A big part of T-Mobile's UnCarrier plan revolves around the iPhone 5, and it turns out that T-Mo's offering the Apple flagship at a previously unheard-of price: $579. As CEO John Legere announced today, his company will be offering its AWS-equipped version of the iPhone 5 for $99, plus 24 monthly payments of $20. That's contract-free, but the device is locked until it's fully paid for, and the cheapest monthly plan to go with it is $50 for 500MB of data and unlimited voice and texting a month. By contrast, the same 16GB phone unlocked direct from Apple costs $649, while AT&T offers a locked model for $199 -- if you sign a 24-month contract -- and the cheapest possible plan to go with it provides a mere 300MB of data, 450 minutes and no texting at a cost of $60 a month. So, T-Mo seems to be winning the iPhone price war, and doing so handily.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, T-Mobile

Comments

T-Mobile silently killed off its $10 per month 200MB data plans, a leaked document reveals. A company spokesperson verified the news with Fierce Wireless. This decision is most likely due to the growing demand for mobile data as smartphone applications continue to evolve. Grandfathered customers will not be affected by this new policy, but will need to pay full price for a device and sign up for a "Value" plan when upgrading in order to maintain their existing service plan. T-Mobile now requires its smartphone customers to have a minimum data plan of 2GB or higher, which starts at $20 per month. While this change may make sense for most smartphone users, existing customers who are light on data and heavy on savings might have a different perspective when it's time to buy a new phone. Check out an extreme closeup of T-Mobile's document after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, T-Mobile

Comments

Via: Phone Scoop, Fierce Wireless

Source: TmoNews

T-Mobile's just received a hefty cash boost thanks to a tower-leasing agreement it's entered into with Crown Castle. The deal leases 7,200 wireless towers to the infrastructure firm for a term of 28 years in exchange for $2.4 billion -- that T-Mobile's parent Deutsche Telekom will use to pay off debt. As part of the contract, Crown Castle can buy the towers outright when the deal ends in 2040 for a further $2.4 billion -- and is planning to make money by adding another tenant to T-Mobile's system, so depending on your carrier, you might find your coverage suddenly getting a lot better.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Comments

Via: Phonescoop

Back in the heat of summer, T-Mobile USA's then CEO Philipp Humm resigned to take up the mantle at Vodafone. In the interim, former COO Jim Alling stepped up to keep the chair warm while a permanent replacement was found. Today we learn that John Legere, former CEO of Global Crossing, will relieve Alling of those duties, and fill the top spot full-time. With 32 years experience in the industry, Legere also spent time at Dell as president of European, Middle East and African operations. For now, his first task will likely be leading the firm's LTE deployment, and trying to win some of the faithful back. Head past the break for the full PR and the new CEO's first video address to employees.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Comments

The results for T-Mobile USA's second quarter of 2012 are in and first up is the bad news -- reported net customer losses of 205,000 are more than the 50,000 lost in the same period last year, and more than give back the growth reported in Q1. Of course, the carrier is banking on strategic initiatives to launch LTE service and expand coverage thanks to that AWS spectrum its receiving from AT&T and Verizon (if the deal is approved) to turn all that around, and those plans are still on track. Other high points for the quarter included the launch of Samsung's Galaxy Note and Galaxy S III, as well as a host of other handsets. Also it announced the opening of it's 1,000 T-Mobile Premium Retailer store, started pushing its prepaid and Monthly4G services at Dollar General Stores, launched two new mobile broadband data plans and added two MVNO partners. All the details are in the press release after the break, although it seems that as busy as T-Mobile has been putting pen to paper, investors will have to keep waiting to see the benefits.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Comments

International HTC One S buyers might look at the black version like it's humdrum, but if you're an American who's had no realistic choice but to get the gray T-Mobile edition, black is a rare and coveted thing. T-Mobile knows this all too well, and it's using the micro arc oxidized hue as an incentive for loyal employees: work diligently enough, and a black One S with native T-Mobile HSPA+ is yours. There's no word from the TmoNews tipster as to whether or not the color will ever reach the buying public, which could make it a rare collector's item for Android lovers -- not to mention a mild form of torture for HTC enthusiasts. The optimistic among us are hoping that it's a sign of phones to come and that both black as well as gray can live in harmony on T-Mobile shelves.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Comments

In a bid to avoid making suit-wearing execs continually eye their data use when traveling to Europe with your smartphone, T-Mobile has announced a $50 per month plan for business customers, which offers half a gig of data on both 3G and 4G (where available). Once you hit beyond that threshold, you won't be charged for overuse, but your speeds will be throttled. The plan will connect to 28 countries, including likes of the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and will launch for that sweaty business meeting in Paris next month.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Comments

Filed under: Mobile

Comments

Less than 24 hours after the unexpected news that Phillipp Humm had penned his resignation as T-Mobile USA's CEO, Reuters is now reporting he himself has said a chief executive position awaits him at Vodafone. As you may know, this comes after the Magenta carrier had stated Humm would be leaving to reunite with his family back in the Old Continent, and seek a new career outside of Deutsche Telekom. According to the report, Phillipp Humm's new role will be as a chief executive for Vodafone's operations in northern and central Europe, which is set to begin as early as October 1st. Naturally, Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao seems to be quite satisfied with Humm's upcoming arrival, saying it "will be a strong addition to the Vodafone group executive committee."

