T-Mobile targets 55-and-older crowd with cheaper unlimited plan
Are you on the older side? T-Mobile has a phone plan for you.
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T-Mobile is back with a plan for slightly older phone users.
Over the last several years, T-Mobile has refashioned itself into the rebel "un-carrier" catering to a younger, hipper crowd.
Now, it's going after their parents and grandparents.
The nation's third-largest carrier on Monday introduced a new rate plan specifically marketed at consumers who are 55 and older. The plan, which includes unlimited data, calls and text messages, costs $50 a month for an individual line and $60 for a couple. Like other T-Mobile One plans, the rates include the taxes and fees.
The normal price is $70 for a single line, and $120 for two lines (although there's currently a limited promotion that brings it down to $100). Customers will be able to sign up for the new plan starting Wednesday.
The program, coined T-Mobile One Unlimited 55+, marks a departure from the usual wireless promotions that go after younger customers or families. It's another sign of the broader move by the carriers to offer more incentives to people to stick around or switch to their service. In this case, it's targeting a segment that hasn't gotten a lot of love.
"We're bringing the un-carrier revolution to people who are underserved and overpriced," Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Sherrard said in an interview Friday ahead of the news.
Sherrard said the push to go beyond younger consumers in big markets comes from T-Mobile's expansion of its wireless network into areas outside of major cities.
"We've done phenomenally well with millennials and in urban centers," Sherrard said. "Now we have an amazing opportunity to move beyond that."
He noted that the older age demographic represents the fastest-growing group of smartphone adopters and users.
The new rate includes a discount for enrolling in its auto-pay function. Customers who don't want to sign up for auto-pay will shell out an $5 each month.
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