T-Mobile USA's 'Jump' program allows 2 smartphone upgrades a year for $10/month
T-Mobile, the fourth-largest carrier in the U.S., announced a new program on Wednesday dubbed "Jump" that allows customers to upgrade their smartphone as often as two times per year, at an added cost of $10 per month.
Customers line up ahead of T-Mobile's iPhone 5 launch in April. Image via BTIG Research's Walter Piecyk (@piecykw)
The Jump program will allow customers to pay the same subsidized price as a new customer, but without the need to wait the industry-standard two years for upgrade eligibility. Subscribers will have to wait at least six months after enrollment, after which they will be able to upgrade their phone twice per year.
"At some point, big wireless companies made a decision for you that you should have to wait two years to get a new phone for a fair price. That's 730 days of waiting. 730 days of watching new phones come out that you can't have. Or having to live with a cracked screen or an outdated camera," said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile US. "We say two years is just too long to wait. Today, we're changing all that with the launch of Jump! Now, customers never have to worry about being stuck with the wrong phone."
The program will run $10 per month, per phone, plus taxes and fees. The carrier said the cost is just $2 more per month than many customers pay for handset protection.
The program requires that customers trade in an eligible T-Mobile phone in good working condition at a participating store location. For example, a user might be able to trade in their current iPhone 5 for Apple's next-generation iPhone, expected to arrive later this year, and would pay the standard subsidized rate traditionally starting at $200.
The carrier also announced on Thursday that it has expanded its 4G LTE network to 157 million people in 116 metropolitan areas in the U.S.
T-Mobile also unveiled a program that will allow families to get four phone lines with unlimited talk, text and Web and up to 500 megabytes of high-speed data for $100 per month. The plan doesn't require a credit check or annual service contract.
Customers line up ahead of T-Mobile's iPhone 5 launch in April. Image via BTIG Research's Walter Piecyk (@piecykw)
The Jump program will allow customers to pay the same subsidized price as a new customer, but without the need to wait the industry-standard two years for upgrade eligibility. Subscribers will have to wait at least six months after enrollment, after which they will be able to upgrade their phone twice per year.
"At some point, big wireless companies made a decision for you that you should have to wait two years to get a new phone for a fair price. That's 730 days of waiting. 730 days of watching new phones come out that you can't have. Or having to live with a cracked screen or an outdated camera," said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile US. "We say two years is just too long to wait. Today, we're changing all that with the launch of Jump! Now, customers never have to worry about being stuck with the wrong phone."
The program will run $10 per month, per phone, plus taxes and fees. The carrier said the cost is just $2 more per month than many customers pay for handset protection.
The program requires that customers trade in an eligible T-Mobile phone in good working condition at a participating store location. For example, a user might be able to trade in their current iPhone 5 for Apple's next-generation iPhone, expected to arrive later this year, and would pay the standard subsidized rate traditionally starting at $200.
The carrier also announced on Thursday that it has expanded its 4G LTE network to 157 million people in 116 metropolitan areas in the U.S.
T-Mobile also unveiled a program that will allow families to get four phone lines with unlimited talk, text and Web and up to 500 megabytes of high-speed data for $100 per month. The plan doesn't require a credit check or annual service contract.
Comments
Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain J
So you pay $120 for 6 years for nothing and then of T-Mobile is still around and plans are what they are now you can upgrade twice a year? No thanks.
No, you wait 6 months. AI just has poor editing as always.
Ah, that makes more sense. Thanks.
If you're already paying insurance on the phone there's little or no increase, in fact some will see a decrease.
I bet you have to keep extending your two year contract each time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghostface147
Fees, fees, and more fees. It adds up and makes me wonder how their pricing matches up long term.
And yet even with that extra $10 a month T-Mobile's plans that include unlimited talk, text, and data (and yes that is real unlimited data without hidden caps or throttling) are still like $30 or more cheaper than the lowest tier AT&T or Verizon plans.
The fact that you have to trade in your current phone makes this a crappy "deal." A 6-12 month old iPhone would go for quite a bit of money if you sold it used on eBay or Craigslist.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cloud30000
Trading in the phone is the deal breaker. Pay $10/month and lose your phone to keep upgrading, or wait two years and keep/resell your phone and save $240. This reminds me of the terrible lease deals you see on some cars.
And yet with AT&T or Verizon you've spent far more than $240 extra dollars just so they can recoup their subsidy from you in their extremely expensive plans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton
Interesting. For an extra $120/year you can buy a phone with subsidized pricing twice each year?
Quote:
Originally Posted by bleh1234
That's with trading in your current phone.
So over the course of two years I'm paying $240 for the "fee", plus $600 for the "new phones", just so I can upgrade every six months to the latest and the greatest. Unbelievable as it is, some people will actually pay for this "service".
Here's an alternative: Sell your phone every six months and buy a new one. If it's an iPhone, you can probably sell it for $200 less than its original price. In two years you're only out the $600 and save the $240 fee.
$10/month is the "Android tax" for obtaining software updates and security fixes that are still a year out of date.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sacto Joe
So over the course of two years I'm paying $240 for the "fee", plus $600 for the "new phones", just so I can upgrade every six months to the latest and the greatest. Unbelievable as it is, some people will actually pay for this "service".
No, you pay $240 to pay the subsidized $99 or $199, etc. cost of the new phone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CustomTB
But this requires a phone in good working condition. Hardly a replacement for insurance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeJones
And yet with AT&T or Verizon you've spent far more than $240 extra dollars just so they can recoup their subsidy from you in their extremely expensive plans.
You missed the point. You can stay with your two year Verizon plan and put the $240 in your own pocket by selling your Verizon phone every 6 months and buying a new one. And that's assuming you can only sell a six month old iPhone for $200 off the original purchase price. I'd guess you can do better than that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sacto Joe
You missed the point. You can stay with your two year Verizon plan and put the $240 in your own pocket by selling your Verizon phone every 6 months and buying a new one. And that's assuming you can only sell a six month old iPhone for $200 off the original purchase price. I'd guess you can do better than that.
How am I keeping the $240 in my pocket when the extra costs of Verizon's plans will have me handing that back to them in a couple of months?
Sacto Joe, you might want to re-read the article again:
For example, a user might be able to trade in their current iPhone 5 for Apple's next-generation iPhone, expected to arrive later this year, and would pay the standard subsidized rate traditionally starting at $200.
Where exactly did you get that someone would be paying $600 for their new phone when the article directly refutes you?