T-Mobile Ends Contracts and Subsidies 404
AlphaWolf_HK writes "In what I see as a refreshing change, T-Mobile, the fourth largest carrier in the U.S., has made sweeping changes to its service, ending both phone subsidies and service contracts. Its CEO said, 'Here's the deal: If we suck this month, go somewhere else. If we're good, stay with us.' As part of that change, the new base plan will include unlimited access, including voice, text, and data. Data will be restricted to edge speeds after 500MB with no overage costs, but can be upgraded to 2.5GB for $10, or unlimited for $20. Portable Wi-Fi hotspot usage is also unrestricted for no additional cost. In addition, LTE services just went live in eight markets. As is already standard practice with T-Mobile, you are free to bring your own device. To keep customers from having to front the full cost of the phone with unsubsidized plans, they'll let people pay off phones in installments. They're also getting the iPhone 5 next month for $650."
Re:500GB? (Score:1, Informative)
That's more then Comcast prefers I use.
500MB I believe...
500GB in the article summary is a typo (Score:5, Informative)
It is supposed to be 500MB. You don't usually "upgrade" from 500GB to 2.5GB of data for $10 a month.
Re:They get it (Score:5, Informative)
Bonus though: at least when I had it T-Mo worked in the city while AT&T (my wife's provider) was crapping themselves due to excessive volume. I could call and even get data through when her phone was reduced to a glorified iPod Touch due to total and complete network overload.
Re:They get it (Score:3, Informative)
I doubt it will be quick. Many are still locked into contracts with the others. To get out would cost a bit of cash so they cant be expected to jump on day one ( like your self ).
Another problem is coverage area, around here, they have the least coverage.
Re:They get it (Score:4, Informative)
Bell and Telus aren't the same. Telus is what used to be Alberta Government Telephones and BC Tel. The former was privatized in 1991 and merged with the latter in 1998. It's an excellent example of why privatizing crowns is a bad idea.
Bell's other brand is Virgin and Telus has the brand Koodoo.
Re:500GB in the article summary is a typo (Score:5, Informative)
Yeah I'll take the blame for that gaffe, as I originally typed that. Though I wish the editor kept my comment about the Nexus 4 and how it can be hacked to work with t-mobiles LTE.
Re:They get it (Score:4, Informative)
Bell and Telus share spectrum/towers for their HSPA network however. And often their plans are the same. They have some sort of unholy alliance where the customer is loosing. Of course they wouldn't be allowed to merge so it's as far as they can go.
Re:Just wait.. (Score:4, Informative)
Not sure what you're getting at here. The problem is that there isn't a contract to begin with? That *is* what t-mobile is doing here; there is no contract. I'd see not having a contract as an advantage. Bring your existing AT&T phone over and try it out. Service doesn't work for you? Go ahead and return to AT&T at any time you'd like.
As I experienced with sprint, a contract doesn't guarantee quality of service. Like the t-mobile CEO said in his press conference: When you're in a contract, the carrier only has to be nice to you once every 23 months.
Re:Tethering (Score:5, Informative)
The base plan is 500 MB of LTE/HSPA+/3G (whatever you can get where you are), then it's throttled to 2G/EDGE once you go past that. I like that in this situation. T-Mobile is advertising the amount of high speed data in big letters, rather than in the small text under the words "unlimited data". They're also making overage costs disappear. And you can pay for unlimited high speed data, and for unlimited high speed data with tethering, and less exorbitant than usual rates.
It's really good that one of the big carriers are doing something different. I hope it works out for them.
Re:They get it (Score:5, Informative)
Customer: How much for a 32 gig iPhone?
Telus: $800
Customer: EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS??!! It's only $150 at Rogers!
Telus: Yes, but that price is subsidized.
Customer: What does "subsidized" mean?
Although, with the new T-Mobile pricing, you pay a down payment upfront (which may be zero, depending on the phone), then monthly payment on the phone - listed separately. If you want to cancel service, you just have to pay off the phone. The difference is that people can directly see what they're paying for.
Re:Pay Later: $199 down + $15/month (Score:2, Informative)
Re:They get it (Score:4, Informative)
All of the carriers share the towers, but the tower owner (usually Telus) gets the top spot. Bell usually bids highest and gets the second spot, Rogers next and Mobilicity and Wind are usually lowest. Mobilicity and wind also have microcells in some dense areas in Vancouver too which is why they have better coverage in places like Metrotown but sketchy coverage away from dense areas.
Last time I checked, Telus, Bell, and Rogers had nearly identical plans and you had to go to the rebrands (Fido, Koodo, Virgin) or small carriers (Mobilicity, Wind) to get any differentiation, Sadly Mobilicity and Wind have roaming-only coverage on Vancouver Island, so they are ruled out in my case.
