📺 Stream EntrepreneurTV for Free 📺

T-Mobile 'Sticks It' to Competition, Will Cover Early Termination Fees The nation's fourth largest carrier is offering up to $650 to customers who terminate their contracts with competing carriers and join T-Mobile's fast-growing network.

By Geoff Weiss

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

T-Mobile is doubling down on its commitment to unshackle consumers from the ironclad cell phone contracts that have become an industry standard.

The company, which has dubbed itself the "un-carrier," will pay early-termination fees of up to $650 -- on up to five total lines -- for individual customers or families who opt to trade in their devices and port their numbers to T-Mobile's service network.

In pursuit of so-called "contract freedom," T-Mobile will offer up to $300 for every device that is exchanged and up to $350 to cover termination fees.

This is not the first time that T-Mobile has sought to break away from competitors like AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, who operate on binding and penalty-laden two-year agreements.

Related: T-Mobile Eliminates International Data Fees for Individuals and Businesses

Last October, T-Mobile announced that it would eliminate international roaming fees by offering unlimited data and texting abroad in over 100 countries while offering a global flat rate of 20 cents per minute on voice calls.

T-Mobile's CEO, John Legere, is relishing in the company's latest news and therein his own cementing status as an industry rebel.

After crashing -- and being unceremoniously kicked out of -- an AT&T party at CES on Monday, he announced the company's latest initiative onstage in Vegas yesterday while clutching a Red Bull in an expletive-ridden rant.

"This industry blows," he said of T-Mobile's competition. "You'll see how easy it is to tell them where to stick it."

Legere also noted that T-Mobile -- the fourth largest carrier in the world -- added 4.4 million new users in 2013, making it the fastest-growing wireless company in America.

Related: After Snapping Up Sprint, SoftBank Sets Sights on T-Mobile

Geoff Weiss

Former Staff Writer

Geoff Weiss is a former staff writer at Entrepreneur.com.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Leadership

More Companies Are Holding on to Their Employees — and Vice Versa. Here's How to Capitalize on This Labor Market.

Your retention and recruitment strategies need to adapt as workers and businesses look for longer-term relationships. Try these strategies to do it.

Business Solutions

Redefining the Future with Artificial Intelligence Buyouts

Here's a look at RAD AI's strategic approach to AI acquisitions in the marketing landscape.

Growing a Business

The Only Way to Win Over Customers Is to Become Their First Choice. Here's How to Do It.

The best businesses focus their customer experience programs on doing the things that delight customers and put them ahead of their competition. Here are three little secrets to achieving this goal.

Business News

AI Is Transforming Drug Matching for Cancer, Rare Diseases — Here's How

One AI pharmaceutical startup works backward, starting from drugs already on the market.

Employee Experience & Recruiting

How Empathy-Based Leadership Can Transform Your Teams and Businesses

Empathy-based leadership is increasingly recognized as a valuable approach in the business world, where traditional strategic plans often fall short.