T-Mobile USA to Carry iPhone Beginning April 12th, Using New 'Uncarrier' Payment Plan

MacRumors · Mar 26, 2013

T-Mobile, the only major U.S. cellular carrier to not sell the iPhone, will begin carrying the device on April 12th. The carrier will sell the phone under its new 'Uncarrier' policies as T-Mobile attempts to differentiate itself from other cellular networks with new 'customer-friendly' rate plans.

New iPhone customers will be able to purchase the 16GB iPhone 5 for $100 down, plus 24 monthly payments of $20. After the payments are finished, customers will see their monthly bills drop. On traditional subsidized plans from AT&T or Verizon, users pay $199 up front, and then see a subsidy payment invisibly built into their monthly plans. However, if the customer goes longer than two years without purchasing a new phone, the carrier continues to collect subsidy repayments as pure profit.

"This is an important day for people who love their iPhone but can't stand the pain other carriers put them through to own one," said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile USA. "We feel their pain. I've felt the pain. So we're rewriting the rules of wireless to provide a radically simple, affordable iPhone 5 experience -- on an extremely powerful network."

Notably, T-Mobile says it will be the only U.S. carrier to support the 'Wideband Audio' feature of the iPhone 5, calling it 'HD Voice'.

T-Mobile is also offering the iPhone 4S for $70 down and $20 per month for 24 months, and the iPhone 4 for $15 down and $15 per month for 24 months.

The carrier will charge a base rate of $50 per month for unlimited talk, text and 3G data, plus 500MB of 4G data. Customers can add 2GB of 4G data for $10/month per line, or $20/month for unlimited 4G. Additional lines have a base rate of $30/month for the first, and $10/month for each additional. The company officially rolled out 4G LTE service today in Baltimore; Houston; Kansas City; Las Vegas; Phoenix; San Jose, Calif.; and Washington, D.C.

Customers can pre-order the iPhone 5 beginning April 5.

Article Link: T-Mobile USA to Carry iPhone Beginning April 12th, Using New 'Uncarrier' Payment Plan

DipDog3 · Mar 26, 2013

I really want to switch now!

Too bad I still have a year left on my AT&T contact...

I guess I could cancel my contract and sell my iPhone 5 to pay for the termination fee???

bhuwan · Mar 26, 2013

This question has been lingering for a while.

Sign up with the payment plan, cancel 1 month later. obviously T-Mobile would expect you to either return the phone, or pay the full unsubsidized value (reduced by the amount already paid) of the device.

Isn't that a "contract" ?

rnizlek · Mar 26, 2013

So is this or is this not compatible with AWS? If not, where can one find out if iPhone compatible 3G service is available in their area? The T-Mobile coverage map doesn't seem to indicate this.

spazzcat · Mar 26, 2013

DipDog3 said:
I really want to switch now!

Too bad I still have a year left on my AT&T contact...

I guess I could cancel my contract and sell my iPhone 5 to pay for the termination fee???

I would check with people in your area that have TM first. In some areas they make ATT look like a 5 star provider.

macse30 · Mar 26, 2013

Love this.

Born Again · Mar 26, 2013

Tmobile CEO says to "stop the bull #%*#"

Awesome

Destroysall · Mar 26, 2013

Yes, finally!! Going to preorder for sure!

mbh · Mar 26, 2013

bhuwan said:
This question has been lingering for a while.

Sign up with the payment plan, cancel 1 month later. obviously T-Mobile would expect you to either return the phone, or pay the full unsubsidized value (reduced by the amount already paid) of the device.

Isn't that a "contract" ?

It is, but it is separate from the service. Once the phone is paid for, you don't have that part of the payment anymore. With other companies your bill doesn't go down once the phone subsidy is paid off.

Illuminated · Mar 26, 2013

can this be part of a family plan? or is this only individual plans?

ToomeyND · Mar 26, 2013

bhuwan said:
This question has been lingering for a while.

Sign up with the payment plan, cancel 1 month later. obviously T-Mobile would expect you to either return the phone, or pay the full unsubsidized value (reduced by the amount already paid) of the device.

Isn't that a "contract" ?

I know I can't just bring my phone back to ATT if I feel I'm done with it.

You still have to buy things. They just make it non-committal.

And on top of this, my ATT bill isn't going to drop by the subsidized price after my contract is up. If you have a phone you think you will keep for a while (which I don't foresee getting rid of my iPhone5 anytime soon), T-Mobile offers you a lot.

TheRealTVGuy · Mar 26, 2013

$70.00 a month sounds a lot better than $120!

Does this include tethering?

