T-Mobile SWOT Analysis

Professor Davis
COM232B
RLK Partners
Tim Kraus, Jessica Long, Mary Robins
21 March 2014
T-Mobile Background
History: T-Mobile US Inc. is the fourth largest American wireless provider in the US
and is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. It is the US operating entity of German
based parent company, Deutsche Telekom. T-Mobile offers coverage to the US, Puerto
Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. The company has approximately 40,000 employees in
the United States. T-Mobile was originally founded in 1994 as VoiceStream Wireless
PCS. In June of 2001, Deutsche Telekom bought VoiceStream Wireless for $35 Billion.
In July of 2002, the company was rebranded T-Mobile USA. In 2011, AT&T attempted
to purchase T-Mobile, but the deal fell through due to legal issues and the resistance of
the US government. In 2013, the company merged with Metro PCS to increase its
competitiveness with other wireless providers. On May 1, 2013, T-Mobile began trading
shares on the New York Stock Exchange as a public company.
PR Issue: T-Mobile, despite offering attractive benefits like competitive prices and the
fastest 4G LTE network, remains far behind AT&T and Verizon in the hierarchy of
American wireless providers.
SWOT Analysis Chart
Strengths
Wifi Calling
Largest global data coverage at no
extra charge
Fastest nationwide 4GLTE network
(reaching over 200 million people,
96% of Americans)
Competitive Prices
Jump! Program
GoSmart Plan
Incentives to switch to T-Mobile
Opportunities
Merging
Increasing wireless coverage
Increasing variety of plans

Weaknesses
Image
Smallest of four largest carriers
Smaller marketing budget
Perception of edgy and aggressive
Use attack-like tactics for
commercials
Perception of customer service
Network Performance
Threats
Two of the top three wireless
providers merging
AT&T and Verizon improving their

Improving corporate image

Reaching more people
Expanding coverage for tablets

networks and speed

Competitors lowering prices
A competitor securing exclusive
rights to a groundbreaking new
technological advancement in the
wireless industry.

DISCUSSION OF SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths
One of T-Mobiles many strengths is their GoSmart Plan, which was introduced in
December of 2013. This plan allows users unlimited access to Facebook, something that
usually requires a lot of data.
T-mobile has many strengths that set it apart in the wireless carrier market. One of these
is Wifi calling. Wifi calling is the ability to make and receive calls/messages over a
wireless internet connection. (T-mobile Support, 2011). This is a very attractive option
for customers who are worried about coverage (as many potential t-mobile customers
are), as you just need a wifi connection to make calls.
Another Strength of T-mobile is their global coverage. T-mobile has the largest global
coverage of all carriers, and does not charge any additional fees. Many customers need to
call relatives in other countries or make international calls for business, and this feature
of T-mobiles service helps them stand apart.(T-mobile)
T-mobile also has the fastest nationwide 4GLTE network. For customers looking for
speed, T-mobile would be the clear winner. Their network reaches over 200 million
people and 96% of all Americans. Many customers are concerned about being in range,
and chances are, with T-mobile, you would be.
One major strength of T-mobile is their competitive prices. T-mobile doesnt charge extra
for going over your limit (T-mobile) . This includes data and international calls. Tmobile doesnt charge roaming fees, nor do they have annual service contracts. Also, Tmobile has the lowest price per month when comparing its plans to its competitors plans
(Morran, 2013).
Many other cell phone service companies charge an upgrade fee for new phones, or
make you wait a long time before you can get a new phone without a fee. T-mobile
started something called the Jump! program that allows the customer to upgrade their
phone whenever they want. This program also includes replacement of lost or damaged
phones (T-mobile). Obviously, consumers often want the next big thing and this often
applies to technology. Offering upgrades whenever is incredibly appealing to consumer
and allows them to keep up technologically.
T-mobile has created the Gosmart mobile program, which is a pre-paid phone program

