T-Mobile全新“T-Mix”套餐:用户可用手机优惠换取Netflix、ESPN等权益

内容总结:
美国电信运营商T-Mobile近日宣布推出全新无线套餐方案,将客户获取手机和增值权益的方式改为统一使用固定数量的“权益点数”(Picks),客户可在购买新手机或不断扩充的增值服务菜单之间自主分配,且每90天可更换一次增值服务。T-Mobile称,它将是唯一允许客户自选套餐权益的运营商。
根据新方案,客户不再获得固定的增值服务捆绑包外加每条线路的新手机折扣,而是获得一笔统一的权益额度,可用于兑换从Netflix、ESPN到Xbox Game Pass、谷歌Gemini AI及达美航空SkyMiles里程等各类选项。但需要注意的一点是,手机和增值权益共用同一权益点数池,因此如果家庭用户希望每条线路都换新手机,可用于增值服务的点数可能所剩无几。
该套餐名为T-Mix,将于11月上线。T-Mobile首席营销官艾伦·萨姆森表示,现有客户可以切换至新套餐或保留当前套餐。
此举正值T-Mobile客户增长放缓、新竞争对手涌现之际,其中包括T-Mobile现有合作伙伴SpaceX——据报道SpaceX正计划推出自有无线服务。T-Mobile股价今年已下跌约26%,其中在上周五SpaceX无线计划被报道后单日下跌近8%。
这家总部位于华盛顿州贝尔维尤的公司多年来一直依靠“非传统运营商”(Un-carrier)策略——即打破行业惯例的高调变革——来吸引消费者关注。萨姆森将T-Mix描述为这一系列举措的最新一步,旨在解决公司调研中发现的客户首要抱怨:为不使用的增值服务付费。他表示,权益点数“本质上是一种货币”,“你可以用它兑换任何你想要的东西”。
订阅聚合平台:通过新套餐,T-Mobile大幅扩充了订阅服务菜单,试图将自身套餐打造为流媒体、音乐、游戏和AI服务的聚合平台。除Netflix、Hulu和Apple TV等长期权益外,新选项还包括ESPN Unlimited流媒体服务、Xbox Game Pass、YouTube Premium、Apple Music和谷歌Gemini AI订阅。
T-Mobile称,人们在订阅服务上的实际支出远超自己的预估。萨姆森表示,在T-Mobile的调研中,客户估计每月花费约90美元,而C+R Research的另一项研究显示平均支出为219美元。该方案的核心思路之一是整合这些支出,让客户更自由地在不同服务间切换——例如为新剧开通某项流媒体服务,或为夏季旅行添加卫星覆盖,之后再取消。客户可通过T-Life应用每90天进行一次调整。T-Mobile会在10天调整窗口开启时发送短信通知,若客户不操作则沿用原选择。T-Mobile负责在套餐内切换服务,但细则注明客户可能需要自行取消现有订阅以避免重复付费。T-Mobile通过与流媒体服务商及其他合作伙伴谈判,以低于零售价的价格批量采购订阅,从而以低于客户自行订阅的成本将服务纳入套餐。
手机与权益的取舍:对消费者而言,新获得的灵活性带来的一个代价是手机和增值权益现在共用有限的点数。保留旧手机或选择较便宜机型的客户可将节省的点数用于流媒体和其他增值服务,但希望每条线路都换新手机的家庭可能点数不够。消费者最终是划算还是吃亏,很大程度上取决于其线路数量和新手机更换频率。线路较少且不频繁换机的账户可能更受益;而每条线路都升级的大家庭可能付费更多、获得更少,因为T-Mobile同时取消了长期提供的免费第三条线路。萨姆森估计,一到两条线路的账户每月将比现有套餐少付5至10美元,而五条线路的账户可能多付10至15美元。他表示,从全部客户来看,定价大致持平。T-Mobile称,一个三口之家选择Loaded套餐(AutoPay税前及费用前每月200美元,即每年2400美元),按公司自身估值,每年可获得超过4320美元的套餐功能和权益价值。
权益点数的计算方式:客户可从三档套餐中选择,以下为AutoPay税前及费用前的基础价格:
