T-Mobile Un-carrier 4.0 lures in switchers by shouldering early termination fees

Staying steadfast in its “Un-carrier” ways, T-Mobile CEO John Legere has revealed the meat of version 4.0 of its mission to upset the carrier industry. In this latest stage, one of the US’ top mobile carriers is giving an affordable way for subscribers to break away from the competition by paying for early termination fees (ETF).

Legere is not known for mincing words when it comes to its rivals. At CES 2014, he lambasted other companies for deviously locking in their customers to their networks. Sure, they might be saying upfront that the contract lasts only for 2 years, but staggered expiration dates and especially hefty early termination fees effectively scare off subscribers from even trying to find a way out. Here comes T-Mobile to the rescue with what it calls a “Get Out of Jail Free Card” for those interested in switching over to T-Mobile’s network.

Here’s how the offer works. A switcher would have to hand in his or her old device from the other network and choose the Simple Choice Plan as well as a new eligible device. Right then and there they can get instant credit depending on the value of their traded device. Once the customer has received the notice of the ETF, they must send it to T-Mobile, who will then send a payment for those fees, up to $350 per line. Even current T-Mobile subscribers can benefit from this Un-carrier 4.0 scheme, doing away with migration fees as long as they switch to the Simple Choice postpaid offering and trade their device for another one.

T-Mobile is positioning Simple Choice as one of the best family-friendly plans in the market, with starting fees of $50 per month for one line, inclusive of up to 500 MB of 4G LTE data. A second line would cost an additional $30, while subsequent lines will only cost $10 each. A family with four lines will thus only need to pay $100 a month, plus taxes and fees, which Legere points out is a huge saving in the long run. The new Un-carrier 4.0 offering will be available starting tomorrow and is only open to current customers of the three major US carriers, including AT&T and Verizon. Switchers must agree to surrender their old devices, buy a new one, and move over their phone number to T-Mobile in order to qualify.

VIA: SlashGear