Filed under: Mobile

Comments

T-Mobile just updated its prepaid data plans a month ago, and now it's the corporate crowd's turn for a shakeup. The new (and quite frankly daunting) array of primarily business-minded plans is based around whether or not you'd rather face throttling or overage fees if you push past a set cap. Overage Free plans for subsidized (Classic) and unsubsidized (Value) devices are largely self-explanatory and slow down that bandwidth cap-busting hotspot, modem or tablet until the next month. The High-speed plan range costs lower as a matter of course, but you'll be dinged to the order of two to 10 cents for every megabyte over the limit. That said, there's some bargains to be had versus other carriers, especially with the 5GB and 10GB plans. Provided you're happy with T-Mobile's coverage, it may be worth signing up to eke out a few extra dollars in savings every month.

Filed under: Mobile

Comments

There's been demo units, FCC filings and the obligatory blurry photos, so it was only a matter of time before leaked press imagery completed our picture of a Galaxy Note for T-Mobile USA. As long as they're not cosmetic makeovers by wishful T-Mobile fans, the CellPhoneSignal images portray... well, a Galaxy Note. No exotic colors, no obvious clues supporting talk that it ships with a preloaded Android 4.0 upgrade. Most of the hardware changes, then, should be all about adapting the HSPA+ 3G to support T-Mobile's airwaves. Unconfirmed talk has the Galaxy Note reaching Magenta on July 11th; that's nine months after the original version popped up, but we're sure some will be thankful just to have more choices than AT&T for that phablet fix.

Filed under: Mobile

Comments

Not interested in paying $200 on contract for a new Galaxy S III over at Sprint / AT&T? Fret not, lost souls -- T-Mobile USA will soon be willing to sell you one for more. Much more. We just landed our hands on an internal pricing sheet for the forthcoming Android superphone, with the 16GB model listed at $229.99 on a Value Plan contract, or $279.99 (after $50 mail-in rebate, no less) on a Classic Plan contract. Those on the latter can snag it for $449.99 if you're eligible for an early upgrade, while those who'd rather not extend their contractual relationship can pay $629.99 for a (still carrier locked) off-contract handset. The notice also states that no sales can occur prior to June 21st (that's tomorrow, folks!), but of course, it'll be even later if you aren't in one of those "top 29 markets."

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Filed under: Mobile

Comments

If you've been carrying around a Lumia 710 for T-Mobile in your pocket and waiting for the day when you'd get a taste of Tango (Windows Phone 7.5 Refresh), you'll be happy to know that it could very soon. An internal memo passed along to WPCentral has Microsoft delivering the update on June 20th. Much like you'd hope, it should switch on hotspot support to share that HSPA+ network with others; many of the fixes between Mango and Tango will have snuck their way in as well, such as the cure for the well-known disappearing keyboard bug. Assuming the schedule holds, about the only visible drawback might come from a staggered rollout that won't have everyone dancing until July 31st.

Filed under: Mobile

Comments

That delayed Canadian Galaxy S III launch may have been a harbinger of US delays to come: Sprint has let Engadget know that it's running a "little behind" on shipments. The company still hopes to get all pre-orders of the 16GB model to customers by the official June 21st release, but warns that orders might slip by one or two days. We also hope 32GB customers weren't planning their schedules around the 21st -- the higher capacity won't ship until the following week. Sprint is citing both "overwhelming demand and limited supply" as the root causes, although it hasn't quantified just how whelmed those sales are.

T-Mobile, meanwhile, is telling Galaxy S III buyers in some areas to sit tight. We've directly confirmed through a spokesperson an earlier leak from TmoNews that claimed Magenta will only focus June 21st retail sales on the "top 29 markets," most of them major cities. If you fall outside of those areas, you'll have to wait until shortly afterwards to pick one up, the provider tells us. As it stands, AT&T, US Cellular and Verizon still haven't committed to exact release dates and are currently off the hook.

