T-Mobile discontinuing employer rate plan discounts

Beginning next Tuesday, T-Mobile will no longer extend discounts to employees of companies that have business agreements with the carrier. 

These discounts are offered to employees of these companies as an added benefit to the corporate agreements and it is a common practice across all the major carriers, until now.

In lieu of the service discount, T-Mobile will offer a $25 reward card each time an eligible employee of one of the T-Mobile business customers purchases a new phone. Per T-Mobile CEO John Legere, “It’s simple, clear and transparent – like everything we do.” He points out that for a family of four, it could save them $100 if they decide to get new devices for everyone.

The reasoning behind the change is that the old discount scheme is designed to help the big carriers “close big corporate contracts, with employees as bargaining chips.” The outspoken CEO added, “We aren’t playing that game anymore.” There was no mention about whether T-Mobile was going to change whatever discount schedule it has for new business agreements going forward.

While it is a safe bet that even with the discounts, some of the bigger carrier plans cannot compete price-wise with T-Mobile plans, a lot of the business agreements with the larger carriers also include pretty significant accessory discounts, some as high as 50%. Even the service discounts with the other carriers vary widely, from under 10% up to 30%, possibly more.

The other thing is that under the old discount plans, even a recurring discount as little as 8% or 10% off T-Mobile's $50 Simple Choice plan is worth nearly double the value of the gift card when aggregated over the course of a year.

T-Mobile’s new approach is indeed a lot simpler, and it fits the “un-carrier” motif. T-Mobile has introduced a number of enhancements to its rate schedule, including free international roaming to over 100 different countries and certainly enhances the value of Team Magenta’s plans. Value, however, remains in the eye of the beholder. It will be interesting to see how this particular change will be received.

As we are accustomed to hearing and reading, John Legere assures us, “And, we’re not done yet. Stay tuned.”

source: T-Mobile