By: iPadfanzz staff on March 28, 2013
Nearly six years after making its debut, the iPhone will finally be available on the T-Mobile wireless network. The carrier confirmed that it would begin selling the iPhone 5 on its just-launched 4G LTE network beginning April 12.
T-Mobile is selling the iPhone starting at $99 up front, no contract, followed by 20 months of $20 payments on top of monthly pre-paid data plans. In comparison, other carries like AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, require two-year contracts on purchasing a subsidized iPhone. You can also purchase the iPhone at full price on T-Mobile and nix the $20 monthly fees.
In addition to the iPhone 5, T-Mobile will begin selling a number of other big-name 4G devices: the Samsung Galaxy S4, BlackBerry Z10, Samsung Galaxy Note II and HTC One. The company also announced that it has started selling its own wireless hotspot, the Sonic 2.0 Mobile HotSpot LTE.
T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network will debut in seven major markets: Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Jose, and Washington, D.C. The carrier’s coverage by mid-year will include 100 million Americans, and double that by the end of 2013.
The iPhone was originally launched as an exclusive with AT&T in 2007. Verizon started selling the iPhone 4 in January 2011, and Sprint began selling the iPhone with the launch of the 4S.
In a statement T-Mobile said it is getting rid of device discounts and service contracts to offer a "radically simplified" installment payment plan on a "full device portfolio." The new plan will also allow customers to upgrade phones when they want.
The plan start with unlimited talk and text messaging with 500 megabytes of data downloads for $50 per month for the first line, and increase to $60 a month for 2 gigabytes of data, or $70 a month for unlimited data usage.
