Wireless carrier T-Mobile is getting into the TV business. The company has acquired Layer3 TV, and has announced plans to use the company’s technology to launch a TV service in 2018.

Details about what that new service will look like a scarce at the moment, but T-Mobile suggests some of the things it won’t have: “multi-year service contracts, confusing sky-high bills, exploding bundles, clunky technologies, outdated UIs, closed systems, and lousy customer service.”

Of course some of those things are subjective. For example, T-Mobile isn’t promising it won’t have “high” bills,” the company just claims customers are tired of “sky-high” bills.

Layer3 TV currently offers a service that combines live TV, DVR, and online media from services including Hulu, Netflix, YouTube and Pandora. The company’s set top box supports Amazon Alexa controls and 4K video.

It’s also the first major company to try to launch a new cable TV business in the US in years.

It’s unclear what T-Mobile’s acquisition of Layer3 TV means for existing customers or what features from the service will carry over to T-Mobile’s upcoming TV service. But it’s hard not to imagine a major wireless component: customers may be able to leverage T-Mobile’s network to stream content on the go as well as at home. Maybe you’ll be able to watch live TV or shows you’ve saved on your DVR on your phone, for example.

 

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4 replies on “T-Mobile will launch a TV service in 2018”

    1. Seems more like a competitor of Tivo. The description of the hardware capabilities is almost identical to their Bolt product.

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