- Standard(标准版):单线每月55美元,含1个权益点数。为基础套餐,对高优先级数据和视频质量有限制。
- More(增强版):每月75美元,含2个权益点数,不限量高优先级数据和4K视频。
- Loaded(满配版):每月95美元,含3个权益点数,以及最大的热点使用量和国际数据额度。
增加线路会增加权益点数,且点数适用于整个账户,因此一个Netflix订阅即可覆盖全家。未使用的点数不会从一个季度累积到下一个季度。大多数增值服务花费1至2个点数。无广告版Netflix需3个点数,ESPN Unlimited需4个点数。手机也需消耗点数:据萨姆森介绍,iPhone需2个点数,iPhone Pro需3个点数,且与三年分期付款计划绑定。一个选择More套餐的四线账户获得7个点数,不足以每条线路都换新iPhone。
无价格保证:条款规定T-Mobile可随时更改权益内容及每项权益所需点数,变更于下一季度生效。客户在调整窗口之外更换合作方权益可能需要支付费用。此外,客户每年需重新选择一次权益。
该套餐上线距纽约州总检察长莱蒂蒂亚·詹姆斯宣布与T-Mobile就其2017年“价格保证”套餐达成和解不到一周。该套餐曾向客户承诺运营商“永不改变您支付的价格”。T-Mobile在2024年将这些套餐每条线路提价约5美元。公司同意提供退款及其他选项,总检察长办公室预计价值超过3800万美元,并同意至少到2029年冻结受影响客户的价格。当被问及价格保护时,萨姆森表示T-Mix套餐不附带价格保证。他说T-Mobile可以控制自身网络成本,但无法控制苹果和Xbox等合作伙伴的收费,尽管已签订多年协议。“我们不想言不由衷,”他说,合作伙伴价格在未来几年已锁定,但“我无法告诉你2030年会发生什么”。
“非传统运营商”策略:T-Mobile于2013年通过取消两年合约发起“非传统运营商”运动。萨姆森表示,公司只在发现重大客户痛点且相信能提供独特方案时才会采取此类举措。T-Mobile自10月1日起在堪萨斯城37家门店测试T-Mix。萨姆森称,购买时仅约70%的权益点数在门店完成选择,部分原因是家庭用户希望回家共同决定,也有些客户将点数留待 later 发布的新手机。该套餐细节近几周被泄露,最先由The Mobile Report报道,随后由PhoneArena跟进。
Verizon允许客户以额外月费添加折扣流媒体捆绑包。萨姆森表示,T-Mix的不同之处在于权益已包含在套餐价格中。他延续公司嘲讽竞争对手的传统,将一家竞争对手的做法称为“裸连接”,另一家则“扔给你一部好手机然后就不管你了,时不时还来个涨价”。
该套餐也是去年11月接任CEO的Srini Gopalan领导下首批重大消费者举措之一。T-Mobile今年账户增长放缓。第二季度净增27.7万个后付费账户(按月付费而非预付费的 Households 和企业),较去年同期的31.8万下降13%。公司将于周三公布第三季度业绩,比Verizon晚两天。据报道,SpaceX还在寻求蜂窝站点以建设竞争性无线网络,尽管T-Mobile的T-Satellite服务运行在SpaceX的Starlink上。萨姆森于2016年加入Sprint,在2020年Sprint与T-Mobile合并后留任,今年早些时候出任CMO。他此前负责公司宽带业务,并担任T-Mobile for Business的CMO。他表示T-Mix自担任现职以来一直是他的重点项目,始于对数百名消费者的访谈。萨姆森称现在判断T-Mix对业务的影响还为时过早。“等全国推广约六个月后再问我,”他说,“届时我们会有实际数据可报告。”
中文翻译:
T-Mobile正在推出新的无线套餐,改变客户获得附加权益和手机优惠的方式,给予客户固定数量的“Picks”积分,可用于兑换一部新手机或一份可每90天更换一次的扩展附加权益菜单。
该公司表示,它将是唯一一家让客户自行选择套餐附带哪些权益的运营商。客户不再获得固定的附加权益捆绑包加上每条线路的新手机折扣,而是获得一笔单一的额度,可用于兑换从Netflix、ESPN到Xbox Game Pass、谷歌Gemini AI和达美航空SkyMiles等各种选项。
