[MUSIC PLAYING]
Hey, everybody.
Welcome.
I'm Mike Sievert, chief operating officer for T-Mobile.
And I'm Neville Ray, the chief technology guy.
Today, the Un-carrier is shaking things up again
by breaking free from one of the biggest limitations
that customers experience in wireless.
I'm talking about the good old phone number.
While the industry has been evolving all around it,
that 10-digit number you've been using has remained the same.
And it has a huge problem with it.
Your number is locked to one phone.
Well, we're about to change all that.
That's right.
The phone number hasn't changed since the telephone was first invented.
And we don't even question it.
But just because we don't question it doesn't mean it doesn't suck.
I mean, think about it.
Why, when you can email and do a gazillion other things from any device
with an internet connection, are your calls and messages still trapped
on one specific phone?
Why can't your phone number be like your email?
Have you ever left home and realized you forgot your phone,
and then wasted an hour going back to get it, rather than face
a day without it?
Our one single phone number is our entire identity.
The real limitation here is that your phone number only
works on that one phone, and if you don't have that phone, you're screwed.
Now, we all know somebody that carries around two phones, sometimes even
the exact same model--
one for work and one for home.
Seriously, that's crazy expensive, it's inconvenient,
and frankly, it's pretty last century.
So today, we're ending all of it.
We're dragging the phone number into the internet age.
We're introducing Digits, a breakthrough technology that redefines
calling and messaging as we know it.
Digits is unlike anything that's out there today.
Digits is the new name for your real T-Mobile phone
number or multiple numbers.
We call them Digits, because they can do so much more than a plain, old phone
number.
Now with Digits, we have revolutionized calling
and broken all of those old rules.
Digits is a simple solution that lets you call
and text from one number across multiple devices
and call and text from multiple numbers on one device.
First, with Digits, your number now works simultaneously
on all of your devices, regardless of operating system.
So now you can use your Digits to get calls, place calls that come through
as you, pick up your text and message conversations right
where you left off on another device, and listen
to voicemail on all of your devices.
You just pick up the mobile device you want to use today, and it's you,
or even walk up to any browser, log in, and it's you and your number.
I'm talking smartphones, old feature phones, smartwatches, tablets,
computers-- just about any connected device.
OK, the second big thing is this.
Digits puts multiple numbers on one device.
So you can have a work number, a personal number, a shared home number,
or any other number all on one phone.
It's as simple as that.
Now when you forget your phone at home, you
can jump on your computer tablet or another phone, and make those calls.
Your number, your contacts, your messages, everything will be there.
Digits is like nothing else out there.
You get the full quality, reliability, and flexibility,
with all of the amazing services you enjoy today.
Sounds pretty good, right?
Have a look at this demo to see Digits in action.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK][
[MUSIC PLAYING]
- Your phone is amazing.
It can do anything.
But your phone number is ancient and boring.
It can only do one thing.
It works exactly like it did when the phone was invented,
one number locked to one device.
It's time to welcome your number to the 21st century.
Introducing Digits-- now you can easily use your real number on as many devices
as you want.
OK, here's how it works.
Your Digits are tied to your identity, not your phone.
So when someone calls your Digits, they call you.
Not just one device, all your devices ring, because they're all you--
any device, any manufacturer, any OS.
If it can connect to the internet, it can have your Digits.
So when you forget your phone at home, your PC at work can use your Digits.
Just log in, to make and receive calls, text,
and access your contacts and entire message history.
When you're out doing this without your phone, no problem.
Your watch has your Digits.
Call or text, and everyone will know it's you.
When you're way out here, you don't want to bring your brand new device.
So digits your Digits on this one.
When your battery dies at the end of a long day,
you can use your Digits on old faithful.
It's your real number, and so much more.
It's your Digits.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[END PLAYBACK]
That's pretty awesome, right?
And no one has done this.
Now, some of you might be wondering, how do we pull this off?
Well, let me geek out for a minute.
OK, but hang on, Neville.
I don't know if everybody knows this, but I speak Neville.
So I'm going to use this keyboard right here
to translate what Neville says onto the screen.
