T-Mobile And Apple Collaborate On Cellular Phone Service With “MSMEs” Entrepreneurs In The US

T-Mobile and Apple, a service collaboration for small industries. (photo: doc. pixabay)

JAKARTA - T-Mobile US Inc announced on Thursday, July 20 that it has partnered with Apple Inc to offer a cellular phone package that will include a subsidized iPhone and a suite of paid services from Apple aimed at small business owners, better known in Indonesia as term SMEs.

The deal will help Apple distribute Business Essentials, a paid service it started last year for businesses with small IT departments. Apple's services, which range between $2.99 and $12.99 per month per employee, allow businesses to install and update apps and provide employees with cloud storage.

Under the new T-Mobile plan, which carriers say will be available soon, T-Mobile will cover the cost of an iPhone 13 for every business employee and will combine Business Essence along with T-Mobile's wireless services. The cost may be as low as $50 per month when a company has six or more lines on the plan.

T-Mobile said the plan also includes Wi-Fi coverage on flights from American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Alaska Airlines, with United Airlines appearing later this year.

"We created plans around Apple Business Essentials that give small businesses everything they need to keep their employees connected," Callie Field, president of T-Mobile's business group, said in an interview with Reuters.

T-Mobile plans also include AppleCare+, Apple's insurance plan that covers repair or replacement of damaged devices.

T-Mobile handles all customer billing under the new deal, and both companies declined to say how much of T-Mobile's monthly fees will be passed on to Apple.

Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of corporate product marketing, told Reuters that the iPhone maker's goal was to offer a business plan that would streamline the process of purchasing and setting up devices.