一个需要注意的是,手机和附加权益都从同一个Picks池中支取,因此如果一个家庭想给每条线路都换新手机,可能就没什么剩余积分可用于附加权益了。
这些名为T-Mix的套餐将于11月上市。T-Mobile首席营销官艾伦·萨姆森表示,现有客户可以切换到新套餐或保留当前套餐。
此举正值T-Mobile客户增长放缓、新竞争对手涌现之际,其中包括SpaceX——T-Mobile目前的合作伙伴,据报道正计划推出自己的无线服务。T-Mobile股价今年已下跌约26%,其中包括周五在有关SpaceX无线计划的报道出炉后下跌近8%。
这家总部位于华盛顿州贝尔维尤的公司多年来一直依靠“Un-carrier”举措——打破行业惯例的高调变革——来吸引消费者关注。
萨姆森将T-Mix描述为这些举措中的最新一项,针对的是公司研究发现的首要客户抱怨:为自己不使用的附加权益付费。Picks“本质上是一种货币形式”,他说,“你可以用它兑换任何你想要的东西。”
订阅中心:通过新套餐,T-Mobile正在增加一个规模大得多的订阅菜单,试图将其套餐打造成流媒体、音乐、游戏和AI服务的中心。
除了Netflix、Hulu和Apple TV等长期权益外,新选项还包括ESPN Unlimited流媒体服务、Xbox Game Pass、YouTube Premium、Apple Music和谷歌Gemini AI订阅。
该公司表示,人们在订阅上的花费远超他们的想象。萨姆森说,在T-Mobile的研究中,客户估计每月花费约90美元。C+R Research的一项独立研究则将平均花费定为219美元。
这一理念的很大一部分是整合这些支出,让客户更自由地在各项服务之间切换,例如为了一部新剧开通流媒体服务,或为夏季旅行添加卫星覆盖,之后再取消。
客户可以在T-Life应用中每90天进行一次此类更改。T-Mobile会在10天更改窗口开启时发送短信通知,如果客户不做任何操作,他们的选择将自动延续。T-Mobile负责处理套餐内服务之间的切换,不过细则中注明,客户可能需要自行取消现有订阅以避免重复付费。
T-Mobile通过与流媒体服务和其他合作伙伴谈判达成的协议,以低于零售价的价格购买订阅。这使得T-Mobile能够以低于客户自行订阅的成本将这些服务纳入其套餐。
手机与附加权益:对消费者而言,这种新获得的灵活性的一个代价是,手机和附加权益现在都从同一有限的Picks池中支取。
保留现有手机或选择较便宜机型的客户可以将这部分价值用于流媒体和其他附加权益,但一个想给每条线路都换新手机的家庭可能没有足够的Picks来覆盖。
消费者最终是物超所值还是得不偿失,很大程度上取决于他们拥有多少条线路以及多久购买一次新手机。保留手机的较小账户可能会受益。每个季度都升级每条线路的大家庭可能付得更多、得到更少,因为T-Mobile还取消了长期以来的免费第三条线路。
萨姆森估计,拥有一到两条线路的账户每月将比T-Mobile当前套餐少付5到10美元,而五条线路的账户可能多付10到15美元。他说,在所有客户中,定价大致相同。
T-Mobile表示,一个三口之家使用其Loaded套餐,在自动付款、税前及不含附加费的情况下每月200美元(每年2400美元),根据该公司自己的估值,每年可获得超过4320美元的套餐功能和权益价值。
Picks背后的计算逻辑:客户从三种套餐中选择,以下为自动付款客户的基准价格,税前及不含附加费:
- Standard(标准版):每月55美元一条线路,含一个Pick。这是基础套餐,对高优先级数据和视频质量有限制。
- More(增强版):每月75美元,含两个Picks,不限量高优先级数据和4K视频。
- Loaded(满配版):每月95美元,含三个Picks,以及最大的热点使用量和国际数据额度。
增加线路会增加Picks,且Picks适用于整个账户,因此一个Netflix订阅即可覆盖全家。未使用的Picks不会从一个季度累积到下一个季度。
