T-Mobile CES 2014: UnCarrier 4 Unveiled As AT&T, Sprint & Verizon Customers Offered $650 To Switch To T-Mobile; ‘We Will Become Famous For This In 2014’ Says CEO

T-Mobile CES 2014: The UnCarrier 4 strategy was finally unveiled Wednesday at the CES, landing what CNN Money calls a one-two punch. After America’s fourth largest carrier revealed that it added 4.4 million customers in 2013, it’s now making an offer to its competitors’ subscribers, paying up to $650 for them to switch to T-Mobile.

“We will become famous for this in 2014,” T-Mobile CEO John Legere told reporters at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. “We’re going to force the industry to change. I want every customer to have a complete choice. It’s going to be a healthier industry.”

Legere was referring to UnCarrier strategy, the goal of which is to upend the mobile industry. Last year, the unconventional chief executive made the move of eliminating service agreements from his company, offering its customers flexibility on a month-to-month basis.

The plan seems to be working for T-Mobile as it added 1.6 million new subscribers in the fourth quarter alone, bringing its total customer base to almost 47 million people, CNN Money reports.

The news on T-Mobile news subscribers came with the $650 to offer to help people switch to T-Mobile. The carrier is suggesting you cancel your contract as they’d pay the early termination fees up to $650. The offer includes a maximum of $350 per line and $300 per phone.

The offer requires you to trade in your old phone, purchase a new one from T-Mobile and give back your current number.

According to CNN Money, the deal is likely perceived as a response to AT&T’s $450 pitch last week to T-Mobile customers. But the newest part of the UnCarrier strategy is linked to T-Mobile’s goal of killing contracts and handing more power to the customer.

“It’s not a bribe. It’s a transformational for our industry,” T-Mobile’s chief marketing officer , Mike Sievert, said at CES.

T-Mobile is asking their competitors’ customers to visit T-Mobile.com/break-up and write their mobile carrier a break-up letter. It tells the prospective T-Mobile customer to name their ex- AT&T, Verizon or Sprint - and the company will help you pen your note.

John Legere recently made headlines for crashing an AT&T party in Las Vegas earlier this week. He attended AT&T’s party for its software developers, which features musical act Macklemore and Ryan Leiws. A CNET reporter tweeted about his presence at the event. Fifteen-minutes later, he was escorted by security personnel to leave the party.

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