T-Mobile USA, the fourth-largest mobile provider in the US, will offer HTC Corp’s (宏達電) newest flagship phone for as little as US$99.99, T-Mobile said in a press release on Monday, in its latest effort to stem customer losses.
T-Mobile, a unit of Germany’s Deutsche Telekom AG, is trying to shift customers from its traditional two-year contract model to new rate plans without phone subsidies.
T-Mobile customers currently have to pay US$99.99 upfront for certain 4G long-term evolution (LTE) devices and US$20 in monthly installments over the following two years, adding up to US$580, the press release said.
These mobile devices, compatible with T-Mobile’s LTE network include the HTC One, the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Note II, the BlackBerry Z10 and Apple’s iPhone 5. The company did not say when the HTC One will be available.
T-Mobile’s move is expected to reduce costs for its customers, since the carrier’s rivals, such as Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint Nextel, usually charge US$200 upfront for an LTE handset such as the iPhone 5, with a two-year contract.
T-Mobile lost 515,000 contract subscribers in the fourth quarter of last year due to a slow start of its 4G LTE strategy, while the company’s prepaid customers continued to grow for the sixth consecutive quarter.
Separately, senior executives from Taiwan’s telecoms operators said that shipments of the HTC One arrived on Tuesday, and that local consumers would be able to get their hands on the new phone by tomorrow.
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