T-Mobile drops monthly payments, boosts fees

T-Mobile said that it is temporarily eliminating upfront payments on new phones, but it is increasing the prices for some models through higher monthly payments.

Unlike rival carriers, T-Mobile charges the full retail price of phones, spread over two years, but reduces monthly service fees for voice, text and data. AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and others typically charge $200 or so up front for high-end phones and make up for the rest of the phone's cost through higher service fees over the life of a two-year contract. Under a new payment plan introduced in March, T-Mobile charges a down payment for the phone and monthly installments until the device is paid off in two years. For instance, customers pay $146 up front for an iPhone 5 and $21 a month for two years for a total cost of $650. That's about the same price Apple charges when someone buys the phone without a two-year contract for use at another carrier. In eliminating the down payment, starting July 27, some phones will be cheaper. For instance, customers will be paying $600 overall for Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy S4, compared with $630 currently. Apple's iPhone 5 will be $2 cheaper, at $648 overall.