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T-Mobile: iPhone and Death of Subsidies Coming Soon
And LTE Network May Arrive This Month
T-Mobile made waves last year finally stating they'd be selling the iPhone in 2013. At the same time the fourth-place carrier announced they'd also be getting rid of subsidies this year, meaning you could pay full price for an iPhone, or pay it off by adding $15-$20 to your monthly bill. Speaking at CES today, CEO John Legere stated that both the iPhone and the death of subsidies will be arriving sometime in the next three to four months, adding that he'd like it very much if carriers like AT&T and Verizon don't follow suit in killing subsidies. "If the old industry structure chooses to ignore what we do," said Legere, "That's a potential. (sic)" Meanwhile, T-Mobile's first LTE market looks like it could go live this month in Las Vegas.
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MovieLover76
join:2009-09-11
Cherry Hill, NJ
(Software) pfSense
Asus RT-AC68
Asus RT-AC66

MovieLover76

Member

Good news

Hopefully they speed up the refarm of HSPA+ on 1900Mhz or many will be disappointed with an iPhone with only 1900mhz support on T-mobile.

Also for myself I want the better building penetration, I love my t-mobile service, and it works fine even in my house except that I have a very low signal and it kills the battery.

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList

Premium Member

Re: Good news

i wish they would get wifi calling on more of their phones. If they did that then they wouldn't have to worry about building penetration quite as much.

MovieLover76
join:2009-09-11
Cherry Hill, NJ

MovieLover76

Member

Re: Good news

that would be good, but unless they provided it as a separate app it wouldn't help me, I pretty much always have vanilla nexus devices.
tennisman94
join:2010-02-18
Palm Harbor, FL

tennisman94

Member

Re: Good news

said by MovieLover76:

that would be good, but unless they provided it as a separate app it wouldn't help me, I pretty much always have vanilla nexus devices.

The issue is that a wifi calling app has to interface with the cellular baseband in order to facilitate hand-offs. That's why it's unlikely that a nexus phone will have wifi calling capability, unless it is nearly identical to another phone on t-mobile (like the nexus one was).

MovieLover76
join:2009-09-11
Cherry Hill, NJ

MovieLover76

Member

Re: Good news

Yea, I understand that it's not likely and I'm ok with that, the coverage except in a few buildings is generally very good with T-mobile in my area and I just ordered a T-mobile Cel-Fi from ebay to deal with signal issues in my house.
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT

BiggA to MovieLover76

Premium Member

to MovieLover76
If they get the iPhone, it will have AWS HSPA+ support. If they don't, then it's a bigger issue for potential T-Mobile iPhone users.

MovieLover76
join:2009-09-11
Cherry Hill, NJ
(Software) pfSense
Asus RT-AC68
Asus RT-AC66

MovieLover76

Member

Re: Good news

First of all they are getting the iPhone this year, it's no longer a question. The way I heard it, the refarm is being done in part so that they can support the iPhone, I don't think apple would release a new iPhone just to support T-mobile, though it's possible I'm wrong.

And I think it will be a problem for T-mobile iPhone customers, I'm on T-mobile in NJ. One of the few areas that has really comprehensive T-mobile coverage and refarmed 1900 Mhz HSPA hasn't gotten to me yet. Unless they have the vast majority of their 4G footprint covered in 1900 HSPA, they are going to receive a lot of complaints.
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT

BiggA

Premium Member

Re: Good news

It's not hard to put AWS in there. Heck, it's almost nothing, as it already has AWS and HSPA+, just not the two connected together. It is currently a business decision to not support it to try and pressure T-Mobile into a deal.

J E F F4
Whatta Ya Think About Dat?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-01
Kitchener, ON

J E F F4

Premium Member

Good idea..

But I hope the others follow suit.

At least now you can leave and know exactly what you owe and not this $20/month BS.
jc10098
join:2002-04-10

jc10098

Member

Re: Good idea..

Your typical phone is around 600 dollars. Spread between two years, that's 25 dollars a month x 24 months.

