(Editor's Note: Click here for an update to this story.)
T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) is putting an end to discount rate plans for customers who have Advantage plans. Beginning April 1, the company will end employee rate plan discounts and will replace them with $25 reward cards every time an employee purchases a new device.
In a blog post, T-Mobile CEO John Legere said that the old programs were designed to help big carriers close big corporate contracts and used employees as "bargaining chips." Legere said the company wants to simplify its plans and offer the same benefits to small and large company employees.
T-Mobile will notify existing customers that their discounts will be ending as soon as their contract is up. Or, if they no longer have a contract, the discounts will end as early as May.
T-Mobile's Advantage plans are available to employees of companies that have agreements with T-Mobile.
Legere noted that T-Mobile has made many changes to its "Simple Choice" rate plans, including offering global roaming and texting at no extra charge, that benefit enterprise clients. In addition, the company increased the amount of LTE data customers can get before throttling to 1 GB for $50 per month, up from a previous allotment of 500 MB. Customers can also get 3 GB of LTE data, including tethering, for an additional $10 per month per line (up from 2.5 GB previously), or 5 GB for an extra $20 per month per line.
For more:
- see this blog post from John Legere
- see this Re/code article
- see this CNET article
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This article was modified on March 31 to clarify that the changes to T-Mobile's plans are intended for employees not companies.