大多数附加权益花费一到两个Picks。无广告版Netflix花费三个,ESPN Unlimited花费四个。手机也需要花费Picks:萨姆森说,一部iPhone需要两个,一部iPhone Pro需要三个,在三年付款计划期间被锁定。一个使用More套餐的四线账户获得七个Picks,不足以给每条线路都换一部新iPhone。
无价格保证:条款规定,T-Mobile可随时更改权益及每项权益所需的Picks数量,更改在下一季度生效。在更改窗口之外更换合作方权益的客户可能需要支付费用。客户每年还将被要求重新选择其权益。
此次发布距纽约州总检察长莱蒂蒂亚·詹姆斯宣布与T-Mobile就其2017年“价格保证”套餐达成和解不到一周。该套餐承诺客户运营商将“永远不会改变你支付的价格”。
T-Mobile在2024年将这些套餐每条线路的价格提高了约5美元。它同意提供退款和其他选项,总检察长办公室预计将提供超过3800万美元的价值,并同意至少到2029年冻结受影响客户的价格。
当被问及价格保护时,萨姆森表示T-Mix套餐不附带保证。他说,T-Mobile可以控制其网络成本,但无法控制苹果和Xbox等合作伙伴的收费,尽管它已签订了多年协议。
“我们不想言不由衷,”他说,并补充称合作伙伴价格在未来几年内是确定的,但“我无法告诉你2030年会发生什么。”
Un-carrier策略手册:T-Mobile于2013年通过取消两年合约发起了其Un-carrier运动。萨姆森表示,公司只有在发现重大客户痛点并相信自己有独特的东西可以提供时,才会采取Un-carrier举措。
T-Mobile自10月1日起在堪萨斯城的37家门店测试T-Mix。萨姆森说,购买时只有约70%的Picks在店内被选定,部分原因是家庭想回家一起决定,还有一些客户在为之后发布的手机保留Picks。
该套餐的细节近几周被泄露,最早由The Mobile Report报道,随后由PhoneArena报道。
Verizon允许客户以额外月费在其套餐中添加折扣流媒体捆绑包。萨姆森表示,T-Mix的不同之处在于权益已包含在套餐价格中。
秉承该公司嘲讽竞争对手的传统,他将一个竞争对手的做法描述为“裸连接”。他说,另一个竞争对手会“扔给你一部好手机,然后就不管你了。时不时地,还会涨一次价。”
这些套餐也是CEO斯里尼·戈帕兰上任后的首批重大消费者举措之一,他于去年11月接替迈克·西弗特出任该职位。
T-Mobile今年的账户增长有所放缓。第二季度,其净增277,000个后付费账户(按月付费而非预付费的 household 和企业用户)。这比去年同期的318,000下降了13%。
该公司将于周三公布第三季度业绩,比Verizon晚两天。
据报道,SpaceX还在寻求基站站点以建设一个竞争性无线网络,尽管T-Mobile的T-Satellite服务运行在SpaceX的Starlink上。
萨姆森于2016年加入Sprint,并在2020年Sprint与T-Mobile合并后留任,今年早些时候成为首席营销官。他此前负责该公司的宽带业务,并担任T-Mobile for Business的首席营销官。他说,自担任现职以来,T-Mix一直是他的重点个人项目,始于对数百名消费者的访谈。
萨姆森说,现在判断T-Mix将如何影响业务还为时过早。“等我在全国范围内运行大约六个月后再问我,”他说,“到那时我们就有实际数据可以汇报了。”
英文来源:
T-Mobile is introducing new wireless plans that change how customers get perks and phone deals, giving them a set number of “Picks” to spend on a new phone or an expanded menu of extras that they can swap out every 90 days.