designed to be transparent. There are no extra charges, and no hidden fees. All of the
options include unlimited calling and texting, with two adding unlimited web (Gosmart
program). The Gosmart program is designed for customers that are not ready to commit.
Cell phone service carriers have become incredibly competitive since the industrys
beginnings. Now, many companies are offering deals to give customers money if they are
willing to switch service providers. T-mobile is one of them. T-mobile is willing to pay
650 dollars of your termination fee, 350 for each line and 300 for each phone (Pagliery,
2014). This is an obvious strength for T-Mobile. They are legitimately promising that
customers will like their services, and area allowing them to switch carriers for a much
lower price.
Weaknesses
T-mobile has many strengths that set it apart in the wireless carrier market. One of these
is Wifi calling. Wifi calling is the ability to make and receive calls/messages over a
wireless internet connection. (T-mobile Support, 2011). This is a very attractive option
for customers who are worried about coverage (as many potential t-mobile customers
are), as you just need a wifi connection to make calls.
Another Strength of T-mobile is their global coverage. T-mobile has the largest global
coverage of all carriers, and does not charge any additional fees. Many customers need to
call relatives in other countries or make international calls for business, and this feature
of T-mobiles service helps them stand apart.(T-mobile)
T-mobile also has the fastest nationwide 4GLTE network. For customers looking for
speed, T-mobile would be the clear winner. Their network reaches over 200 million
people and 96% of all Americans. Many customers are concerned about being in range,
and chances are, with T-mobile, you would be.
One major strength of T-mobile is their competitive prices. T-mobile doesnt charge extra
for going over your limit (T-mobile) . This includes data and international calls. Tmobile doesnt charge roaming fees, nor do they have annual service contracts. Also, Tmobile has the lowest price per month when comparing its plans to its competitors plans
(Morran, 2013).
Many other cell phone service companies charge an upgrade fee for new phones, or
make you wait a long time before you can get a new phone without a fee. T-mobile
started something called the Jump! program that allows the customer to upgrade their
phone whenever they want. This program also includes replacement of lost or damaged
phones (T-mobile). Obviously, consumers often want the next big thing and this often
applies to technology. Offering upgrades whenever is incredibly appealing to consumer
and allows them to keep up technologically.
T-mobile has created the Gosmart mobile program, which is a pre-paid phone program
designed to be transparent. There are no extra charges, and no hidden fees. All of the

options include unlimited calling and texting, with two adding unlimited web (Gosmart
program). The Gosmart program is designed for customers that are not ready to commit.
Cell phone service carriers have become incredibly competitive since the industrys
beginnings. Now, many companies are offering deals to give customers money if they are
willing to switch service providers. T-mobile is one of them. T-mobile is willing to pay
650 dollars of your termination fee, 350 for each line and 300 for each phone (Pagliery,
2014). This is an obvious strength for T-Mobile. They are legitimately promising that
customers will like their services, and area allowing them to switch carriers for a much
lower price.

Opportunities
T-Mobile is the smallest wireless provider of the top four in the United States, while this
could be seen as a weakness, we at RLK Partners, also view this as an opportunity. TMobile could, if it so chooses, expand to increase its share of the market, or potentially
merge with another major provider. As weve seen in its history, T-Mobile was not afraid
to merge with Metro PCS. Right now, Sprint has is interested in acquiring T-Mobile,
which would be a unique opportunity to create a super-provider and catch up to
Verizon and AT&T.
T-Mobile is also perceived as having lesser quality service than some of its competitors.
We do not understand the technology involved with wireless providers, but T-Mobile has
the opportunity to change that image. If T-Mobile was able to improve its service, the
publics perception of the company would drastically improve.
Similarly, T-Mobile could add new coverage plans to what its already offering. Weve
seen T-Mobiles competitor Sprint increase its plans in the past year. The currently have
a successful advertising campaign stressing the new plan. T-Mobile could also add
variety to the plans customers can buy, thus improving its image as a customer-friendly
company.
We, at RLK Partners, view T-Mobiles brand and current logo as a weakness. We do not
believe the color pink is good for potential customers, and may alienate males customers.
There is a clear opportunity to correct this, as T-Mobile can rebrand itself with a new
logo and a new color scheme. The ability to create and promote a new logo is an exciting
opportunity.
A recent study shows that by the end of 2014, T-Mobiles coverage will reach 250
million people. This is 96 percent of the continental United States. When this occurs, TMobile has the opportunity to start a new marketing and advertising campaign, and the
chance to improve its image as a sub-par provider.

