• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

T-Mobile Is Giving Customers a Year of Free Data to Play Pokemon Go

By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 14, 2016, 4:09 PM ET
NETHERLANDS-POKEMON-GAME
Gamers play with the Pokemon Go application on their mobile phone, at the Grote Markt in Haarlem, on July 13, 2016. / AFP / ANP / Remko de Waal / Netherlands OUT (Photo credit should read REMKO DE WAAL/AFP/Getty Images)Photograph by Remko De Waal—AFP/Getty Images

There are few executives in telecommunications—or most other industries for that matter—who are better masters of free publicity than T-Mobile CEO John Legere.

And so, with the popularity of the Nintendo smartphone game Pokemon Go exploding off the charts, Legere got in front of the parade and took to Twitter to announce that T-Mobile customers could get free data for the next year while playing the game.

“Ready to catch them all!? #TMobileTuesdays is giving you unlimited data use for #PokémonGo!,” Legere tweeted along with a picture of himself with inside the game’s augmented reality environment.

Ready to catch them all!? #TMobileTuesdays is giving you unlimited data use for #PokémonGo! https://t.co/NrFAxW3KYqpic.twitter.com/pPXxezGV0r

— John Legere (@JohnLegere) July 14, 2016

The offer kicks off starting on Tuesday, July 19 as of part of T-Mobile’s existing Tuesday free rewards promotion. The free Pokemon data will be an offer in the special rewards app for the next few weeks. Customers who claim it will be able to play Pokemon Go without having the game’s data usage count against their monthly allowance through the end of August 2017.

Legere had earlier tweeted that the number of active Pokemon players on T-Mobile’s network had doubled in less than a week and their data usage had quadrupled.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Pokemon Go, released last week, has quickly become a cultural phenomenon, with people wandering through every major city peering into their smartphones to catch virtual monsters projected onto the real world through their camera apps.

The Nintendo (NTDOY) game is already the most popular mobile game in history with more daily active users than Twitter and rapidly closing in on Snapchat.

T-Mobile (TMUS) has been the fastest-growing U.S. wireless carrier for the past few years thanks to Legere’s populist bent and a bevy of price cuts and new features. Last year, the carrier introduced BingeOn, which allowed customers to watch many popular streaming video services without using up their data allowance.

About the Author
By Aaron Pressman
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

CryptoYouTube
Exclusive: YouTube launches option for U.S. creators to receive stablecoin payouts through PayPal
By Ben WeissDecember 11, 2025
1 hour ago
Five panelists seated; two women and five men.
AIBrainstorm AI
The race to deploy an AI workforce faces one important trust gap: What happens when an agent goes rogue?
By Amanda GerutDecember 11, 2025
4 hours ago
Stephanie Zhan, Partner Sequoia Capital speaking on stage at Fortune Brainstorm AI San Francisco 2025.
AIEye on AI
Highlights from Fortune Brainstorm AI San Francisco
By Jeremy KahnDecember 11, 2025
5 hours ago
Sam Altman
Arts & EntertainmentMedia
‘We’re not just going to want to be fed AI slop for 16 hours a day’: Analyst sees Disney/OpenAI deal as a dividing line in entertainment history
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 11, 2025
5 hours ago
InnovationBrainstorm AI
Backflips are easy, stairs are hard: Robots still struggle with simple human movements, experts say
By Nicholas GordonDecember 11, 2025
6 hours ago
Personal FinanceLoans
Is it worth it to pay off a personal loan early?
By Joseph HostetlerDecember 11, 2025
6 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
At 18, doctors gave him three hours to live. He played video games from his hospital bed—and now, he’s built a $10 million-a-year video game studio
By Preston ForeDecember 10, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Baby boomers have now 'gobbled up' nearly one-third of America's wealth share, and they're leaving Gen Z and millennials behind
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 8, 2025
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
‘Be careful what you wish for’: Top economist warns any additional interest rate cuts after today would signal the economy is slipping into danger
By Eva RoytburgDecember 10, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Exclusive: U.S. businesses are getting throttled by the drop in tourism from Canada: ‘I can count the number of Canadian visitors on one hand’
By Dave SmithDecember 10, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
‘We have not seen this rosy picture’: ADP’s chief economist warns the real economy is pretty different from Wall Street’s bullish outlook
By Eleanor PringleDecember 11, 2025
16 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Netflix–Paramount bidding wars are pushing Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav toward billionaire status—he has one rule for success: ‘Never be outworked’
By Preston ForeDecember 10, 2025
1 day ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.