T-Mobile is booting customers from its oldest plans
T-Mobile is booting customers from its oldest plans
T-Mobile 正在强制用户更换其旧版套餐
All good things come to an end. 天下没有不散的筵席。
Earlier today, T-Mobile started notifying customers that it will be retiring many legacy plans and moving subscribers onto one of its current rate plans. This move includes plans that date back to the 3G era, and it’s going about as well as you’d expect. 今天早些时候，T-Mobile 开始通知用户，公司将取消许多旧版套餐，并将订阅用户迁移至其现行的套餐方案中。此次调整涵盖了追溯至 3G 时代的套餐，而目前的进展正如你所预料的那样（引发了不满）。
Affected customers began sharing screenshots of the text on Reddit and Threads this morning, and T-Mobile’s chief marketing officer Allan Samson confirmed the news to The Verge: 受影响的用户今天上午开始在 Reddit 和 Threads 上分享相关短信的截图，T-Mobile 首席营销官 Allan Samson 向 The Verge 证实了这一消息：
“We’re retiring our oldest plans, some of which were built nearly 15 years ago – in the 3G and 4G eras, and well before our 5G network was fully deployed. Customers will transition to modern plans that provide access to America’s best wireless technology, enhanced features and a 5-year price guarantee for peace of mind. Some customers will see no change to their monthly bill, while some will see a modest adjustment. Every customer moved to a new plan will keep their current benefits while gaining improvements in network and service experiences.” “我们正在淘汰最古老的套餐，其中一些套餐制定于近 15 年前——即 3G 和 4G 时代，远在我们 5G 网络全面部署之前。用户将过渡到现代套餐，这些套餐提供美国最顶尖的无线技术、增强的功能以及 5 年价格保障，让用户无后顾之忧。部分用户的月费不会有变化，而另一些用户则会看到小幅调整。每位迁移到新套餐的用户都将保留当前的权益，同时获得网络和服务体验的提升。”
A post on T-Mobile’s website provides an FAQ with a little more detail. There’s no mention of which specific plans are being retired, but posts on Threads and people I’ve spoken to cite legacy Sprint plans, T-Mobile One plans, and Magenta Max plans, which T-Mobile introduced as recently as 2021. Predictably, not everyone is thrilled. The move has inspired plenty of dismayed and angry posts on Reddit and social media, including a parody “statement.” T-Mobile 官网的一篇帖子提供了包含更多细节的常见问题解答（FAQ）。文中并未提及具体哪些套餐将被淘汰，但 Threads 上的帖子以及我采访的对象指出，这包括旧版 Sprint 套餐、T-Mobile One 套餐，甚至包括 T-Mobile 在 2021 年才推出的 Magenta Max 套餐。不出所料，并非所有人都对此感到高兴。此举在 Reddit 和社交媒体上引发了大量沮丧和愤怒的帖子，甚至出现了一份恶搞的“声明”。
Throughout its rise in the mid-2010s under former CEO John Legere, T-Mobile styled itself as a challenger to the pricier, established carriers: AT&T and Verizon. The company adopted the name “Un-Carrier” and promoted offerings like Price Lock and the Un-Contract Promise as an alternative to Verizon and AT&T’s contracts and price increases. That’s likely why customers are feeling especially irked by the news that they’re being moved to new plans — not to mention that for some subscribers, those plans will cost more. 在 2010 年代中期前任首席执行官 John Legere 的领导下，T-Mobile 将自己定位为挑战 AT&T 和 Verizon 等价格昂贵的老牌运营商的“挑战者”。公司采用了“非运营商”（Un-Carrier）的称号，并推广了“价格锁定”（Price Lock）和“无合约承诺”（Un-Contract Promise）等服务，作为对 Verizon 和 AT&T 合约及涨价行为的替代方案。这很可能就是为什么用户对被迫更换新套餐的消息感到格外恼火的原因——更不用说对于部分订阅用户而言，这些新套餐的费用更高。
There’s not a lot of great news for those who are looking to leave T-Mobile for an alternative. Many MVNOs like Mint Mobile run on T-Mobile’s network — the costs can be much lower, but you’re not really getting away from the big carriers. And while there used to be four major wireless carriers in the US, that number shrank to three when T-Mobile bought Sprint in 2020. 对于那些想要离开 T-Mobile 寻找替代方案的用户来说，并没有什么好消息。许多像 Mint Mobile 这样的移动虚拟运营商（MVNO）都运行在 T-Mobile 的网络上——虽然成本可能低得多，但你并没有真正摆脱这些大型运营商。此外，虽然美国曾经有四家主要无线运营商，但在 2020 年 T-Mobile 收购 Sprint 后，这一数字已缩减为三家。