T-Mobile, which recently rebranded itself as the "uncarrier" among U.S. wireless companies because of its abolishing of traditional two-year contracts, on Wednesday announced a new program called Jump to give customers on its network more freedom to upgrade their phones.
Customers will be able to upgrade phones twice a year, with the first upgrade coming in no earlier than six months. Jump costs $10 a month and includes insurance for the phone. Customers will be required to trade in their old phone.
The Jump program begins July 14. A customer on the program will be able to trade in their phone as long as it is in "good working condition" and any remaining payments on that device will be eliminated. The customer can then buy the new phone with the same device financing T-Mobile offers to new customers.
T-Mobile's new program runs counter to the trend among other wireless carriers, such as AT&T, which recently extended the waiting period for cheap phone upgrades from 18 months to two years. If customers want to upgrade before then, they typically have to pay the full retail price of the phone, which is significantly higher than the contract-tied price.
Earlier this year T-Mobile abolished traditional wireless contracts for its subscribers. Instead, T-Mobile customers buy phones on an "equipment installment plan" that still keeps the buying price low, but requires monthly payments until the full cost of the phone is paid. There are no early termination fees, however.