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T-Mobile seen cashing in on the iPhone 5C

Published Sep 9th, 2013 10:00PM EDT
T-Mobile iPhone 5C Sales

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Apple’s budget iPhone seems like a perfect fit for America’s top budget carrier. Bloomberg has talked with several analysts who say that T-Mobile may benefit the most from Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5C, especially since it will likely offer the device for $0 down and will have users pay a comparatively small sum each month to cover the cost of the device subsidy.

“Assuming it is a lower-priced iPhone, it should, in theory, benefit T-Mobile more than the others,” Cote Collaborative industry strategist Michael Cote tells Bloomberg. “If you look at the rate of people leaving AT&T for T-Mobile, the ratio is already bad, and this could exacerbate that.”

Similarly, Recon Analytics analyst Roger Entner tells Bloomberg that “getting a lower-cost iPhone could make a big difference for T-Mobile,” especially since “it’s a much more even playing field than it was last year, when AT&T had more of an advantage.”

T-Mobile, which has long struggled as America’s No. 4 wireless carrier, has received a jolt this year from its so-called “uncarrier” initiative that has ditched wireless contracts while also giving customers the option to upgrade their phones more regularly in exchange for paying an extra $10 a month. These aggressive moves helped the company add 1.1 million subscribers during the second quarter this year, the biggest postpaid subscriber growth it has seen over the past four years.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.