On this week’s Carrier Wrap we will look at some of the top carrier news from the past week with Bill Ho from 556 Ventures, including promotional activity from Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint
On this week’s Carrier Wrap, RCR Wireless News Editor-in-Chief Dan Meyer and Bill Ho, industry analyst with 556 Ventures, discussed recent promotional announcements from the nation’s largest carriers, including a focus on “buy-one, get-one” smartphone offers, the effectiveness of cash incentives and T-Mobile US’ recent expansion of its Binge On platform.
Smartphone promotions looked to have ramped up in connection with Samsung’s launch of its latest Galaxy S7 models, with most operators offering some form of half-off or BOGO offer tied to the model. Ho noted the move would appear to be a way for carriers to maintain some first-quarter momentum connected with the device launch, and ahead of the upcoming launch of Apple’s latest iPhone SE model.
Meyer and Ho also looked at the effectiveness of carriers offering up to $650 in rebates to customers willing to switch allegiances. The moves were graded as being similar to legacy device subsidies in that carriers were willing to trade in some upfront costs in order to get customers on board.
T-Mobile US’ Binge On expansion witnessed the carrier add a handful of new content providers, including Google’s YouTube and Play Movies platforms. The move seemed to alleviate a point of contention for the Binge On platform as YouTube had initially claimed video compression technology at the heart of the Binge On service is throttling YouTube videos and impacting quality.
T-Mobile US looks to have overcome the YouTube objection by implementing content provider control over the video quality of the streamed content. In the case of YouTube, T-Mobile US said the company will be the first to have control over the quality of the video stream, providing a mobile-optimized video when a T-Mobile US customer with Binge On activated begins streaming a YouTube video clip. However, videos transmitted outside of the Binge On optimization will continue to count against a customer’s data allotment.
“We think these changes, which T-Mobile is making for all users and video providers on a non-preferential basis, can help ensure that the program works well for all users and the entire video ecosystem,” Google noted in a blog post on the topic.
The interview finished up with quick look at some compelling Scotch options, with Ho bringing his view of the Oban 14 year to the table, while Meyer provided his insight into the Glenlivet 15 year French Oak Reserve. Both seemed pleased with their selections, highly recommending them as part of any fine Scotch collection.
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