T-Mobile is hell-bent on getting customers to switch over from other carriers, and it hopes its latest move will bring in at least one million new customers.
Dubbed 'Test Drive,' T-Mobile's latest campaign allows customers to take the iPhone 5S for a free spin on T-Mobile's 4G LTE network for seven days.
For customers to be able to go on what T-Mobile chief executive John Legere calls a "seven-night stand" with the fourth largest mobile carrier in the U.S., they have to sign-up at www.t-mobile.com/testdrive and hand over a credit or debit card number. T-Mobile will hold an amount of $699.99, but unless customers don't return the iPhone 5S or if the phone is broken at the end of seven days, the amount will not be charged.
If they decide they want to switch to T-Mobile, the Un-carrier will pay for the termination fees on their existing contract. New customers will also be able to choose to keep the loaner iPhone 5S or get a new HTC One M8 or Samsung Galaxy S5.
Test Drive was conceived amidst customer complaints about the wireless purchase process, where people have to sign up without knowing how well the service will work for their area. T-Mobile cites a survey conducted by CivicScience, which shows that around 46% of customers who have signed up with a wireless provider regret the purchase in the end, and one out of 10 customers leave within the first 30 days.
"The way this industry forces Americans to buy wireless is completely, utterly broken," says Legere in a statement. "I'm here to tell you there's a better way. 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."
The move is classic T-Mobile, which has not hesitated with putting out aggressive pricing strategies to entice customers to switch over. Calling itself the Un-carrier as a means to separate itself from the bigger mobile carriers, T-Mobile was the first wireless provider to eliminate contract, a move that other carriers are only starting to experiment with. It also introduced an early upgrade program and removed international roaming charges, all while paying customers to switch over from other providers.
The weak point in T-Mobile's plan, however, is while its Wideband network provides the fastest LTE speeds; the connection is fastest in larger cities and tends to slow down in outer areas. Still, the company is moving quickly to address this issue and has announced along with Test Drive that it will be expanding its network to 16 different areas, which are currently undisclosed. T-Mobile claims the expansion will boost download speeds to 150 Mbps for T-Mobile devices. This is equivalent to downloading a 90-minute high-definition movie in just less than three minutes or an 11-song album in seven seconds.