Also of interest in some cities in the province.... If you are a shaw internet customer you can connect your phone to the "Shaw Open" wifi access points and once you register the device (you need your shaw email address and password), it will be remembered so you can save on your data plan and get wireless-n speed. You can register up to 5 devices per account. I have "AutoSync" on my phone which toggles my sync when connecting and disconnecting wifi so emails come in pretty steadily as I drive past the access points.
Re:They get it (Score:5, Informative)
Down here in the states, at least in Kansas, Sprint. $80USD gets you unlimited texting, unlimited data, and 700 min/month, with unlimited calling nights, weekends, and to any cell phone on any American carrier.
Beats the hell out of Verizon, anyway.
Re:Pay Later: $199 down + $15/month (Score:5, Informative)
I think the down payment option is a good deal. However not everybody agrees, and I think the reason why is kind of stupid.
Techcrunch basically attacks t-mobile over this one because if you want to change carriers, you're still stuck with a $600 (or whatever) phone, as opposed to a $350 early termination fee.
http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/26/t-mobiles-uncarrier-pricing-isnt-so-different-from-the-contract-devil-you-already-know/ [techcrunch.com]
I'm wondering if they have a bone to pick with t-mobile, because a few hours ago slashdot posted an article from them about how t-mobile UK are scamming customers with premium SMS.
The only possible way I could see the light in this statement would be if you could bring that phone to any of the other major carriers. Sadly, as far as major carriers, your only other option is AT&T. Though you can get some pretty good deals with the MVNO's, their coverage isn't as good. Personally I'd prefer to just own the phone than be in a contract.
Galaxy SIII on Verizon $199 + $350 ETF reduced by $10/month
Galaxy SIII on T-Mobile: $549 or $69 + $20/month for 24 months = $549
If you break your Verizon contract in the first month, your phone cost is $199 + $350 for the phone, or $549
If you break you T-Mobile contract in the first month, your phone cost is $69 + 20*24 = $549
If you break your Verizon contract after 6 months, you owe $350 - ($10*6) = $290 to break your contract
If you break your T-mobile contract after 6 months, you owe 18 * $20 = $360 to break your contract
If you break your Verizon contract after 12 months, you owe $350 - ($10*12) = $230 to break your contract
If you break your T-mobile contract after 12 months, you own 12 * $12 = $240 to break your contract
However, in the last 2 cases, you saved $130 on the price of the phone so you still break even or come out ahead.
And, at the end of the payback term, if you stay with T-Mobile, you save $20/month since the phone's paid off, but with VErizon you keep paying the same amount.
Re:They get it (Score:4, Informative)
The cellphone companies rely on their customers being stupid enough to opt for a subsidized phone though, and so far most people are more than happy to be stupid enough to do so. That way we can pay far more in the end for the same phone than we would if we bought it up front.
I sincerely hope we get a reasonable company up here in Canada but until then we are stuck with the established oligarchy and their ridiculous/criminal pricing schemes.
Re:They are forced to (Score:4, Informative)
Anti-trust (i.e. competition laws) go back to Roman times, LONG before the modern corporation.
The Sherman act is based on 16th century common law.
Re:US Price Plans..... (Score:4, Informative)
"Ireland is a small country" explains part of the issue of why it costs so much here.
The U.S. is physically huge. Ireland is about the size of one of 50 of the states. Takes a lotta dough to to build a network across the U.S. That and our regulators aren't empowered to stop companies from ripping us off.
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Nobodys-Doing-The-Math-On-Verizon-Mystery-Fee-Scandal-110725 [dslreports.com]
Re:They get it (Score:5, Informative)
No, T-Mobile's plans (well, at least the one I have) come with free and lousy voicemail. Ever want to hear that waiting voicemail early in the morning because it could be from work? Well, how's about you go through 29 of your saved voicemail that must be re-saved or will be deleted before you can hear the new voicemail? Hows about you can't go to their site and download the ones you want to save?
Oh, you want to do that! OK, well, that will be premium voicemail. But yeah, the cheap-and-it-shows version is free.
Re:They get it (Score:4, Informative)
They look similar, but the iPod Touch is 20% thinner, 20% lighter, still has the old A5 chip running perhaps 40% slower, has only half the RAM, lacks GPS, has a smaller battery, and it has a crappier camera.
Re:500GB in the article summary is a typo (Score:2, Informative)
It is also supposed to be EDGE, not edge. EDGE is an acronym for "Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution", not some arbitrary name.
Re:They get it (Score:2, Informative)
Or, you could go with Virgin Mobile, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sprint in the USA, and get the same features on the same Sprint network for less. Of course, you have to pay more up front for the phone, but if you're going to keep a phone for more than about 2 yrs, it's cheaper in the long run.
Re:They get it (Score:4, Informative)