The company says it will be the only carrier that lets customers choose which benefits come with their plan. Instead of fixed bundles of extras plus a discount on a new phone for each line, customers get a single allowance to spend on options ranging from Netflix and ESPN to Xbox Game Pass, Google’s Gemini AI and Delta SkyMiles.
One catch is that phones and perks come out of the same pool of Picks, so a family that wants a new phone on every line may have little left to put toward extras.
The plans, called T-Mix, will be available in November. Existing customers can switch or keep their current plans, said Allan Samson, T-Mobile’s chief marketing officer.
The move comes as T-Mobile’s customer growth slows and new rivals emerge, including SpaceX, a current T-Mobile partner that is reportedly planning a wireless service of its own. T-Mobile’s stock is down about 26% this year, including a drop of nearly 8% on Friday after a report on SpaceX’s wireless plans.
The Bellevue, Wash.-based company has relied for years on “Un-carrier” moves — splashy changes that defy industry conventions — to capture consumer attention.
Samson described T-Mix as the latest of those moves, aimed at what the company’s research identified as a top customer complaint: paying for extras they don’t use. Picks are “essentially a form of currency,” he said. “You can use them for anything you want.”
A subscription hub: With the new plans, T-Mobile is adding a much larger menu of subscriptions in an attempt to turn its plans into a hub for streaming, music, gaming and AI services.
Along with longtime perks such as Netflix, Hulu and Apple TV, the new options include ESPN’s Unlimited streaming service, Xbox Game Pass, YouTube Premium, Apple Music and Google’s Gemini AI subscriptions.
The company says people spend far more on subscriptions than they realize. In T-Mobile’s research, customers estimated spending about $90 a month, Samson said. A separate study by C+R Research puts average spending at $219.
A big part of the idea is to consolidate that spending and let customers move among services more freely, picking up a streaming service for a new show, for example, or adding satellite coverage for a summer trip, then dropping it afterward.
Customers can make those changes every 90 days in the T-Life app. T-Mobile texts them when a 10-day change window opens, and their choices roll over if they do nothing. T-Mobile handles the switch between services in its plans, although the fine print notes that customers may need to initially cancel existing subscriptions on their own to avoid paying twice.
T-Mobile buys subscriptions below retail prices through deals it negotiates with streaming services and other partners. That lets T-Mobile include the services in its plans for less than it would cost customers to subscribe on their own.
Phones vs. perks: For consumers, one trade-off for the newfound flexibility is that phones and perks now draw from the same finite supply.
Customers who hold on to their phones or choose less-expensive models can put that value toward streaming and other extras, but a family that wants a new phone on every line may not have enough Picks to cover them.
Whether consumers end up getting more or less for their money depends largely on how many lines they have and how often they buy new phones. Smaller accounts that keep their phones are likely to come out ahead. Larger families that upgrade every line may pay more and get less, because T-Mobile is also dropping its long-standing free third line.
Samson estimated that accounts with one or two lines will pay $5 to $10 a month less than on T-Mobile’s current plans, while a five-line account might pay $10 to $15 more. Across all of its customers, he said, pricing is roughly the same.
T-Mobile says a family of three on its Loaded plan, which costs $200 a month ($2,400 a year) with AutoPay before taxes and fees, gets more than $4,320 a year in plan features and benefits, based on its own valuation.