I hardly call buying a phone outright much of a bargain. You can look at this one of two ways. Your plan is 25 dollars a month higher as you haven't been subsidized or you are stuck with a service for two years. If you are signing a 2 year deal, I'd suffice to say you've done your homework or can break the contract if coverage isn't as advertised.

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru

MVM

Re: Good idea..

said by jc10098:

Your typical phone is around 600 dollars.

Nexus 4 is as low as $300 without contract. SII, Galaxy Nexus, etc are around $400. Feature phones are routinely under $100.
wingrider01
join:2006-07-25
Saint Louis, MO

wingrider01

Member

Re: Good idea..

said by cdru:

said by jc10098:

Your typical phone is around 600 dollars.

Nexus 4 is as low as $300 without contract. SII, Galaxy Nexus, etc are around $400. Feature phones are routinely under $100.

How about something that was made late 2012 and not something that is over a year old and probably going to be no longer manufactuered soon, after all everyone wants that latest and greatest technologoy, not some has-been over the hill phone

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru

MVM

Re: Good idea..

said by wingrider01:

How about something that was made late 2012 and not something that is over a year old and probably going to be no longer manufactuered soon, after all everyone wants that latest and greatest technologoy, not some has-been over the hill phone

The Nexus 4, the $300 option, was launched November of 2012. I think that would count as late 2012. Depending on what features you are looking for exactly, it usually is mentioned as at least a contender for current best android phone. I've been extremely impressed with my Nexus 7 and I'm strongly considering the Nexus 4 over the SIII and Note II just for it's vanilla-ness, first updates, and price.

I wasn't suggesting the SII and Galaxy Nexus weren't older phones. They are still viable phones and I just used them to illustrate that the "typical phone" isn't "around $600", only that some are (and they just happen to be the most popular ones currently.) In fact, with the exception of the Samsung Note II and SIII, every single Android phone that T-Mobile sells is under $600 full retail. The SIII is $600 and Note II is $700 full retail.

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList to jc10098

Premium Member

to jc10098
get rid of the subsidies, get the devices OUT of the hands of the carriers and you will see the prices go down quite a bit.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: Good idea..

said by ArrayList:

get rid of the subsidies, get the devices OUT of the hands of the carriers and you will see the prices go down quite a bit.

Eventually. That may take a couple of years. Also they are never going to be free so for a lot of people there is no price that will beat a subsidy.

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList

Premium Member

Re: Good idea..

even the "free" phones are not free. Don't forget that stupid contract.
jc10098
join:2002-04-10

jc10098

Member

Re: Good idea..

Free phones aren't free, but I doubt carriers are going to lower the price of their plans. What you end up with is a phone you own and a bill that doesn't get reduced. That 100 dollar a month unlimited plan will remain 100 dollars. I doubt the carrier is going to lower the price to supplement to reflect the purchase price of a phone.

Even at 400 dollars, you are still talking 17 dollars a month for 24 months to recoup your investment. Might as well be locked into a two year unless you've got change to drop for the latest device on a whim.

I prefer the subsidy and will happily live with my 2 year contract to avoid being gouged twice. Once on the bill and once on the phone. Who benefits here? The carrier.
34764170 (banned)
join:2007-09-06
Etobicoke, ON

34764170 (banned)

Member

Re: Good idea..

said by jc10098:

Free phones aren't free, but I doubt carriers are going to lower the price of their plans.

You're obviously not paying attention.
34764170

34764170 (banned) to 88615298

Member

to 88615298
said by 88615298:

Eventually. That may take a couple of years. Also they are never going to be free so for a lot of people there is no price that will beat a subsidy.

There is no such thing as a free phone. You can already get better deals than through the "subsidies".

Metatron2008
You're it
Premium Member
join:2008-09-02
united state

Metatron2008 to ArrayList

Premium Member

to ArrayList
Apple has to have their 40%+ profit, so not on Apple devices.

