T-Mobile USA, announced at its “Uncarrier” event in New York City on Tuesday that it will start selling Apple’s iPhone on April 12th, 2013. This will make T-Mobile the first U.S. carrier to offer the iPhone 5 without a contract. Here are 5 fast facts you need to know.
1. T-Mobile Will Finally Carry the iPhone Starting on April 12th, 2013
T-Mobile, the fourth largest carrier in the U.S, announced on Tuesday at a press event in New York that it will start to carry the iPhone on April 12th, 2013. Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile’s parent company said that “T-Mobile made an agreement with Apple to bring more products to market together in 2013.
2. The iPhone Will Be Compatible With T-Mobile’s LTE Network
According to the Verge, the iPhone will be compatible with T-Mobile’s LTE Network. T-Mobile launched its 4G LTE Network on March 26th, 2013 in San Jose, Washington D.C., Las Vegas, Phoenix, Kansas City, Houston and Baltimore. In select markets, the iPhone 5 will also run on T-Mobile’s “4G” HSPA+Network and GSM/Edge Networks. The carrier expects to have close to 200 million people covered on its network by the end of the year.
3. T-Mobile Will Sell the iPhone Differently Than Its Competitors
Instead of making its iPhone buyers sign a two-year contract, T-Mobile will offer iPhone buyers to pay in full for the device when they make the purchase, or buyers can set up an installment plan with T-Mobile. If you buy a 16GB iPhone 5 you just need to pay a $99 deposit with 24 months of $20 payments. Over two years that will cost you $579. T-Mobile hasn’t announced what will happen if you cancel your agreement with them.
4. T-Mobile is Offering New Rate Plans
John Legere, T-Mobile USA CEO said, T-Mobiles new rates will end up saving consumers “more than $1,000,” on Apple smartphone, compared to signing up with AT&T’s 2 year contract. T-Mobile will offer new rate plans to iPhone buyers, 500MB of 4G data for $50, that will include unlimited talk and text. You can also get 2Gb for $60-$70 with unlimited data.
5. T-Mobile’s iPhone Will Not Have WiFi Calling
T-Mobile also announced that its version of the iPhone will not support T-Mobile’s WiFi calling. When Engadget spoke to Sievert, Sievert said, “WiFi calling is not coming.” When pressed on the issue, Sievert said, “T-Mobile loves WiFi calling feature, and i’ll have to leave it at that.” The WiFi calling feature allows T-Mobile customer who are abroad to receive calls from their US phone number through a WiFi connection that’s anywhere in the world. The WiFi calling feature is currently only on Android devices.
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T-Mobile to Receive iPhone 5: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know