In recent years, tablets have joined the wireless market, as they need coverage to work in
the absence of wifi. T-Mobile has an opportunity to take over the tablet field and offer
coverage that its competitors cannot. New technology in the market can always been seen
as an opportunity for T-Mobile.
Threats
The current top three wireless carriers are Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint. It doesnt seem
like Verizon and AT&T would ever merge, but one of them could potentially buy Sprint.
This would create a huge problem for T-Mobile because one of the larger carriers (AT&T
or Verizon) would become even more powerful, putting them impossibly ahead of TMobile. AT&T currently has 110 million subscribers, Verizon has 103 million, and
Sprint has 54 million. T-Mobile is far behind the top two with only 47 million subscribers
(Pagliery 2014). Therefore, if Verizon or AT&T acquired Sprint, they would gain 54
million new subscribers, putting them even further ahead of Sprint. This would make
them even more powerful, profitable, etc., making it that much harder for T-Mobile to
compete.
Another threat to T-Mobiles business would be a competitor improving their network
and speed. As of right now T-Mobile has the fastest nationwide 4GLTE network (Kelly
2014), which partially explains their recent growth in customers. If another carrier, like
Verizon, develops networks that match up to T-Mobile or surpass T-Mobile, the carrier
will lost customers because the other benefits Verizon offers are currently more
appealing.
Pricing is a serious threat to T-Mobile. As of right now, they mostly appeal to customers
because of their low prices and various gimmicks (paying customers to switch from
AT&T, no annual contracts, etc.) Therefore, if one of the top three carriers drastically
lowers prices to meet T-Mobiles, there is very little reason for a customer to switch to TMobile or think about using them as their carrier in general. T-Mobile is number four;
they do not have the best service or reach as many people as the top three carriers.
Therefore, they need to have the best prices, an aspect that some customers cant refuse.
Another threat to T-Mobiles business would be another carrier securing exclusive rights
to a groundbreaking new technological advancement in the wireless industry. The release
of the iPhone in 2007 was a prime example of this. The iPhone was first sold exclusively
with AT&T (Kuittinen 20012). Since everyone wanted the iPhone, the other carriers
suffered immensely in terms of profit/business until they finally struck deals with Apple
and acquired the iPhone as well. If this happens again with a different product and only
one or two carriers secure the rights (one of them not being T-Mobile), T-Mobile would
fall behind in terms of gaining customers and could also potentially lose customers.
TEAM CONTRIBUTIONS

Team RLK Partners met outside of class from 7:30-9 on March 19th and briefly on
March 20th to work on the SWOT.
Tim, Jessica, and Mary all made contributions when deciding on a company to analyze.
They also came up with a group name as a team.
Tim wrote the brief background on T-Mobile and discussed the PR issue. He also did the
bibliography, which took him a total of 1 hour. He was also responsible for the
Opportunities section of the SWOT analysis chart. In order to fill out the opportunities
section Tim used a variety of sources which required a lot of research. Tim also worked
to organize our Google Document, helping us stay on track and keep up with each group
members work.
Jessica analyzed T-Mobiles strengths and weaknesses. She was also in charge of finding
sources for most of these strengths and weaknesses. Along with library research, Jessica
worked hard to find online customer reviews and ratings of T-Mobile. She also
researched T-Mobiles overall image, and came up with ways they could improve their
reputation and profits.
Mary found most of the library sources for the team. She also worked on the in-text
citations for the analysis of the SWOT chart (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
threats). She was also in charge of analyzing the threats section of the chart. Mary also
completed the Team Contributions section. She also did the bibliography for the library
sources. She also edited the final SWOT analysis.
Our team reviewed the final SWOT analysis document together, editing each others
work and improving upon our writing. We also double-checked our sources and our
bibliography to make sure we properly cited all websites, articles, and books. Tim,
Jessica, and Mary all worked hours after group meetings doing individual work for the
analysis. We added our work to the Google Doc so all members of the group could
review it before our next meeting.

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