Is T-Mobile Planning A Video Streaming Service That Does Not Affect The User’s Data?

The third largest wireless carrier in the United States may be about to offer its sweetest offer yet -- there are reports that T-Mobile is planning to allow its subscribers to take advantage of unlimited data when streaming select video services, such as those provided by HBO and Netflix. This piece of information was leaked by no other than Evan Blass via a tweet. 

Earlier this week, T-Mobile had announced that its Uncarrier press event (dubbed Uncarrier 10) for this year would be held in the city of Los Angeles in the state of California on November 10th more than a week from now. The tagline for the event is “We never hit pause” and apart from those four words, the wireless carrier has not revealed anything more about the upcoming Uncarrier press event.

Rumors and leaks are nothing new in the mobile business. They practically happen almost every week, and various blogs and writers have developed a talent for spotting them. As for Blass, who works as a freelance writer covering various technology related news, he has had an impressive track record of predicting unannounced and unreleased products, especially mobile devices.

T-Mobile, for one, seems to revel in the endless speculation, particularly with regards to the wireless carrier’s soon to be introduced services, features, and special offers. Besides, rumors and leaks sometimes serve to add additional publicity about some event or new product. This certainly applies to Uncarrier 10, which should give T-Mobile another opportunity to reveal something new that should help the wireless carrier grab away some of the customers of its rivals (Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and Sprint). 

As for its leaked video streaming service, it could be T-Mobile’s bravest move yet. It is no secret that video streaming is considered one of the most bandwidth intensive activities in Internet browsing. By giving subscribers unlimited access to video streaming content, T-Mobile could rack up costs for itself, not to mention inviting a higher chance of network congestion when more customers are viewing videos on the web. Moreover, T-Mobile’s plan is such a different approach compared to its competitors who discourage their subscribers from launching data eating mobile apps such as video streaming apps. 

T-Mobile’s rumored video streaming service may actually be similar to the wireless carrier’s already existing Music Freedom program, which allows mobile users to stream unlimited music from almost three dozen service providers, including Spotify, Pandora, and Rhapsody, just to name a few. T-Mobile does not count the data used to stream music from these services against the subscriber’s monthly data allowance. Obviously, since this is just no more than a leak for now, details are expected to come out soon (that is, assuming T-Mobile is indeed launching such a service). But for video loving mobile users out there, they may want to watch out for next month.