T-Mobile CTO says less than one percent of customers turn off Binge On, also talks 600MHz deployment

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T-Mobile executives have made quite a few interesting comments at various conferences lately, and today there are a couple of other interesting tidbits to share.

First up, T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray has said that less than eight-tenths of one percent of T-Mobile customers have turned off Binge On since its launch last year. T-Mo has regularly touted how Binge On usage, like when it said back in July that customers had streamed more than 765 million hours of video data-free, and now we know that most customers that have access to Binge On are using it.

As you might expect, all of those customers watching Binge On video has had an effect on T-Mobile’s network. Ray said that the overall volume of data on T-Mo’s network has dropped 13 to 15 percent thanks to Binge On, which is up from 10 percent when Binge On first launched in 2015.

The effect that Binge On has had on T-Mobile’s network has apparently drawn interest from other carriers. Ray revealed that unspecified international carriers have reached out to T-Mo to ask about details on Binge On.

Binge On was the subject of some controversy when it first launched, but T-Mobile worked to improve the service by adding more zero-rated video providers and making it easier to disable Binge On. We haven’t heard much about Binge On lately, though, because of the new T-Mobile One plan that offers unlimited DVD quality video streaming. But while T-Mobile One offers unlimited DVD quality, subscribers also have to pay for a $3 HD Day Pass or the $25 T-Mobile One Plus plan to get HD video, rather than simply flipping a switch like Binge On customers.

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In other news, Ray has said that T-Mobile is still aiming to begin deploying 600MHz spectrum in 2017. The FCC is conducting a 600MHz spectrum auction, and while some are concerned that it’ll take years before carriers begin deploying that spectrum so that consumers can use it, Ray has said, “We look to deploy that spectrum as quickly as possible… So is that a ’17 opportunity, into ’18? We believe that is the case.”

Ray’s statement reiterates what Peter Ewans, T-Mobile’s EVP of Corporate Strategy, said earlier this year. “We believe we’ll be able to get the start of deployment and usage at the end of 2017,” Ewans said.

Sources: FierceWireless, FierceTelecom

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