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T-Mobile ending contracts? Thoughts and opinions?

Banished Angel

Banished Angel

Android Enthusiast
Though not specifically related to the Nexus 4, it is rumored that T-Mobile will be dropping contracts altogether within the next month. Since this rumor has been floating around for quite a while I personally believe there is something to it. T-Mobile also plans to have their LTE network covering 100 million people by "mid 2013" with a total of 200 million people by the end of this year. Despite being the last to deploy LTE technology it looks like they are playing quite the game of catch up, which i'm sure is in part due to the spectrum T-Mobile acquired from the failed AT&T merger.



Worth noting:

- LTE will only work on the Nexus 4 with pre 4.2.2 software. If you want to access LTE you will have to stick with an older baseband version.



Sources:

Rumor: T-Mobile to move to no-contract model soon | Mobile - CNET News

T-Mobile: our LTE network will blanket 200 million people by the end of 2013

Android 4.2.2 update blocks unofficial LTE support on Nexus 4 - Yahoo! News



** Note to mods: As stated previously I am aware this is not specifically related to the Nexus 4, but I am seeking input from this community. Please allow this thread to stay for the time being. Thank you!
 
I'm glad to see them getting rid of contracts. People are pretty ignorant about the cost of their phone due to subsidy and this will help with that.
 
Tmo is also in the process of merging with Metro PCS. Metro shareholders are opposed. Who knows what will go on.

TMO did have no contract value plans before. No one understood them. Everyone got pissed since there were no subsidized phones. I had one and switched to the new value plan while the nonsense with ATT was going on. Still have the BYOD plan. TMo is pretty good about that. I've had mostly unlocked phones for the last 2 years.

I'm not going anywhere since TMO still has the best value for a 3 line plan with only one line having data. All have unlimited text. (one line doesn't want - other line a backup for kid when she comes to the US. She sticks her US SIM in the phone as soon as she lands in NY)

TMO is just starting with LTE, but according to the speed test freaks at HoFo, HSPA+ is just as fast. TMo is also starting to reach more areas. I have also read that LTE is hell on a battery on some phones. Doesn't bother me. I don't need that much speed and Edge works just as well for what I want as long as the signal is steady..
 
I'm already on a T-mobile no contract plan so the only thing that really concerns me is if they force me to move up to a higher paying plan, currently on the $30 100 minutes unlimited Text/Data plan

As far as the LTE goes, I'm really ok with it not running LTE given that the HSPA or HSPA+ network is just as good, and well if I have to downgrade to get use out of LTE which will certainly shorten my battery life "Which I know is a concern for a lot of people" then i'd rather just stay on their 4G HSPA network given its fast for me.
 
mb41186 said:
I'm already on a T-mobile no contract plan so the only thing that really concerns me is if they force me to move up to a higher paying plan, currently on the $30 100 minutes unlimited Text/Data plan

As far as the LTE goes, I'm really ok with it not running LTE given that the HSPA or HSPA+ network is just as good, and well if I have to downgrade to get use out of LTE which will certainly shorten my battery life "Which I know is a concern for a lot of people" then i'd rather just stay on their 4G HSPA network given its fast for me.
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I think that the major differences(that I have seen from the posted speed tests) is uploads are more then double what HSPA+ is currently giving.
I think it will also depend on where the tower is in relation to you, where I live I have lots of high pine trees surrounding my house and neighborhood Boost Mobile data (sprints towers) can barely get 100kbps down and maybe the same up but t mobile HSPA+ gets me 8-12 mbps down and 1.5-2 up sitting in the same chair.
When and if LTE comes to jax and a update to enable LTE has not come out I will just downgrade the radio, I am running cm10.1 so it wont crash my jellybean 4.2.2
 
Getting rid of post-pay entirely would be a very brave move!

I really can't see any network doing it - the number of people paying way more than they need on post-pay contracts is worth an absolute fortune to them.

Did I say brave? I meant foolish ..

Re LTE, it's just being rolled out in the UK with T-Mob as the only player at the minute. Consequently, it's still over-priced. Consequently, I don't miss it :)

Also, LTE seems like such a stop-gap: a phone technology doesn't support voice? And is only slightly faster than what's already there? That can't be a long term solution, shirley.
 
Just to be clear, T-Mobile is *not* getting rid of post-pay. They are getting rid of *contracts*.

Linux user #266351. Android since v1.0
 
Banished Angel said:
I am aware this is not specifically related to the Nexus 4, but I am seeking input from this community
Click to expand...

It's a topic that's sure to be of interest/concern to other T-Mobile customers though?

As it's not directly relevant to the N4 the only proper place for it is here, but I've left a one-week redirect in place in the Nexus 4 section to give members there ample time to see it and comment.
 
What's good about the no contract part is people can upgrade their phone whenever they want to without having to wait until the life of their contract to end.
 
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