Oct. 27, 2003

T-Mobile has launched what it’s dubbing the 3-Day Weekend, offering subscribers unlimited calling on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The plan retails for $39.99 a month and also includes 600 anytime minutes. The package is available not only to new subscribers but also existing customers--the catch, however, is that current T-Mobile users must call to make the switch. In other words, no automatic migration. A quick look at the calendar reveals that the implementation of wireless number portability is less than a month away, so it’s not too difficult to guess at T-Mobile’s motivations here--you lure customers into calling, dangle the free Friday minutes and a few other carrots, and convince them to extend their contracts. The question now is this: To what extremes will wireless carriers go to convince customers to stay? I’m thinking we’ve barely scratched the surface. After all, it’s not even November yet. If I were a T-Mobile customer with a contract set to expire in the near future, I’d hold out for a personal call from pitchwoman Catherine Zeta-Jones, pleading with me to stay. But that’s just me. --Jason Ankeny