After agreeing to pay early-termination fees, and killing wireless contracts and overages, T-Mobile yesterday announced that it'll soon offer anyone a free week-long test drive of its data network with an Apple iPhone 5s.
Starting June 23, you can sign up for the trial on T-Mobile's website, and the carrier will send you an iPhone 5s for zero down. In case you aren't impressed with the network or with the device itself, you can return it to a T-Mobile store within the stipulated time period, and you won't be charged a single penny.
"While the carriers ask you to buy blind, the Un-carrier gives you transparency. Our network kicks ass, and now people can experience for themselves what a data-strong network can do with T-Mobile Test Drive", T-Mobile CEO and President John Legere said in a statement.
In addition, the nation's 4th largest carrier said that streaming from popular services like Pandora, Rhapsody, Spotify, iHeartRadio, iTunes Radio and Slacker Radio, will no longer count against the data allowance included in users' subscriptions. That said, you will still need to pay whatever fees these services charge for premium features, of course.
T-Mobile also launched its own music streaming service, unRadio, in association with Rhapsody. Besides being ad-free, the service lets you choose your music and replay your favorites any time. It'll be included for customers who have unlimited 4G LTE data service, while others can get it for $4/mo.
Although T-Mobile's Un-carrier moves have earned it 2.4 million customers in the first quarter, the company has lost $151 million in revenue, compared to a profit of $106 million in the same quarter a year ago.
Nonetheless, as has happened in the past, T-Mobile's latest announcements could force other big players to play catch-up.