Something big seems to be brewing in the T-Mobile camp. The company sent out invitations to its next major Un-Carrier event. Not only that, but the company published a web page with a countdown rolling for September 6 at 8 a.m. (PT) — which we assume is when we will see the next iteration of Un-Carrier.
There is reason to be excited about the event. At its Un-Carrier event in January, the company announced it would offer unlimited data to its customers — and not long afterward, the other major carriers in the U.S. followed suit. We have no idea what we will see but it could have important implications.
There are rumors about what we could see at the event though. Recently, news broke that the company will be launching a program aimed at reducing the prices of top-tier phones like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the iPhone 7 — phones that can easily cost $700 or $800. Of course, it won’t end up being a contract — T-Mobile is specifically against contracts. It seems as though the new program is targeted at those who prefer to pay outright for their phone rather than pay on a month-by-month basis.
The program could end up replacing Jump, which is T-Mobile’s early upgrade plan. With Jump, users can replace their phone after 50 percent of the phone’s cost has been paid — provided they pay a fee of between $9 and $12 per month.
On top of that, rumors indicate that T-Mobile could actually end up launching its own flagship phone, which is an interesting move. We will have to wait and see if the phone can actually compete with other flagship devices out there.
The announcement will come at a time of growth for T-Mobile. The company recently acquired low-band spectrum for a $8 billion, which will allow it to seriously expand on its LTE network. Low-band spectrum is favored by carriers because of the fact that it can travel longer distances without weakening — meaning that a carrier might not have to install as many cell towers. Traditionally, low-band spectrum has been used for network television, but the FCC recently sold much of that spectrum to mobile carriers.