T-Mobile won't -- or maybe can't -- stop.
The nation's fourth-largest wireless carrier said that it will lock in the monthly price of $15 for anyone buying an iPhone today with an intent to upgrade to the next iPhone later this year.
It's the latest -- and last -- in a series of incentives laid out over the last several weeks to entice customers to switch to the "Uncarrier." It's part of a campaign called "Uncarrier Amped," which adds tweaks to prior programs and features. The new feature comes amid intensifying competition as carriers look hang on to their base of subscribers.
T-Mobile has been unusually aggressive over the last few weeks. It kicked things off with a tweak to its upgrade policy, allowing you to upgrade your smartphone up to three times a year, then opened up its borders to allow its customers to use their smartphones in Canada or Mexico without roaming charges, and finally bulked up its family plan with more data (while eliminating one of its unlimited data options).
The first feature, called Jump on Demand, gives customers the ability to lease a phone for a monthly price. T-Mobile offered a promotional monthly fee of $15 a month for anyone buying an iPhone, undercutting the $20 leasing fee Sprint charges. Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure has knocked T-Mobile for misleading consumers about the price increase that occurs after customers upgrade to a new phone.
T-Mobile addressed that on Tuesday by offering a price lock of $15 for anyone buying an iPhone before Labor Day so that the monthly fee remains at the same price even after the customer upgrades to a new iPhone later this year.
"We're in the time of year when customers are on the fence about buying a new phone - for fear that it'll be a generation old in just a few months," T-Mobile CEO John Legere said in a blog. "We're eliminating that worry completely for iPhone lovers."
The company also added Apple Music to its Music Freedom program, which lets customers stream music without it going against their data limits.