T-Mobile USA’s new ‘Jump’ plan allows customers to upgrade phones every 6 months

John Legere T-Mo CEO

Sick and tired of two year contracts? I know I definitely am. Tired of being stuck with the same phone for two years? I know lots of people that will eerily chant “yes” to that question, especially considering smartphones are pretty much outdated by the time they hit retail shelves.

T-Mobile USA just unveiled a unique ‘Jump’ plan which will allow wireless customers to upgrade their phones up to twice a year (every six months), with no additional charges. How does that work, you ask?

T-Mo customers will be required to pay $10 extra per month for the Jump plan. Then, every six months if they decide they want a new phone, they can purchase a brand new handset at the discounted (new-contract) price without having to sign another new contract. Ultimately, this saves you from paying about $500-600 for a new handset because instead you can get a new device for around $200-300, depending on the model. In addition, if upgrading customers are subscribed to one of T-Mobile’s plans which include payments for a contract phone, the company will waive any of the remaining balance.

On top of all that, the plan can also be used as a form of insurance in the event you lose or damage your device.

Sound too good to be true? There is a catch. Customers who take part in Jump upgrades will have to trade-in their old device to upgrade through the Jump plan.

Another major stipulation is that you cannot upgrade your device for the first six months after subscribing to Jump. However, you can upgrade after the first six months. And since you get two device upgrades a year, that means you get a total of four upgrades within an 18 month time span (24 month contract minus the first 6 in which you can’t upgrade). Not too shabby, especially if you hate being locked down to a single device for so long.

T-Mobile’s CEO John Legere teased a plan like this in the past, so it’s nice to see it actually coming into fruition. This is all part of the company’s rebranding as the first mobile “uncarrier” without contracts and large subsidy fees.

Personally, I have service with Verizon and I have to say that with everything T-Mobile is doing I’m really starting to consider jumping ship. It’s great that my contract with Big Red just ended not too long ago. The sky really is the limit at this point.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

[via Ars Technica]

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