T-Mobile USA recently stated that it will offer the iPhone 5 on its network as of April 12, which is big news for the number-four carrier in the U.S., as the power of the iPhone in the U.S. smartphone market is unmatched by any other mobile device currently.
Indeed, according to a recent comScore MobiLens report, Apple currently holds 37.8 percent of the U.S. market, while its closest competitor, Samsung, had only 21.4 percent.
It's no surprise then that T-Mobile has been losing customers to its larger rivals, all of which already carry Apple's latest smartphone. In order to stay competitive, then, the company is offering its iPhone 5 for only $100 up front, with another $20 per month for two years. Even with this monthly fee added on to the $50 per month T-Mobile charges for voice, text and data, the carrier is offering one of the best iPhone deals in the country.
The reason T-Mobile waited until now to get the iPhone is because of its recent merger with MetroPCS, giving it a larger data network with which to support the device. Apparently, with this new infrastructure, the carrier has already lured over 2.1 million off-contract AT&T iPhone users.
T-Mobile plans to have extensive LTE coverage by the end of the year as well.
This announcement comes shortly after the introduction of the carrier's new plans, which ditch contracts in favor of installment plans in order to lower the upfront cost of phones. While these plans do indeed offer some legitimate benefits over those offered from T-Mobile's rivals, they’ve also been criticized for not challenging the current mobile status quo as much as the company originally claimed.
"Even if they're $5 cheaper, will that be enough?” asked Roger Entner, an analyst for Recon Analyst, regarding T-Mobile's new plans. “They're already charging a significant discount to Verizon and AT&T, and they're losing customers."
Edited by
Braden Becker 
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