T-Mobile USA's successful UnCarrier strategy is being increasingly imitated around the world as mobile operators such as Sweden's Tele2 and most recently, the UK's Three update their strategies in the marketplace with pro-customer approaches which are slated to bring in more benefits compared to just being the best value player, according to a recent report "Challenger Strategies: Three UK Adopts the UnCarrier Marketing Approach" by leading market research firm, Strategy Analytics.
Strategy Analytics notes that T-Mobile's postpaid subscription share began to rise straight after its March 2013 UnCarrier launch, with its postpaid service revenue share growing by the first quarter of 2014. It is a little early to see a strong impact from the Tele2.0 launch in November 2014 said Strategy Analytics; however T-Mobile's mobile EBITDA performance was particularly strong, recording 20% year-on-year growth in the first quarter of this year despite the 1% drop in profits in the overall market.
Strategy Analytics believes that strategies adopted by Three - "When stuff sucks, #makeitright" campaign, free international roaming and no premiums for 4G - are likely to become the norm in the UK especially in response to competitive and regulatory pressure.
Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, Director, Wireless Operator Strategies
T-Mobile USA has registered strong results from its pro-customer UnCarrier program. The message of more flexible pricing terms and device purchasing options has resonated well with consumers and has been copied by much of the competition, while it has pushed further with pricing enhancements such as better international roaming and rollover data plans.
Phil Kendall, Executive Director, Wireless Operator Strategies
It is important to note that success with an UnCarrier strategy, which gives customers more freedom to come and go as they choose, has to be built on getting the basics of service provision right: network quality; excellent customer service; and strong customer segmentation. Network quality is the most important here, with Tele2 and Three working hard to talk up their respective network strengths.
