T-Mobile Wants More Boomers

T-Mobile had attracted more new wireless customers over the past three years than the rest of its competitors combined, but its subscriber base still skews younger and more urban than the industry as a whole. So T-Mobile this week will try to close the gap with a deep discount for people age 55 and up.

Starting on Wednesday, new or existing senior customers will be able to sign up for T-Mobile's unlimited data plan for $50 for one line or $60 for two lines, versus usual prices of $70 and $120 (though currently, the carrier has a limited-time offer of two lines for $100). That's among the best deals of any kind across the entire wireless market.

Under CEO John Legere, T-Mobile has had great success attracting new customers, but growth is slowing. In the first half of this year, the carrier added 2.2 million customers to its branded service down from 3.2 million in the same period of 2016. And its stock, which gained almost 50% last year, is up 12% so far in 2017.

The real challenge may be retooling and retargeting T-Mobile's loud, brash ad campaigns to get the attention of the Baby Boomers and not just millennials. Typical ads have featured music stars like Drake and Justin Bieber or Kim Kardashian. And CEO Legere, himself a Baby Boomer, is known for dressing in hot pink sneakers and tee shirts and occasionally swearing at public events and on Twitter.