T-Mobile is readying a new effort called Jump which would allow some existing customers of the fourth largest carrier to upgrade to new phones at the same prices as new customers. The plan, which was reported today by The Verge, is may be unveiled at a press event today starting at 11:30 am. (GeekWire will be tuning in for more details, so check back here later).
TmoNews described the effort as a membership club of sorts, potentially with a small fee to allow “anytime upgrades.” As part of the club, members would be permitted to upgrade as much as two times per year.
T-Mobile has been attempting to shake up the wireless industry through an effort its dubbing its “uncarrier” model. At today’s event, T-Mobile has claimed that it will announce its “boldest moves yet.”
TmoNews already reported on a new ad campaign from T-Mobile which takes shots at AT&T for its lengthy two-year contracts, which lock customers on devices. (With those long contracts, customers must pay out the nose for a new phone if a device is lost, stolen or broken).
A membership club could be an interesting path to take, similar to the insurance plans that are sometimes offered to cell phone subscribers.
The news comes amid a Bloomberg report that T-Mobile will announce during its next quarterly report that it added contract customers, the first time it has done so in three years. The additions come amid a turnaround plan by CEO John Legere, who took the helm of the Bellevue-based carrier last year. T-Mobile, which recently added the iPhone to its lineup, had 20.1 million contract customers at the end of March.
