{"id":738647,"date":"2013-02-19T19:50:31","date_gmt":"2013-02-20T00:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=612030"},"modified":"2013-02-19T19:50:31","modified_gmt":"2013-02-20T00:50:31","slug":"t-mobile-goes-off-brand-with-new-prepaid-service-gosmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/738647","title":{"rendered":"T-Mobile goes off-brand with new prepaid service GoSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"

T-Mobile USA has launched a new prepaid service for the highly budget-minded, and in the process it\u2019s taken a page from Sprint\u2019s book. Instead of making the new plans part of its regular magenta-tinged T-Mobile portfolio, the carrier has created a whole new brand: GoSmart Mobile<\/a>.<\/p>

GoSmart plans start at $30 a month, including unlimited talk and text. For $5 more a month, you can get unlimited Web access, but only on T-Mobile\u2019s 2G GPRS and EDGE networks. For $45 a month, you can upgrade to the 3G HSPA network and get 5 GB of data, after which you\u2019ll be throttled down to 2G speeds. It’s important to note T-Mo is specifically saying 3G here even though its marketing its HSPA+ network as 4G. The implication is that even GoSmart users on the $45 plan won’t get access to the full bandwidth available over its data networks.<\/p>

GoSmart is offering only two devices without subsidies<\/a>, a $50 Alcatel feature phone and a $100 ZTE Android 2.3 device, which is a pretty good bargain for a smartphone. GoSmart\u2019s main go-to-market package appears to be a SIM kit that allows a customer to activate any GSM device they bring to the network. That strategy seems to replicate the SIM services that have proven so successful for Tracfone<\/a> and other mobile virtual network operators<\/a>.<\/p>

But why is T-Mobile creating an entirely new brand for prepaid when it already sells a lot of contract-free plans<\/a> under the official T-Mobile? The carrier is probably trying to create two distinct classes of prepaid of service so it can tailor its marketing for each. T-Mobile\u2019s branded prepaid emphasizes T-Mobile HSPA+ data network, bigger and faster data plans and higher-end devices.<\/p>

Meanwhile, GoSmart is clearly targeted at the more voice-centric budget user. Sprint follows the same approach, though its segmented its prepaid services into numerous brands, including Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile and Assurance Wireless.<\/p>
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