Military Appreciation Month is an opportunity to celebrate and thank the brave servicemembers that continue to do their part to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the nation. And as they do, T-Mobile will stand with them.
The Un-carrier supports the military community year-round through hiring commitments, career programs, employee resource groups, military rate plans and more. These efforts break down into four categories, each a crucial component of the strongest portfolio of military and military-family benefits in the wireless industry.
"As the Executive Sponsor for the Veterans & Allies Network, I have the opportunity to see the many ways T-Mobile's military employees take care of each other, both within the company and out in the wider world," says Jon Freier, Executive Vice President, T-Mobile Consumer. "These people come from a common background of teamwork and service, and they bring an incredible focus, work ethic and sense of camaraderie to the Un-carrier. We couldn't be who we are without them."
HIRE
Whether veterans in career transition or their spouses active in the workforce, military families add incredible value to our society during and after their service and T-Mobile is committed to providing them meaningful opportunities. Standalone T-Mobile previously made a commitment to hire 10,000 military vets and their spouses by 2023 - and now, inclusive of veterans and veteran spouses the Un-carrier brought on board with the Sprint merger, we're pleased to share we're over halfway there!
The first step on the hiring path is recruiting, and T-Mobile has been looking to Veterans themselves for ways it can improve recruiting and hiring practices from the get-go. Liv Abreu is a military partnership manager for T-Mobile's Military & Diversity Recruiting program, who arrived at the Un-carrier after spending three years as an Army parachutist in the 82nd Airborne Division. Given her personal experience transitioning from military service to retail to management and recruiting, she knows exactly how valuable military-made skills are - and how to recognize them.
"Leadership, for example, is a basic skill you gain in the military," Abreu says. "A lot of transitioning servicemembers might not be able to speak to their experience as leaders in the context of a civilian job, so it's the job of the recruiter to talk the candidate through how to better communicate that skill."
ASISTENCIA
With their experience operating in cooperative teams, deploying in fast-paced environments and thinking on their feet, military people boast skillsets that are uniquely valuable to a growing workplace like T-Mobile.
"There are soft skills that come with being trained in the military and that you acquire throughout your service, things you develop through your experiences that are 100% applicable to any job you apply for," Abreu says. "You have to be able to pivot quickly and you need to be mission ready. That agility is not just physical but mental. You have to make quick decisions - sometimes life-threatening decisions - in a short time. In addition, military talent is laser-focused on the task at hand and our work in T-Mobile requires that strategic mindset."
It’s a major Un-carrier priority to tap into this talent pool of those willing and able to contribute at all levels across the business. But the emphasis isn’t in on simply recruiting talented individuals — it’s also on retaining them and supporting them throughout their entire career trajectory with T-Mobile. With its LiveMagenta benefits package, T-Mobile offers a wide array of personal and professional development programs, from money management advisement to mental health and wellness counseling to life coaching.
Military employees of T-Mobile help one another, too. More than 12,000 have joined the Veterans & Allies Network (VAN), an employee resource group for military service members, current and otherwise, and their spouses. Members of VAN meet in local chapters and also convene in national, virtual meetups to find allyship, discuss relevant issues and volunteer for service projects in their communities.
CONECTAR
While serving at home or abroad, during active duty, reserve or retirement, and military families need to stay connected. Not only does T-Mobile now offer all of its customers the fastest and broadest 5G network in America, but the Un-carrier provides military the best unlimited rate plans in wireless.
With the T-Mobile military discount, active-duty military members, Veterans, current or former Guard or Reserve members and Gold Star Families qualify for T-Mobile's signature plan, Magenta Military. With 50% off family lines, customers can get four lines of unlimited talk, text and data for just $100 per month with AutoPay. And because 5G is included in all of T-Mobile's rate plans, customers also get access to America's largest and fastest 5G network. PLUS free unlimited texting and 2G data in 210 foreign countries and destinations abroad, SD streaming and more.
For $35/month/line with AutoPay, military customers can sign up for four lines T-Mobile’s Magenta Max Military plan, which includes unlimited talk, text and data that cannot slow based on usage, 4K UHD streaming on capable devices, 2X data speed and texting abroad and all the other perks of the Magenta Military plan.
MOBILIZE
As part of our commitment to serve those who serve, T-Mobile is proud to support organizations that improve the lives of military and Veteran communities throughout every stage of life and career. For instance, T-Mobile partners with Hiring Our Heroes (HOH), a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation initiative that helps servicemembers and military spouses prepare for and connect with meaningful employment.
Through this partnership the Un-carrier has access to several different pathways for sourcing military talent, including career readiness programs and recruitment fairs at bases and other official locations around the world. This year alone T-Mobile has brought in three management-level military employees, one of whom went into government affairs, another into consumer markets, and the third into emerging products.
"The return on investment is absolutely there, but what's more impactful for us is to follow that candidate's journey and measure our impact as an organization showing up in these spaces," Abreu says. "We love our partners at HOH and they love us. Doing the work we do together is so fulfilling, especially for me as a Veteran myself."
Additionally, since 2018, the company has partnered with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide up to 70,000 lines of wireless service to doctors, nurses and hospital staff across their hospitals. The Un-carrier also worked with the VA Secretary's Center for Strategic Partnerships (SCSP) to enhance access to the VA's telehealth platform, VA Video Connect, by providing free unlimited access to online telehealth services. Most recently T-Mobile brought 5G capacity to the VA Hospital in Miami, with plans to expand to more facilities in the coming months.
And the Un-carrier's VA partnership goes beyond the virtual. Earlier this year, the company brought a super-fast Ultra Capacity 5G network online at the Miami VA Medical Center. Now doctors and nurses throughout the facility can quickly access high bandwidth files such as imaging results, labs and medical charts without having to be tethered to a computer. It's a high-speed upgrade that will positively impact the thousands of military patients the Miami VA serves every year.
Whether helping to stabilize the day-to-day unpredictability of the pandemic or overcoming the massive technical challenges of the nation's largest 5G rollout, the contributions of military servicemembers are a crucial component in T-Mobile's ongoing success. The same can be said for their contributions to the nation. America owes a debt of gratitude to those who serve in our armed forces, and T-Mobile is honored to give back to those who have already given so much of themselves.
For more information about the Un-carrier’s military-friendly initiatives and services, check out T-Mobile’s Military Community page.
Military Plans: Verify military status for account holder within 45 days and maintain valid military line on account; otherwise plan becomes Magenta (additional cost up to $20/line per month). Magenta: During congestion, heavy data users (>100GB/mo.) may notice reduced speeds due to data prioritization. Max: Activate up to 4K UHD streaming on capable device, or video typically streams at 480p. 5G: Fastest based on analysis by Ookla® of Speedtest Intelligence® data 5G median download speeds for Q1 2021. Las marcas comerciales de Ookla se usan bajo licencia y se reimprimen con autorización. Capable device required & coverage not available in some areas. Some uses may require certain plan or feature; see T-Mobile.com. ced data for user experience collected from September 2020 until February 2021. Select words in this release were edited on July 6, 2023.