T-Mobile today announced Smartphone Equality, a new program that will allow subscribers with lower credit ratings to still buy smartphones and tablets with zero down, no interest and no credit check.
Now every T-Mobile customer who’s paid their wireless bill on time for 12 consecutive months will qualify for the lowest up-front pricing on devices.
The program starts Jan. 25 and customers who have already been with T-Mobile for a year or longer and made 12 consecutive online payments will immediately qualify. The deal is extended to any customer with a monthly voice plan, either postpaid or prepaid.
T-Mobile claims that one out of every two customers that try to buy a smartphone through a carrier won’t qualify for the lowest price.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere posted a video blog outlining the carrier’s reasoning behind the new deal. He blasted credit scores as numbers originating from “some nameless, faceless bureaucracy.”
Legere said that T-Mobile research indicates subprime customers with a 12-month history of on-time payments perform better than new prime customers.
“It’s not just the right thing to do. It’s good business,” Legere said a video post.
