Activity #$1-$ Pick a company or brand$/$business on which to focus. What are the emerging submarkets? What are the trends? What are the strategic implications of the submarkets and trends for the major players? Develop a list of strategic uncertainties and possible strategic actions.

Activity #$2-$ Case Study: T$-$Mobile: The Un$-$Carrier

Consumer frustration with perceived unnecessary costs and complexity in the wireless telecommunications industry has long been prevalent. Yet among a market landscape dominated by rigid contracts and layers of bureaucracy for customers, one company saw an opportunity for disruption. T$-$Mobile, long overshadowed by AT&T$,$ Verizon, and Sprint, decided to craft a unique $$Un$-$carrier$$ strategy that centered on not acting like a wireless carrier.

Since $2013,$ T$-$Mobile has introduced a series of improvements to consumer plans that emphasize simplicity, fairness, and value. These have included eliminating long$-$term contracts, instituting unlimited access to data, and allowing for faster phone upgrades. Though each campaign has differed, the overarching Un$-$carrier strategy was designed to highlight T$-$Mobile$$s commitment to improving the wireless carrier experience beyond parity levels.

T$-$Mobile has gained traction with the strategy through targeted brand positioning and creative messaging. Positioned as the $$rebel$,$ T$-$Mobile is not afraid to challenge industry leaders over the status quo. Putting caps on data utilization, for example, has historically allowed carriers to maximize revenue. T$-$Mobile observed that this frustrated consumers and thus decided to eliminate the common practice of metering voice and text capabilities. By placing customer needs ahead of profit margins, T$-$Mobile was able to effectively separate itself within the market. Additionally, rather than trying to obtain an edge with technological advances, T$-$Mobile created a series of must$-$haves that other carriers weren$$t set up to provide. One example was the company$$s willingness to pay the early termination fees of all customers who switch to T$-$Mobile from other carriers. Ultimately, T$-$Mobile$$s goal was to be everything that traditional players were not. To support this positioning, the company generated a series of humorous advertising spots highlighting why individuals were switching their plans over from competitors. CEO John Legere also initiated a series of TED$-$talk style presentations that pointed to the unique points of differentiation T$-$Mobile offered.

Within a year and a half of launching the campaign, T$-$Mobile had added $22\mathrm{.}5$ million subscribers to its network. The company was also recognized as one of Fast Company Magazine$$s Most Innovative Companies.

Questions:

$1.$Perform a competitive analysis of the wireless telecommunications industry?

$2.$How can T$-$Mobile maintain its competitive advantage?