More than five years after T-Mobile’s super-successful acquisition of MetroPCS, the carrier is overhauling its branding and market positioning to attract more customers.  

MetroPCS, which had largely kept its separate identity after being acquired, focuses on the so-called prepaid segment of the wireless market, requiring customers to pay up-front every month and typically targeting people with weak or no credit histories and lower incomes. Since T-Mobile bought the unit, its subscriber base has more than doubled to 18 million as the brand spread from just 12 markets to about 100 nationwide currently.  

Now T-Mobile (TMUS, -0.06%) wants to make big changes. Starting in October, MetroPCS will be renamed “Metro by T-Mobile” and will add two higher-end unlimited data plans—at higher prices—in an effort to appeal to a broader customer audience. New advertising will emphasize that its service runs on the same wireless network as T-Mobile. And aligning itself with several other popular brands, both of Metro’s new unlimited plans will include at no additional cost cloud storage from Google’s Google One program and one plan will also include Amazon Prime, the e-commerce giant’s free delivery and video programming service.