I LOVE the fact that after you've paid the subsidy, YOU JUST PAY FOR SERVICE! I told the AT&T guy that I've been a customer 2 years, my subsidy was paid and that I wanted to see my rate drop. He just laughed.

Here in Central Florida T-Mobile is great. Will visual voicemail and all the other features work now?

And How much for a 32GB iPhone 5?

bbeagle · Mar 26, 2013

bhuwan said:
This question has been lingering for a while.

Sign up with the payment plan, cancel 1 month later. obviously T-Mobile would expect you to either return the phone, or pay the full unsubsidized value (reduced by the amount already paid) of the device.

Isn't that a "contract" ?

If you want to call it a 'contract', call it that. It's actually an 'installment plan'. Not much difference. Similar to a 'tax' vs. a 'fee' in government speak.

Basically, you buy the iPhone 4, you agree to EITHER pay $15/month for 24 months, OR $360.

If you pay $15/month for like 10 months then leave, you owe the remainder $210. Or you could easily say this $210 is the 'termination fee' if you want to avoid saying it's a 'contract' or an 'installment plan'.

yeah · Mar 26, 2013

FINALLY, AFTER 6 YEARS

MY $199 IS READY T-MOBILE

monaarts · Mar 26, 2013

bhuwan said:
This question has been lingering for a while.

Sign up with the payment plan, cancel 1 month later. obviously T-Mobile would expect you to either return the phone, or pay the full unsubsidized value (reduced by the amount already paid) of the device.

Isn't that a "contract" ?

You have to pay for the phone but nothing else. It's basically the same as buying an iPhone from AT&T on a Credit Card and canceling your AT&T service. You would owe AT&T $0 but still be held responsible for your Credit Card bill. ;-)

gmanist1000 · Mar 26, 2013

MacRumors said:
The carrier will charge a base rate of $50 per month for unlimited talk, text and 3G data, plus 500MB of 4G data. Customers can add 2GB of 4G data for $10/month per line, or $20/month for unlimited 4G.

Let's see... $20/month (iPhone) + $50/month (base rate) + $20/month (unlimited data) = $90/month for one line.

I pay $100 for Verizon and 2GB of Data. I would rather pay $10 more a month for a far more grown out LTE network that Verizon offers. (even if T-Mobile offers unlimited data)

bwillwall · Mar 26, 2013

Holy ****

Sky Blue · Mar 26, 2013

MacRumors said:
New iPhone customers will be able to purchase the 16GB iPhone 5 for $100 down, plus 24 monthly payments of $20.

wow. no better deal than most places, just moving the cost around.

Spock · Mar 26, 2013

It's about time, now I'm hoping that Apple pushes out an update with T-Mobile support to current unlocked iPhone users. visual voicemail and non hacked mms would be great.

UnfetteredMind · Mar 26, 2013

Will be interested to see what their coverage is like in my area. Wife and I area ready for new phones so will check them out when the new iPhone is announced.

pezj · Mar 26, 2013

Great concept now if only a real carrier would jump on board

GrayApple · Mar 26, 2013

The whole reason that T-Mobile is moving away from a subsidized pricing model is because of the effect it has on their margins. I fail to see how this increases their bottom line significantly as opposed to the old model. The carrier is still paying for the phone up front and having the customer reimburse them. Haven't they only changed the way in which they receive this reimbursement? In the form of "payments" rather than outrageous data cost.

MauerFan · Mar 26, 2013

If I'm understanding this right, does that mean if you get the basic $50 a month deal you would only pay $70 a month? This is assuming you don't pay payoff the iPhone right away.

abbstrack · Mar 26, 2013

MacRumors said:
The carrier will charge a base rate of $50 per month for unlimited talk, text and 3G data, plus 500MB of 4G data. Customers can add 2GB of 4G data for $10/month per line, or $20/month for unlimited 4G. Additional lines have a base rate of $30/month for the first, and $10/month for each additional. The company officially rolled out 4G LTE service today in Baltimore; Houston; Kansas City; Las Vegas; Phoenix; San Jose, Calif.; and Washington, D.C.

Article Link: T-Mobile USA to Carry iPhone Beginning April 12th, Using New 'Uncarrier' Payment Plan

So $70/month unlimited everything? can I take my unlocked iPhone 5 there on 4/12 and sign up for this as a prepaid plan, or do I have to commit to a contract?

Mac7 · Mar 26, 2013

3G after 500mb? Am I missing something here because on their site it says "Speeds slowed up to 2G speeds after 500 MB. "

T-Mobile USA to Carry iPhone Beginning April 12th, Using New 'Uncarrier' Payment Plan

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