Just in case there's somebody less techie watching, I got you.
All right, Neville, explain how it all works.
Well, let's give it a go.
Digits is based on a complete redo of how
phone calls are managed by our network.
In today's world, you're authenticated on the network via the HLR,
by that one phone number logged to your one device.
That's how it works, and it's how networks have always been built
and how they've always worked.
You aren't you.
You're just a phone number.
Now you can use multiple devices together with multiple numbers--
a completely transformative, different customer experience.
You should know that this represents years of work
at T-Mobile, major innovation, and multiple new platforms,
touching nearly every single part of our core network.
And this innovation is protected by patent-pending IP,
making what we've done here incredibly difficult to copy or replicate.
There are no standards or industry guide books on this.
We did this our way and of course, way before anyone else.
The starting point for all of this is our IMS core.
The IMS core is the foundation of our advanced network, that has already
enabled us to deliver on a huge list of industry firsts,
like [INAUDIBLE], RCS, EVS.
I could go on.
On top of all of this, we are now delivering major IMS enhancements
to support multi-number and multi-device co-management and routing.
Think of a completely new service management
layer that can handle this complexity, a next gen IMS
network, a matrix of devices and numbers,
with almost innumerable combinations, but super easy for the customer
to manage.
Whatever number of device you choose, the network now does the work for you,
and provides you the seamless connectivity you
have learned to expect from T-Mobile.
When it comes to authentication and associating
all of those numbers and devices with you,
we have to introduce a brand new platform that can house and manage
all of those relationships, a new identity management and entitlement
platform.
This strips away all of the multi-device and number complexity for the customer.
And hugely important is the fact there are no tradeoffs
on your calling experience.
You will continue to receive all of the benefits of carrier-grade network
calling, prioritization and QoS for voice
above other data, associated reliability and core quality,
and of course, full mobility.
This is not some VoIP path.
This is a completely new way to deliver carrier-grade calling and mobility
across multiple devices with multiple numbers
and across multiple radio access networks.
Yeah, and I just want to drill down on that last point
about carrier-grade calling.
Let me start by acknowledging that this isn't
the first time you've been able to add multiple phone numbers to devices.
I mean, Skype, Viber, many other services like that
have been out there for years.
But Digits is fundamentally different.
Those internet calling services just use your data connection.
They're totally different from a carrier-grade calling experience.
Digits uses a circuit-switched or voiceover LTE calling connection
every time you call from our network.
That means it's designed for seamless handoffs between cell towers
as you move around.
And those calls, as Neville said, are prioritized
on our network over other data packages to ensure carrier-grade reliability.
And of course, you get clear-sounding HD calls, which T-Mobile pioneered,
by the way.
This is freeing your phone number and adding your real T-Mobile phone
number with real carrier-grade reliability to all of your devices.
That's something that's never been done before.
And finally, this isn't some add-on that only works on limited devices,
like AT&T's NumberSync or Verizon's One Talk.
We want you to be able to call from any device you're using today.
And that's just calls that Mike is talking about.
We also reinvented message delivery and created
a new message tool that can sync and send messages,
as well as your call logs, to any device you are using.
So you can send a text from your PC, receive a text on your phone,
and then continue the thread on your watch.
How cool is that?
So each one of these elements I've talked about is impressive on its own.
But when you put it all together, this is a total game changer.
Simply put, this has never been done before.
I'd even go further and say it's never even been thought about before.
This is a huge technology breakthrough, and it
won't be replicated anytime soon.
How did I do, Mike?
Kinky enough?
Don't worry, I translated everything for them.
What Neville and team have done here is just amazing.
Of course, the carriers love that, until today, you
had to buy another phone, another phone line, and pay another set of fees,
just to have a second number.
Last year alone, this cost US wireless customers like $10 billion.
That is some bat shit crazy.
So Neville and team spent two years, not just coming up with a solution,
but completely changing the core architecture of our network,
to deliver an experience nobody else could easily replicate.
That means that carriers are going to hate this.
And that's one of the reasons why we love it.
Check out this video.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
- You play different roles in life, so sometimes, you
need different numbers for people to contact you.
