AT&T will offer T-Mobile customers up to $450 per line to switch their service to its network, according to an announcement from the company made on Friday. Each customer will receive $200 credit for every line they transfer from T-Mobile, that credit will be available only to those customers who switch and choose an AT&T Next plan. They'll need to either activate a phone or buy a new one at full retail price in order qualify for the deal.
In addition to this, AT&T has said that it will give customers a promotion card of up to $250 for every smartphone trade-in they can make. The actual value of the promotion card will be determined based on the type of device, its age and quality, according to CNET. AT&T did not say what devices might reach the $250 mark. The company pointed out that its promotion can only be used toward the purchase of select AT&T products and services, or to pay for one's wireless bill.
CNET speculates that the move might be a pre-emptive shot at T-Mobile, which was expected to unveil a similar deal to lure customers away from AT&T at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next week. While AT&T could make a similar move against other competitors, it's possible that this is a direct reaction to pressure it's feeling from the smaller competitor.
In an e-mailed statement to CNET, the site revealed that AT&T representatives said the maneuver is a standard practice.
"Wireless has always been a very competitive industry and a move like this should not be unexpected," the company said. "As you know, there are handset promotions all the time."
The representative went on to explain that, while this promotion is directly targeting T-Mobile, customers on Sprint and Verizon who get a minimum $100 trade-in when they choose Next can also pay only $25 per smartphone on Mobile Share Value plans.
It's significantly easier for smartphone users to switch between T-Mobile and AT&T since they run on the same technology. This entire situation runs in stark contrast to just a few years ago when AT&T announced plans to acquire T-Mobile USA for $29 billion. However, those plans fell through and AT&T dropped its bid in 2011, forcing it to pay T-Mobile $3 billion in cash.
