T-Mobile wants to help pay off your iPhone -- but there's a catch
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}IN THIS IMAGE DISTRIBUTED BY AP IMAGES FOR T-MOBILE - T-Mobile CEO John Legere celebrates the end of international data roaming fees at a special event for customers with Shakira in New York's Bryant Park on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013. T-Mobile has extended unlimited data and texting to Simple Choice customers traveling in more than 100 countries. (Jason DeCrow/AP Images for T-Mobile)
As the battle for cell phone subscribers wage on between the carriers, T-Mobile has added another arrow to its quiver, encouraging Verizon customers who have an iPhone to switch networks.
As part of a new promotion starting May 31, any Verizon customer with an iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, or iPhone SE can bring their phone to a T-Mobile store and the phone will be paid off by T-Mobile. The deal is also good for Google Pixel smartphones as well.
However, Verizon customers are required to pay $15 a month for T-Mobile's Premium Device Protection Plus insurance program. The insurance program protects the iPhone from loss, theft or damage.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The offer is only available in the U.S. and customers will get the remaining amount owed on their iPhones in a digital prepaid MasterCard in approximately 15 days after they trade in their device.
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“After desperately launching unlimited, Verizon’s network choked—while our network speeds surged. Today, T-Mobile has a whopping 23% speed advantage over Verizon,” said T-Mobile CEO Legere in a statement. “So, to kick off summer, we’re going BIG right out of the gate and throwing a lifeline to millions of Verizon customers. Now, you can ditch Verizon, keep your phone, and we’ll even pay it off for you!"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Analysts believe the new marketing initiative, for which T-Mobile and Legere have become known for, will keep Verizon on the defensive and may be a precursor to other announcements.
Jackdaw Research analyst Jan Dawson said the deal applies to Verizon because of how similar Verizon's network is to T-Mobile's network.
"It also helps that Verizon is doing a little better lately competitively since reintroducing unlimited services – it turned around its postpaid phone net add trend in Q1 after the move – and so T-Mobile may feel it needs to get more aggressive to redress the balance and keep its positive porting ratio versus Verizon going," Dawson said on his Tech Narratives website.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dawson added that T-Mobile is likely to introduce "other announcements like this over the next few weeks."
Legere has often poked fun at his larger competitors, as they lose subscribers to T-Mobile, which has been aggressive in acquiring new subscribers through its marketing tactics.
In April, Legere needled the New York-based Verizon on Twitter after the company reported first-quarter earnings that missed Wall Street estimates. It also said retail postpaid subscribers -- the most lucrative for a telecom -- fell by 307,000 during the period, including 289,000 phone losses.