Until now, if you use two numbers, you needed to haul around two of these.
But with Digits, you can use as many numbers as you want on one device.
That means you can use personal digits and work digits on the same phone.
So when you're here, you can still make calls from here.
Or you can turn it off for now.
You see your texts, voicemails, and history for all your digits,
and easily switch between them, control when and how people reach you.
So when you text from your running club digits,
with a great new spot for tomorrow's run, they see it's you.
You can use as many numbers as you want.
So when you need a temporary number or a number you only give out
to certain people, you get a real T-Mobile number
with HD sound, no matter which digit to use.
And it works on phones, right in the built-in dialer.
Your phone can have more than app, so it should
be able to have more than one number.
Now you can have multiple digits for all the roles you play in life.
It's your real phone number, but it's so much more.
It's your Digits.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
That so often.
[END PLAYBACK]
Plus, Digits is really easy to use.
In fact, we partnered with Samsung to integrate Digits natively on the Note 5
and all of the Galaxy S6 and S7 models, showing off
Digits's full potential right now.
It works right out of the box.
There's nothing to download, install, or log into.
You simply open the dialer and pick the number you want to use.
This is live now with Samsung.
And we're already working with other OEMs
to build Digits into their devices.
And until then, there's a Digits app you can download from the Apple App Store
on the Google Play Store, and this will provide you
with the same calling experience.
But we're not done yet.
I've got one last thing to tell you about Digits.
It doesn't just work on T-Mobile customer phones,
but on devices from AT&T, Verizon, and even discount carriers.
You heard me right.
You can put T-Mobile numbers on the other guy's phones with Digits.
So for instance, a small business can hand out Digits to their employees,
even if the employees have mobile phones from AT&T and Verizon and others.
This is going to totally change the way businesses handle mobile phones.
It will make life way better for the employees,
by having a separate work number on their mobile phone, while also
saving the business a ton of money.
And get this-- if the employee should leave,
that number and the customer relationships that
go with it stays with the business.
Talk about a breakthrough-- in fact, take a look at this video
that tees up the business use cases.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- With Digits, any business can be a mobile-only business.
You don't have to hand out new devices to your employees
or tie them down to archaic desk phones.
Why do we even have these things anymore?
This can do everything that this can do and way more, from anywhere.
Just give them their Digits, and they can use it
on other devices they already have, even if it's
on AT&T, Verizon, or any other network.
So you don't have to buy phones for everyone.
There's no more missed calls, because you can share numbers among teams,
and it will ring on nearly any device, manufacturer, and OS.
Get carrier-grade quality, voicemail, calls, and text.
Try that on a desk phone.
With their Digits, your team can get their work done anywhere.
And if they should leave the company, you keep the digits and the contacts.
Your business is mobile, so run your workforce mobilely.
Give your employees a real company phone number and so much more.
Give them their Digits.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[END PLAYBACK]
It sure is exciting stuff.
I'm so proud of the work the T-Mobile team has done here,
so I want to send a big shout out to all of those guys.
I also want to thank some of our partners--
Samsung, Ericsson, and Mitel.
All of these guys have been critical in designing and building
Digits and bringing it to our T-Mobile customers.
Today, we're also announcing a limited customer beta of Digits.
Starting today, T-Mobile customers can sign up
to participate in the beta for free.
And by the way, this is the first time a US wireless company has introduced
a new technology with a beta program.
That's something you'd expect from a valley startup, not a carrier.
But we're not a carrier.
We're a mobile technology company.
Our DNA is closer to Silicon Valley than to some telecom utility out in Jersey.
So yeah, we do betas.
When you're ready to try out Digits, just
go to T-Mobile for all the details.
It's totally free to sign up and use.
And we expect to launch Digits early next year,
after we've incorporated your feedback from the beta.
So that's it everybody.
Go sign up for the beta.
Hit us up at T-Mobile.com/getdigits.
And as Neville said, the beta is free.
We think you're going to have a ton of fun with it,
and we look forward to hearing your feedback.
Thanks a lot, everybody.
Thank you, all.
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