(Credit: T-Mobile)
Don't miss out on our latest stories. Add PCMag as a preferred source on Google.
T-Mobile is making a bid for a bigger slice of the business-connectivity market with what it's calling SuperMobile. Announced Wednesday, with pricing revealed Thursday, SuperMobile is built around "network slicing," a 5G feature that lets a carrier set aside connection speeds and traffic-priority levels for particular (read: paying) users.
"The slice optimizes network resources to help give business use cases — like video calling or transferring large files — the boost they need, when they need it," T-Mobile says. "And unlike legacy networks that react only after problems arise, the network's latency innovations work proactively with applications — allowing dynamic adjustments to network resources for data-intensive apps or livestreaming."
Slicing is one of 5G's oldest promises, but it's also been among the last to be implemented by US carriers. T-Mobile began offering it in August 2023, three years after beginning to deploy so-called standalone 5G, a prerequisite for slicing.
In February, T-Mobile leveraged slicing to launch its T-Priority service for first responders; with SuperMobile, it's now casting a wider net for slicing customers.
This plan—$95 on a single line, $42 a line on six or more lines—tops a new lineup of Business Performance plans that replace the older lineup of four Business Unlimited plans (but which existing subscribers can stay on).
In addition to the network slice, SuperMobile includes unlimited premium data, 300GB of full-speed mobile hotspot use, T-Satellite messaging via SpaceX's Starlink, and "Threat Protect" security (defined vaguely as "always-on, industry-leading security to help protect your business and reduce exposure to threats across any network and every app on your device").
But not every business, large or small, may need a network slice's high performance as critically as a firefighter or police officer responding to a call.
The video clip in T-Mobile's press release—which opens with Kevin Bacon sitting on a desk on a beach and saying, "Today, business happens virtually anywhere"—includes testimonials from Delta Air Lines and the well-services firm Axis Energy Services. Both companies seem like they would find near-real-time responsiveness and near-universal coverage worth paying extra for.
But the list of use cases on T-Mobile's SuperMobile page leads off with journalism: "Be the first to break a story with a network that delivers adaptive performance built to meet the moment."
As a subscriber to a T-Mobile Business Unlimited plan, my telecom priorities include having the carrier refrain from hiking my rate again and having in-flight Wi-Fi work more often.
T-Mobile's other two new business plans don't include the network slice and shave off some of SuperMobile's other benefits, notably the satellite messaging:
- ProMobile: $80 for one line or $34 a line for six or more lines, includes 200GB premium data and 200GB hotspot
- CoreMobile: $60 for one line or $21 a line for six or more lines, provides 50GB premium data and 5GB hotspot
All three plans include 5GB of high-speed data in Canada and Mexico, but while SuperMobile throws in another 5GB of international roaming in most of the rest of the world, ProMobile and CoreMobile only offer fast roaming in 11 countries in central Europe and 2G-slow roaming elsewhere. And only ProMobile includes some free in-flight Wi-Fi, in its case, limited to one hour per flight plus four full-flight sessions a year.
Overall, these changes align somewhat with T-Mobile's changes to its consumer plans in April: Each time, the carrier kept the cheapest plan in the old and new lineup at the same price (with CoreMobile replacing Business Unlimited Select) but removed the second-cheapest plan (the former Business Unlimited Advanced) while adding benefits to the two most expensive plans.