T-Mobile's 'uncarrier' model could be heading to Europe
It's no secret T-Mobile did a great job of poaching customers from rival networks using its “uncarrier” campaign. Now, the network's Netherlands counterpart, T-Mobile Netherlands, is looking to take the same approach in order to turn the company around.
According to Bloomberg, T-Mobile Netherlands, or rather its parent company Deutsche Telekom, is looking to fix its flailing Dutch business. There, T-Mobile's network has been losing subscribers year after year, dropping from 4.9 million in 2011 to 3.7 million in 2015, and Deutsche Telekom is desperate to figure out a solution. At the minute, one serious option would be to mimic the strategy of T-Mobile U.S. and its charismatic CEO John Legere, and disrupt the Dutch market through offering aggressive pricing as part of a revamped “uncarrier” approach.
Deutsche Telekom lost more than 1 million mobile subscribers in the Netherlands in the last three years.
Deutsche Telekom lost more than 1 million mobile subscribers in the Netherlands in the last three years. And as such, something has to be done. CEO Tim Hoettges told Bloomberg TV in February that he isn't against adopting “something like we have offered in the U.S., being quite aggressive,” but at the same time, the company has also noted that it prefers a combination of mobile and fixed services. T-Mobile U.S., on the other hand, focuses on wireless only, and gained “more than a million subscribers for six straight quarters,” the article adds. Significant changes to the company's offerings may be required if T-Mobile Netherlands really does hope to turn it around. Though if the U.S. carrier's recent performance is anything to go by, an “uncarrier” approach could be the Dutch network's best chance of survival.