T-Mobile Exempts 'Pokemon Go' From Data Caps
The carrier will exempt Pokemon Go from counting towards data limits until August 2017.
By Tom Brant •
This story originally appeared on PCMag
There are many things to worry about before you head outside wielding a Pokemon Go app: Is your phone's battery at 100 percent? Will the app crash? Are you nearing your data limit for the month?
If you're a T-Mobile customer, your carrier just solved that last problem for you. Starting Tuesday, T-Mobile subscribers get unlimited data while using the country's most popular app through August 2017. That's right: whether or not the Pokemon craze lasts that long is anyone's guess, but free data will be there either way.
The promotion is part of the "T-Mobile Tuesdays" marketing stunt, whose launch last month made headlines when it broke Domino's by giving away too much free pizza. If there's anything that Americans love more than pizza right now, it's Pokemon Go, so T-Mobile had better be ready this time.
Along with the unlimited data (which, like new Pokemon, you have to "claim" in order for it to be added to your account), next Tuesday's offers include a free Frosty from Wendy's, a free Lyft ride up to $15 and a 50 percent discount on select phone accessories, presumably intended to be used for external chargers to sidestep Pokemon Go's notorious battery drain.
There are also some Pokemon-related prizes next week: 250 people will win $100 to spend on PokeCoins, and five people will win trips anywhere in the US to hunt new Pokemon with a guest.
That T-Mobile would capitalize on the Pokemon Go craze by offering free data isn't surprising. Its Binge On and Music Freedom offerings already give subscribers unlimited streaming video and audio streaming from many companies, from Spotify to NBC, without counting against their data plans.
