T-Mobile discount wireless brand GoSmart Mobile has become the first US carrier to bundle Facebook access in its service plans without the need for additional mobile data access. This type of arrangement is more common in Southeast Asia and Africa, where mobile data access can be either extremely scarce or expensive and local carriers look for ways to make services more attractive to local users.
The new arrangement begins in January and applies to all of GoSmart’s rate plans whether they include data access or not. The arrangement includes access via the device’s web browser, dedicated Facebook app if available and access through the Facebook Messenger app, though any links outside of Facebook itself will be treated as standard web traffic and excluded from the bundled access.
With Facebook’s mobile traffic growing faster every quarter, bundling access without the need for additional mobile data access will expand availability to even more potential users and open up US carriers to the idea of service bundling, as such arrangements also exist for Facebook, BlackBerry’s BBM, WhatsApp, Viber, KakaoTalk and LINE around the world.
