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T-Mobile's new initiative expands jobs and services for military, veterans, and their families
- T-Mobile wants to give back to the military community with a stronger hiring effort, discounts, and network upgrades.
- The hiring effort looks to bring on 10,000 military veterans and spouses in the next five years, while T-Mobile One Military nets military families significant discounts.
- T-Mobile One Military will be available April 22.
T-Mobile announced a military initiative that the Uncarrier said includes its biggest hiring push, largest discount program to date, and at least $500 million to fund 5G-ready infrastructure for military bases.
The Bellevue telecom promised to hire 10,000 military veterans and spouses in the next five years — an increase from the 5,000 military hires T-Mobile pledged to make in 2016. The company said the hiring effort is already paying dividends, with military hires having higher retention rates than regular employees.
Even if military veterans and spouses strike out with T-Mobile, the Uncarrier partnered with FourBlock to ease the transition into the workforce. FourBlock is a non-profit that provides veterans with career programs to help them find jobs in various industries.
In addition to expanding FourBlock’s presence to 20 cities across the U.S., T-Mobile will also launch the non-profit’s career programs online for easier access.
This part of the initiative is arguably the most beneficial for the military population. The United States’ 22 million military veterans account for seven percent of the general population. However, veterans also make up 12 percent of the adult homeless population, according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.
T-Mobile’s hiring effort might not make a significant dent into those statistics, but it should stave off any substantial increases.
The Uncarrier also announced T-Mobile One Military, a discounted version of its existing T-Mobile One plan that is exclusive to military families. The plan nets military families 20 percent off the first line and 50 percent off each additional line, up to six lines in total.
If a family of four were to join T-Mobile One Military, which launches April 22, they would pay $100 each month.
Along with the discounted plan, T-Mobile also announced a promotion that takes 50 percent off the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. Exclusive to military families, the promotion applies the discount as bill credits and lasts through May 31.
Finally, T-Mobile will invest $500 million in network upgrades and expansion near military bases. That should allow for improved coverage, since military bases are normally located outside densely-populated urban areas.
The network upgrades and expansion should also play huge factors in T-Mobile incorporating its low-band 600MHz spectrum into its network. The spectrum not only allows for improved coverage, but also lays the groundwork for T-Mobile’s 5G plans.