T-Mobile will give its biggest discount ever to the military

Supporting the military is nothing new to T-Mobile. The carrier is one of America's most dedicated veteran employers. In keeping with the practice of asking customers what they want and giving it to them, T-mobile asked its veteran employees what they needed. The veterans answered truthfully. T-Mobile listened — in a big way.

"We change to adapt to our customers' needs, we listen to their pain points" says Matt Staneff, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of T-Mobile. "Our veteran employees and customers transitioning out of the military were just making ends meet during long periods of unemployment."

And so began the company's Military Support Initiative.

T-Mobile decided to go all-in for the military-veteran community in a number of ways. On top of the benefits of buying into T-Mobile's ONE family plan (of which there are many, including a Netflix subscription), T-Mobile will now offer that plan at half-off for military families — along with half-off of popular Samsung smartphones. It's not just the biggest discount T-Mobile has ever offered, it's the biggest discount in the wireless industry. Ever.

But the carrier's plan is more than just a discount and some great service, it's a real investment in military communities. It starts with the discount, but T-Mobile quickly recognized that making it easier for transitioning military families to make ends meet was solving only part of the bigger problem: the long period of unemployment. So, T-Mobile decided to do something about that, too.

"Our plan to hire military veterans has had phenomenal success to date," says Staneff. "We have vets in every department performing very well. What veterans bring to the culture of T-Mobile is one of the keys to our success."

A few years back, the company pledged to hire some 5,000 veteran employees, and not just for entry-level positions. The company employs vets at all levels and in all areas. Now, they've pledged to hire 10,000 more veterans — and their spouses — in the next five years.

"It took a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to do during transition," says Tana Avellar, once an active duty Army officer who now serves in the Washington State National Guard. She is also a T-Mobile employee. "I can't be more proud to work for a company that is such an advocate for their employees, veterans, and their families overall."

But T-Mobile is looking to help out all veterans, not just the ones who want to work for them. It's teaming up with FourBlock, a career readiness nonprofit designed for veterans and their families. The company is funding FourBlock's Massive Open Online Course, a training course based in 15 cities in the U.S. (with four more on the way). The training helps spouses gain employment while giving them the confidence to pursue the jobs they're more than qualified to do.

The last part of T-Mobile's investment plan is a real investment, in both T-Mobile's future and military families. The company is rolling out a $8 billion investment in new infrastructure, and will start that with a $500 million plan to build new 5G towers in military communities.

"Our mission is to have the best coverage for all Americans," says Staneff. "And bases aren't always near big cities. So, we wanted to make sure everyone had access to the fastest networks, whether they live in cities or rural small towns, military bases or somewhere in between. They all deserve the same access."