T-Mobile has announced a strong move they are making that is easily the most significant change that a major wireless carrier has made in many years concerning contractual commitments for their customers. The standard two year contract commitment has been shortened to six months with the new Jump Program T-Mobile rolled out this past week. Customers will now be able to upgrade their handsets twice a year, instead of every two years. The move is a brave one, and the company widely regarded as the Rodney Dangerfield of the Big 4 wireless service providers in the US is clearly forcing the hands of Sprint, Verizon and AT&T on this issue.
Here is how the new program works. A T-Mobile customer can sign up for the company’s Jump program, which allows them to upgrade their handset up to two times every twelve months. And the upgrade allows them to purchase the new handset at the same, lower price as new customers which will have to wait two years to get that substantially lower price tag from Sprint, Verizon Wireless and AT&T. John Legere is the CEO and president of T-Mobile US, and he stated that 730 days (2 years) to wait for an upgrade was a random number arrived at by wireless service providers.
He said it is his company’s belief that this is much too long to wait to upgrade a smartphone with technology changing so quickly these days. We see new offerings in the smartphone marketplace on nearly a month-to-month basis, with many phones delivering technological advancements over other handsets only a few months old. This new six month upgrade program from T-Mobile will allow tech-crazed smartphone buyers to continually own the most powerful handsets offering the most popular features.
And they will be able to get those phones at the lower upgrade price. Enrollment in the program is just $10 per month per phone, just two dollars more per month than most smartphone customers pay for extras like handset protection. For those intensive and frequent smartphone users who demand the latest and greatest technology, the new six month commitment plan will be a boon. T-Mobile has definitely drawn a proverbial line in the sand, and it will be exciting to watch the response that Verizon, Sprint and AT&T make concerning handset upgrades and contract longevity.
With smartphones costing upwards of $500 when purchased “out of contract”, paying $120 a year to be able to purchase two handsets a year at upgrade retail prices could easily save a smartphone buyer with T-Mobile $300 or more depending on the models they choose. Breaking with tradition is never easy, and often leads to benefits for the consumer, which is just what it appears this new, brave move by T-Mobile will deliver.
