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iPhone and new approaches to contracts help T-Mobile US add 1.1M customers

T-Mobile CMO Mike Sievert speaks at a press conference in New York

T-Mobile US’s customer base jumped by 1.1 million in its financial Q2, with the iPhone – offered by the carrier for the first time back in April – accounting for 29 percent of sales.

The company had lost over 200,000 customers in the same quarter the previous year. The company’s turnaround is being attributed to a combination of its new approaches to contracts – Uncarrier (whose introduction was not without controversy) and Jump – and the decision to add the iPhone 5 to its handset range. Earlier research by CIRP had suggested that 300-400,000 customers would have left the carrier if it hadn’t introduced the iPhone … 

The company reported that the Samsung S4 also sold well, with smartphones accounting for 86 percent of its total handset sales, up from 71 percent the previous quarter.

The company’s financials were complicated by its acquisition of MetroPCS in May. While revenues climbed from $4.68B to $6.23B, much of this was from customers acquired from MetroPCS. Profits, however, fell, last year’s $107M profit turning into a $16M loss. This was attributed to promotional costs and initial subsidies on handsets which the company expects to recoup later in the year.

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Comments

  1. Jerry Pon (@jerryponmac) - 11 years ago

    I was really disappointed to learn that their “uncarrier” thing is basically a contract. You have to sign a 2-year let’s-not-call-it-a-contract “agreement” to get the iPhone. This is just stupid. If I have to sign something for 2 years, I would just choose AT&T and sign a real contract since it’s cheaper. The phone will be mine after 2 years anyway. There is no point to choose T-Mobile for me. It’s really sad because I used to have T-Mobile and it’s service is way better that AT&T here. The only benefit is that you will get an unlocked phone from day one, which is important to some people, but not me.

    • quandmeme - 11 years ago

      I think you are equating no contract with free phones, right. I love the honesty of separating device from service. I half expect that TMobile will have to back track on this but I love the clarity of this.

      Can I say, too, that the contract and the iPhone are great aspects but the data network coverage cannot be left out either. Even more than the actual number of bars, the idea that tMobile is actually rolling out and functional future-capable network puts them at the top of my list. I live one of the LTE markets but still need the areas I travel to be better covered to switch

  2. Erik (@Elokens_) - 11 years ago

    You don’t have to sign a contract – this is if you can’t afford to pay for the phone out of pocket.

    T-Mobile alone keeps the phone cost separate from the actual data/text/voice service, so if you pay off the phone early, or continue to use it after the payment plan is up, you will see a significant savings in your monthly cost.

    I have had Verizon service for 12 years, so very hesitant to switch…I need to find someone I can try their phone out in my home office location, as that is my main concern over quality.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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