T-Mobile USA - the nation’s fourth-largest mobile network operator - has dropped annual contracts and is instead moving to a single ‘unlimited’ monthly tariff. The news came as the company also launched its 4G LTE service in the United States.
John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile USA, said “These bold moves serve notice that T-Mobile is cancelling its membership in the out-of-touch wireless club. This is an industry filled with ridiculously confusing contracts, limits on how much data you can use or when you can upgrade, and monthly bills that make little sense. As America’s Un-carrier, we are changing all of that and bringing common sense to wireless.”
Customers are just being offered two tariff options on the new ‘Simple Choice’ plan: the number of phones they need and the monthly allowance of 4G data they need. Voice calls, text messages and 2G/3G web access are described as unlimited, with prices starting from $50/month (around £33).
Handset prices are either available unsubsidised or can be bought on a credit plan across two years.
4G LTE coverage from T-Mobile is expected to reach 100 million people in the USA by mid-2013 and 200 million by the end of the year.