a Lifetime? Also Check.
To celebrate all that sweet, sweet connectivity and to help jumpstart travel plans, starting June 21 on T-Mobile Tuesdays, the Un-carrier is giving away a trip of a lifetime to 10 lucky winners. Head to the T-Mobile Tuesdays app to enter for a chance to win and get ready for some epic travel experiences this year!
For more information on all of T-Mobile’s travel benefits, head to t-mobile.com/travel. For more information on T-Mobile Tuesdays, head here. For more information on T-Mobile for Business travel benefits, head to http://t-mobile.com/business/plans/travel-benefits.
Follow T-Mobile’s Official Twitter Newsroom @TMobileNews to stay up to date with the latest company news.
Limited-time offers; subject to change. AAA Year On Us: Req. active voice line on eligible plan, registration and validation. Subscription automatically renews at up to $83/year. Cancel anytime. Not for commercial use. TFB Biz acct. w/ SSN 12 or less lines are eligible. Active voice line and AAA member validation required. In-Flight Connection: Qualifying plan. On U.S.-based airlines; Wi-Fi Calling functionality, valid e911 address, & 1 prior Wi-Fi call w/ current SIM card required for messaging. Where available on select U.S. airlines. SyncUP: With 24 monthly bill credits when you add a qualifying 2GB or higher Mobile Internet line. For well-qualified customers, plus tax due at sale. If you cancel wireless service before receiving 24 bill credits, credits stop and remaining balance on full device amount becomes due (e.g. SyncUP Drive - $108). If you have cancelled lines in past 90 days, you may need to reactivate them first. In stores & on customer service calls, $35 assisted or upgrade support charge may be required. T-Mobile Tuesdays: Qualifying plan required. Shell offer up to 20 gallons. See T-Mobile Tuesdays app for details. 10 Grand Prizes: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to residents of the fifty United States, PR, USVI and DC. 16+. 6/21/22 5:00 AM ET - 6/28/22 4:59 AM ET. On how to enter and full rules go to amoe.t-mobiletuesdays.com/Promotion/Rules. Void where prohibited. 5G: Capable device required; coverage not available in some areas. Some uses may require certain plan or feature; see plan for details. Fastest based on median, overall combined speeds according to analysis by Ookla® of Speedtest Intelligence® data download speeds for Q1 2022. Ookla trademarks used under license and reprinted with permission.
About T-Mobile US, Inc.
T-Mobile U.S. Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) is America’s supercharged Un-carrier, delivering an advanced 4G LTE and transformative nationwide 5G network that will offer reliable connectivity for all. T-Mobile’s customers benefit from its unmatched combination of value and quality, unwavering obsession with offering them the best possible service experience and undisputable drive for disruption that creates competition and innovation in wireless and beyond. Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile provides services through its subsidiaries and operates its flagship brands, T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile and Sprint. For more information please visit: http://www.t-mobile.com.
1 Expedia 2022 Travel Report
2 CNBC
3 Global Newswire
4 Mintel, Travel Tech US Nov 2019
5 Statista
