Executives at T-Mobile are not waiting around to find out whether they’ll soon be working for AT&T — instead they seem to be working overtime to build the T-Mobile brand and customer base. Today T-Mobile announced a deal to offer unlimited 4G texting and Internet in 2,000 Walmart stores around the country. The prepaid plan will cost $30 a month and will not require a contract. It will be available starting October 16.
Although customers who sign up will get unlimited texting, they will get just 100 minutes of talk time, paying 10 cents per minute after that. Internet access will be unlimited, with the first 5 GB at speeds up to 4G. T-Mobile will also increase the number of handsets offered at Walmart to six, including a 4G prepaid handset.
T-Mobile’s new plan will also be available online through both Walmart and T-Mobile, but apparently will not be offered at its 400 retail stores. Last week T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telecom AG, said that T-Mobile will redesign all its stores to disperse sales representatives into more private customer service areas around the store. The idea is to reduce customer wait times and allow more careful consideration of all the mobile phone options offered.
T-Mobile had 33.6 million mobile subscribers at the end of second quarter 2011, making it the fourth largest US wireless service provider behind Verizon, AT&T and Sprint. Deautsche Telecom has agreed to sell T-Mobile to AT&T for $39 billion, but the U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit to block the deal, saying it could reduce competition and increase prices for consumers. The Federal Communications Commission has yet to rule on whether or not it will allow the deal to proceed. Spring Nextel, the carrier with the most to lose from an AT&T/T-Mobile merger, reportedly asked the FCC last last week to hurry up and make a decision.