The math behind the Picks: Customers choose from three plans, with base prices for customers on AutoPay, before taxes and fees:
- Standard: $55 a month for one line, with one Pick. It’s the basic plan, with limits on high-priority data and video quality.
- More: $75 a month, with two Picks, unlimited high-priority data and 4K video.
- Loaded: $95 a month, with three Picks and the largest allowances for hotspot use and international data.
Adding lines adds Picks, and Picks apply to the whole account, so one Netflix subscription covers the family. Unused Picks don’t accumulate from one quarter to the next.
Most extras cost one or two Picks. Ad-free Netflix costs three, and ESPN Unlimited costs four. Phones cost Picks, too: two for an iPhone and three for an iPhone Pro, Samson said, tied up for the three-year payment plan. A four-line account on the More plan gets seven Picks, not enough for a new iPhone on every line.
No price guarantee: The terms say T-Mobile may change the benefits and the number of Picks each one requires at any time, with changes taking effect the following quarter. Customers who change a partner benefit outside a change window may have to pay a fee. Once a year, customers will also be asked to reselect their benefits.
The launch comes less than a week after New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a settlement with T-Mobile over its 2017 “Price Guarantee” plans, which promised customers the carrier would “never change the price you pay.”
T-Mobile raised prices on those plans by about $5 a line in 2024. It agreed to offer refunds and other options that the attorney general’s office expects to provide more than $38 million in value, and to freeze prices for affected customers until at least 2029.
Asked about price protections, Samson said T-Mix plans don’t come with a guarantee. T-Mobile can control its network costs, he said, but not what partners such as Apple and Xbox charge, although it has multiyear deals in place.
“We didn’t want to be disingenuous,” he said, adding that partner prices are set for the next couple of years but “I can’t tell you what’s going to happen in 2030.”
The Un-carrier playbook: T-Mobile launched its Un-carrier campaign in 2013 by dropping two-year contracts. Samson said the company makes an Un-carrier move only when it sees a big customer pain point and believes it has something unique to offer.
T-Mobile has been testing T-Mix since Oct. 1 in 37 stores in Kansas City. Only about 70% of Picks were chosen in the store at the time of purchase, Samson said, in part because families wanted to go home and decide together, and some customers were saving Picks for phones coming out later.
Details of the plans leaked in recent weeks, first reported by The Mobile Report and later by PhoneArena.
Verizon lets customers add discounted streaming bundles to its plans for an extra monthly charge. Samson said the difference with T-Mix is that the benefits are included in the plan price.
Upholding the company’s tradition of jabbing at rivals, he described one competitor’s approach as “naked connectivity.” The other, he said, will “throw you a nice phone and then leave you alone. And every now and then, there’s a rate increase.”
The plans are also one of the first major consumer moves under CEO Srini Gopalan, who succeeded Mike Sievert in the role last November.
T-Mobile’s account growth has slowed this year. In the second quarter, it added a net 277,000 postpaid accounts (households and businesses that pay a monthly bill rather than prepaying for service). That was down 13% from 318,000 a year earlier.
The company reports third-quarter results Wednesday, two days after Verizon.
SpaceX is also reportedly seeking cell sites to build a rival wireless network, even though T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service runs on SpaceX’s Starlink.
Samson, who joined Sprint in 2016 and stayed on after its 2020 merger with T-Mobile, became CMO earlier this year. He previously ran the company’s broadband business and was CMO of T-Mobile for Business. He said T-Mix has been his pet project since taking his current role, starting with interviews with hundreds of consumers.
Samson said it’s too early to say how T-Mix will affect the business. “Ask me in six months once I have about six months under my wings nationwide,” he said, “and then we’ll have some actuals to report.”
文章标题:T-Mobile全新“T-Mix”套餐:用户可用手机优惠换取Netflix、ESPN等权益
文章链接:https://news.qimuai.cn/?post=5406
本站文章均为原创,未经授权请勿用于任何商业用途