So what is all this “un-carrier” business. I suppose we should take it back a little bit before coming to the present. First we know that the AT&T merger failed. Deustche Telekom, T-Mobiles mommy, still made a sizable chunk of change and picked up some spectrum. Next we have talks on the table to merger T-Mobile with MetroPCS. That is still in negotiations and nothing has been finalized yet. However, it does bring some information that is rather interesting.
MetroPCS’ largest shareholder,  John Paulson, has officially voiced his opposition to merging with T-Mobile. Stating that “We believe MetroPCS is worth more as a stand-alone company.†While Paulson’s company might be the largest shareholder, it is only 9.9%. It will still all come down to the what the boards of each company agrees to and makes happen. For now, both boards seem to be in favor of it taking place and we could hear something concrete this month.
Some time ago there was a statement put out by a carrier over in Europe about T-Mobile looming towards dropping subsidized handsets all together and how it went terribly wrong. I can’t for the life of me remember who and when that happened but the point is that is exactly what T-Mobile is looking to try to do. The chatter around the net is that T-Mobile  could be kicking their uncarrier efforts off on the 24th of March with announcement of the pending change being sent out as early as the 4th. In a nut shell, T-Mobile will be going all Value Plan. Here is a brief on what we could expect to see.
- For starters, kiss contracts goodbye as T-Mobile moves to a no-contract world. Existing customers will finish out their current contract or upgrade to a new device without a new contract, whichever comes first. New customers won’t have to suffer with any long-term commitments. Contract wise that is.
- Early termination fees will be a thing of the past as well, which makes complete sense when announced with the removal of contracts.
- Expect the introduction of a new equipment installment plan tier, likely in the $25 – 30 dollar range as T-Mobile moves to make all its smartphones $99 or less as down payments. A $30 tier makes sense if you consider the retail value of the device is $699 = $30 x 20 monthly payments.
With out an official statement or release of information, it is subject to change and even subject to be disbanded entirely. According to TmoNews, T-Mobile with be tuning this all up post LTE and MetrOPCS merging. Most likely ditching our wondrous spokes person Carly, and that “Stick Together” tag line. Which wouldn’t bother me at all. There might be a new term to look for too, Dual 4G. Mostly referring to HSPA+ and LTE since T-Mobiles HSPA+ is 4G and is pretty close to LTE speeds already.
The whole uncarrier move is a pretty bold one. It is a model that none of the big guys have ever done. They want those contracts, they want to force you into ETF’s and big bills when ever possible. They want your money. It could definitely fit into Johns “Shake things up” plan. How well will it work out if and when it goes down is yet to be seen of course. None of this is even new chat. John and NewCo talked about all of this in December. That video is below, it is 55 minutes long. It does however cover a huge amount of information. Especially the upcoming uncarrier talk and an Apple agreement. Which we will hear more about soon I am sure and if the above info has anything to do with a T-Mobile iPhone launch, then it is going to be HUGE and TOTALLY different from any carrier offers.
