In an effort to give consumers more confidence about its prepaid service’s network, T-Mobile has rebranded MetroPCS as “Metro by T-Mobile.”
The new brand launches next month, along with updated pricing options including a $60-per month unlimited plan that now comes with an Amazon Prime membership and Google One cloud storage.
In a video blog announcing the news, T-Mobile CEO John Legere said prepaid services suffer from outdated perceptions of things like limited coverage. The carrier hopes to emphasize that the new brand is powered by T-Mobile’s LTE network.
Since T-Mobile acquired the brand in 2013, Metro has expanded to cover more than 323 million people, up from just more than 103 million five years ago. The number of subscribers has also doubled in the last five years, according to T-Mobile, now hitting about 18 million subscribers.
According to a release, the prepaid service used to operate in 15 cities, but now has nationwide reach, including more than 10,000 branded retail locations.
The carrier did note that T-Mobile customers will get priority if there’s network congestion, and data rates will slow on unlimited packages once users hit 35 GB.
“Since the inception of Metro 16 years ago, we have always served the underserved. That hasn’t changed over the years, but the quality of our service sure has. And now, with Metro by T-Mobile, we’re starting a new phase to bring better value to more people than ever before,” says Tom Keys, president of Metro by T-Mobile, in a statement.