T-Mobile is making major changes in an attempt to compete with its rivals, according to The New York Times.
The mobile network company introduced a new way to pay for phones bought with its service.
According to the T-Mobile website, the Samsung Galaxy SIII currently costs $70 up front. However, customers will have to pay $20 per month for 24 months to fully pay off the phone. Since T-Mobile does not offer two-year contracts any more, the phone must be paid for at its full price of $549.99.
An iPhone 5, which the company will begin selling on April 12, will require a down payment of $100. Customers can then pay as low as $20 month until they have fully paid off the phone. T-Mobile's full price for the phone is $580.
The same logic holds for Blackberry's latest smartphone, the Blackberry Z10.
The company cited customers’ dissatisfaction with its network and the absence of the iPhone as reasons for its No. 4 status among mobile network services.
New Chief Executive John Legere spoke at a news conference on Tuesday about the new business move for T-Mobile. He used expletives and satire in an effort to show why his company’s is now the better way to go. He says that T-Mobile will now be branded the “uncarrier.”
“Do you have any idea what you’re paying,” said Legere. “I’m going to explain how stupid we all are because once it becomes flat and transparent, there’s nowhere to hide. You pay so much for your phones, it’s incredible.”
According to Legere, the iPnone 5 bought on AT&T would cost $1,000 more for a heavy data user than with T-Mobile.
However, when comparing the cheapest plans for both companies the difference is closer to $360. T-Mobile’s cheapest plan offers unlimited text and minutes along with 500 megabytes of data. AT&T’s cheapest plan offers the unlimited voice and text along with one gigabyte of data.
In addition to its changes for phone payments, the company has also done away with contracts. It will now offer plans as low as $50 per month. Unlimited data for one person on the T-Mobile network will cost $70 per month.