T-Mobile preparing to ditch traditional subsidies, move entirely to Value Plans in 2013
T-Mobile's not skimping on the big announcements at its Capital Market Days conference: it's now declared that it plans to move entirely to its Value Plans in 2013. These plans, which are readily available, net you a lower monthly tariff in exchange for an omitted device subsidy -- in other words, bring your own phone, and you'll pay less for service. The new strategy would make the company's voice and data lineup more competitive, particularly for subscribers who don't mind paying full sticker price for their handsets, bringing over an unlocked device from another carrier or financing your new phone for twenty months. (This may very well be a key strategy when it comes to its newfound relationship with Apple.) This likely won't be as drastic a move as it sounds, as the company briefly mentioned at today's conference that nearly 80 percent of all postpaid activations utilize the Value Plans already. During this afternoon's presentation, the company used the term "Un-carrier" to describe its new direction -- considering that Deutsche Telekom's Capital Market Days programming runs through tomorrow in Bonn, this move could turn out to be but one piece of T-Mobile's overall marketing plan for 2013.
