The T-Mobile wireless industry shakeup continues.
T-Mobile (TMUS) on Wednesday announced it's locking in its promotional rates "forever." It will pay you $650 to leave your carrier. And it's making simpler, cheaper plans for small businesses.
To gain ground on its biggest rivals, AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ), T-Mobile has engaged in a promotional price war. The company has promised to make these deals -- such as cheaper unlimited data for family plans -- permanent.
The company is also extending the deal it made to AT&T customers last year. If an AT&T, Sprint (S) or Verizon customer is still paying off their new phone or tablet, T-Mobile is willing to pay up to $650 per line if they switch over.
As for small businesses, T-Mobile is offering easy-to-understand plans that don't require haggling in the store. It's also providing business owners free help to claim a website and build one that looks good on smartphones.
"This is a group that's been totally left behind," said T-Mobile chief operating officer Mike Sievert. "Small businesses ... don't want to be haggling. They want to run their business. They don't have a big department to do this."
This is the latest round of T-Mobile's "uncarrier" strategy to become the populist, customer-friendly cellular company. In the past two years, T-Mobile has eliminated contracts, killed roaming fees, slashed per-minute and text charges, and started letting customers upgrade phones and roll over unused data.
"The United States consumer loves what's happening in the wireless industry," CEO John Legere said at Wednesday's New York announcement. "If you want competition to continue, you're going to have to do something to feed it."
