T-Mobile to Release Home TV Service, TVision Home

Yesterday, T-Mobile introduced a new home TV service known as TVision Home in its latest push to take on Big Cable. The “un-carrier” revealed that the service is an upgraded and rebranded version of Layer3 TV, a company they acquired back in 2017. T-Mobile wants people to switch over to TVision Home so badly that they are willing to pay up to $500 in early termination fees for those in Dish and DirecTV contracts.

TVision Home is ready to go live on April 14 in Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington D.C. metro areas, and Longmont, CO – areas Layer3 has already been serving.

The service currently works through a cable box, but T-Mobile is ambitious to someday launch TVision as an app where users will be able to choose from a variety of subscription services. They’re also looking towards a future of 5G where wireless broadband can replace home Internet. It still stands however, that T-Mobile’s 5G network (New T-Mobile as it’s been called) is reliant on the merger with Sprint.

“TVision Home is about so much more than home TV… it’s TV built for the 5G era,” said Mike Sievert, COO and President of T-Mobile. “With New T-Mobile, we’ll bring real choice, competition, better service, lower prices and faster speeds…right into your living room. And – speaking of speed – while the Cableopoly innovates at the pace of the cable companies, we’ll innovate at the pace of the internet to give customers more value and more freedom more quickly.”

TVision Home is prepared to offer 275+ channels and over 35,000+ On Demand movies and shows, social media content, a personalized home screen and DVR for each user, smart speaker voice control through Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, and access to Nest security cameras. T-Mobile is also dedicated to providing a strong customer service team, no price increase over time, no hidden fees, and a lower-than-average monthly cost for a full channel lineup.

“The Un-carrier has already changed wireless for good… and today’s news brings us one step closer to taking on Big Cable,” said John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile. “And with the New T-Mobile, we can do more than just offer home TV service … we can offer millions of Americans more choice and competition for TV AND home broadband. I can’t wait to begin un-cabling cable and giving millions the opportunity to cut the cord with Big Cable forever.”

What We’re Reading

• Netflix has plans to launch a SiriusXM comedy channel and a magazine (Digital Trends)
• Amazon has acquired robotics startup, Canvas Technology (TechCrunch)
• The House of Representatives passed a bill that would restore net neutrality (Engadget)