I mean really, the lowest end iphone costs more then the lowest end ipad? Give me a break.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned) to jc10098

Member

to jc10098
said by jc10098:

Your typical phone is around 600 dollars. Spread between two years, that's 25 dollars a month x 24 months.

You can only finance up to $400. Anything over that you have to pay out of your pocket upfront.
eco
Premium Member
join:2001-11-28
Wilmington, DE

eco

Premium Member

Re: Good idea..

That may be the case for T-Mobile but I believe the similar service Walmart is going to provide with SimpleTalk will allow you to finance the entire cost of the device.
eco

eco to jc10098

Premium Member

to jc10098
If more carriers did this upside here would be, at least for the iPhone since prices for them used is so high, that if a deal on better service comes along you can just sell your old phone and pay off what you owe on it and move to the next service offering the better deal. The contract system we use now makes service and device price competition less likely. Moving to a model like this with the cost of service plus a zero interest loan on the device makes it more likely for price competition of devices and service.

It doesn't look like it got reported here on BBR but Walmart's SimpleTalk is going to be doing something similar. They are going to offer the iPhone on a no interest loan and their $45 dollar a month unlimited everything plan. What makes SimpleTalk somewhat more exciting is they are an MVNO on AT&T's network.

One more thing I'd point out. that calculation you did was based on paying nothing for the phone upfront. Paying even $50 dollars is going to lower that monthly fee somewhat. Plus, if you come in to some extra money during the term of the loan you can pay more and lower the monthly cost of the remainder of the loan term. Even with nothing down an iPhone 5 or top end Android phone for free up front and $70 a month with unlimited everything and no contract is a pretty good deal if you ask me. With AT&T or Verizon you're paying $199 up front, $90 a month with a paltry data allowance AND you're locked in to a two year contract.

J E F F4
Whatta Ya Think About Dat?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-01
Kitchener, ON

J E F F4 to jc10098

Premium Member

to jc10098
The thing is, early cancellation of your plan exceed the original value of the phone. You have to stay with your term otherwise you're paying hundred to get out.

Not only that, now companies can offer 'real' rates for BYOD.
tcope
Premium Member
join:2003-05-07
Sandy, UT

tcope to jc10098

Premium Member

to jc10098
As mentioned, all phones are not $600. Also, if carriers start doing this you will probably see those crazy retail prices drop.

What about people who bring their own phone. What kind of discount do other carriers give them if they are not subsidized? None. So those people get robbed blind by the carriers. TM will be/is offering lower prices when they don't a phone.

MovieLover76
join:2009-09-11
Cherry Hill, NJ
(Software) pfSense
Asus RT-AC68
Asus RT-AC66

MovieLover76 to jc10098

Member

to jc10098
Your math is wrong because your not considering the $200 or more price of high end subsidized phones you have to pay up front so it's really $400 / 24 = $16.66 a month and that's assuming you buy a high end phone, people who don't need a high end phone will benefit even more.

jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA

jmn1207

Premium Member

That's a Potential?

A potential what, disaster?

JigglyWiggly
join:2009-07-12
Pleasanton, CA

JigglyWiggly

Member

Re: That's a Potential?

No, I need my subsidies.
34764170 (banned)
join:2007-09-06
Etobicoke, ON

34764170 (banned)

Member

Re: That's a Potential?

So you can pay for the phone 2 times over and pay for overpriced service. yay!

TuxRaiderPen2
Make America Great Again
join:2009-09-19

TuxRaiderPen2

Member

Good 'potential,' but.....

Tcitycoverage has one problem:

Coverage
Coverage
Coverage

While they may be ahead of some in some areas, they are still way behind in most areas outside metro areas even purchasing/merging with metropcs will not be a huge improvement.

Doesn't matter if I can bring an unlocked GSM/UMTS/LTE device to them if they don't have

Coverage
COVERAGE
COVERAGE!

Doesn't matter what device I can bring or purchase if there is no coverage.. COVERAGE is what makes this radio thing work.. and outside of metro areas tcitycoverage is just not up to the task..

Oh... and FEED CARLY!