T-Mobile acquires Layer3 TV as it plans to launch a TV service in 2018

For anyone out there who was wondering if T-Mobile might jump into other markets to try and shake things up after disrupting the mobile wireless industry, the carrier has just announced one such move.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere confirmed today that T-Mobile is going through the process of acquiring Layer3 TV, which bills itself as the “next generation cable company,” as part of an effort to put its mobile video strategy “into overdrive.” That means that the company is officially entering the TV industry and will be applying its “Un-carrier” initiative to this market in the near future.

The magenta carrier is planning on launching its own TV service sometime in 2018, buoyed by its nationwide LTE coverage and the technology in place from Layer3 TV. T-Mobile is keeping the details under wraps for now, but Layer3 TV already offers both streaming content and live TV, so it’s likely that we will see the same options from whatever TV service T-Mobile launches in 2018.

T-Mobile says the new TV service is meant to do away with things like “clunky technology,” “multi-year service contracts,” and “bills loaded with fees.” Legere says that T-Mobile is going to fix the pain points and bring “real choice” to consumers with their new TV service.

Disrupting the TV industry looks pretty familiar from one service to another, with coverage of live network options as well as streaming content, with packages priced per parcel. The goal for some is to do away with a cable subscription requirement to access content, but even that’s not always the case. It will be interesting to see how T-Mobile can shake things up or if it will just be more of the same of what we’ve seen from services like YouTube TV and Hulu.

What do you think of the idea?

source: androidandme