Filed under: Mobile

Comments

A T-Mobile-capable version of the Samsung Galaxy Note has been floating around in pictures, but official evidence has been hard to come by. Imagine our surprise when it saunters by the FCC with few disguises: going under a hinted-at SGH-T879 codename, the giant smartphone has passed through the agency with the needed 1,700MHz HSPA band for T-Mobile 3G while also supporting 850MHz and 1,900MHz 3G in the same breath. The wireless support leaves the possibility that the unit we're seeing here is for 1,700MHz Canadian carriers like Mobilicity or Wind Mobile, but earlier photos of T-Mobile branding and a browser user agent profile allude to the American provider having at least toyed with the idea of a Galaxy Note on its network. Fans of supersized phones have reason to cheer, then, although we have doubts revolving mostly around the T879's absence on a leaked roadmap for mid-2012 and the lateness of the arrival. It might be hard for T-Mobile to steer customers to a 2011-era Samsung phone when the Galaxy S III is on the doorstep.

Update: Some more fuel for the fire: an inventory sheet reportedly leaked to TmoNews has more explicitly made the link between the T879 name and the Galaxy Note along with suggesting that demo units are in the queue. Although we wouldn't count on the rumored July 11th release being solid, there's enough to suggest T-Mobile is serious about getting its first phablet.

Filed under: Mobile

Comments

T-Mobile's USA proposed union with AT&T might have gone down in flames, but that isn't precluding the boss of parent company Deutsche Telekom, René Obermann, from exploring tie-ups in the future. He's now telling investors that the company won't "exclude any option" for its US carrier, up to and including mergers with others. Before you worry that your One S might lose its luster through an outside takeover, though, the CEO has said it's "unlikely" that DT will sell T-Mobile outright. There aren't any coded messages about possible merger targets, either, even if rumors of a MetroPCS deal have percolated elsewhere. Most of the present focus is simply on reworking and trimming the company to get it running at full efficiency in the face of some very stiff competition; Carly can keep wearing that T-Mobile magenta for awhile yet.

Filed under: Mobile

Comments

Hot off the heels of the One X and EVO 4G LTE spending some prolonged time at customs, now another member of HTC's sensational family appears to be feeling the rigorous effects of the ITC. According to a recent email acquired by TmoNews, it looks as if the Magenta carrier is delaying shipments of the HTC Amaze 4G in the US, saying it's facing "an unforeseen issue with receiving the product from the manufacturer," and that it doesn't know when the handset will be up for grabs again. What's also interesting here, however, is T-Mobile going as far as recommending Sammy's Galaxy S Blaze 4G as a substitute -- which, let's face it, can't be good news for HTC. Here's to hoping this all gets sorted out relatively soon. In the meantime, you can check out the aforementioned email in its entirety at the source below.

Filed under: Mobile

Comments

T-Mobile USA took a bit of a hit back in Q4, following its failed merger with Ma Bell, but things are looking up for the magenta network. It still took a 2.8 percent hit in terms of raw revenues, taking in $5 billion including service and equipment sales, but it's still proud to report a net growth of 187,000 customers and diminishing reports of customer losses when compared to previous quarters. T-Mobile's branded net customer loss of 510,000 marks a 28-percent improvement over its 706,000 Q4 loss, and is bolstered by a 13 percent increase in prepaid customers, totaling 249,000. The firm blames its previous quarter contract losses on the widespread availability of the iPhone 4S on its competitors' networks. It's also assuring investors that its lauded 4G rollout is still underway, and noted that it has signed agreements with Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Network to upgrade 37,000 cell sites with LTE hardware over the next two years. The company hopes a brand relaunch (and the availability of handsets like the Galaxy S Blaze 4G, Nokia Lumia 710, and HTC One S) will drive customers to the high-speed network as it fills out over 2012 and 2013. Hit the break for all of the financially riveting details.

Comments

We know T-Mo's got a special HTC One S event in the works for later today, but it seems like someone's a tad bit trigger happy and decided to out the handset ahead of time. Currently posing freely on the carrier's site, this "Gradient Blue" flavor of the One S is showing a hefty $599 retail price, though surely will be lower with a subsidized deal in place. Aside from revealing how much damage it'll do if you take the no-contract route, T-Mobile's page is also listing the full set of features and specs packed within the One Series member. All the details should be officially unveiled soon, but until then you can head over to the source below, where you can add your name to the "Notify me" list if you plan on snatching one of these Sense 4-packing beasts.

Update: Well, that didn't take long. The phone has now also turned up on Best Buy's website, where it's listed with a slightly lower $550 off-contract price or the usual $200 on a two-year term. Orders are expected to ship after April 25th.

Update 2: It appears that a certain big box retailer just got a bit greedy. A tipster has pointed out that Best Buy has boosted the off-contract price of the One S to a full $650. [Thanks, Michael]

[Thanks, Will]

Filed under: Mobile

Comments

Filed under: Mobile

Comments

Filed under: Mobile

Comments

Filed under: Mobile

Comments

Filed under: Mobile

Comments

Filed under: Mobile

Comments

Filed under: Mobile

Comments