Bringing in the iPhone 5 is turning out to be one of the best business moves T-Mobile has ever made. The company is reporting 500,000 sales of the phone since bringing it on a little under a month ago, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The iPhone 5’s selling rate on the fourth best wireless carrier is extremely impressive. At this pace the company could sell more iPhones than the 1.5 million sold by Sprint in the first quarter. Even more impressive is the fact the iPhone debuted seven months before it came to T-Mobile.
According to T-Mobile, during the first quarter as many as 3,000 new customers came to the “uncarrier”—as it has been named by T-Mobile Chief Executive John Legere because of the company’s decision in March to do away with two-year contracts.
The company also acquired Metro PCS in April.
“We ended the quarter with strong operational momentum, which is continuing into the second quarter, driven by the successful launch of our un-carrier 'Simple Choice' service plan and the introduction of the iPhone into our device lineup," said Legere. "Things only get more exciting from here, having brought T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS together to create the wireless industry's value leader and premier challenger.”
In the first quarter T-Mobile’s revenue was $4.68 billion which was seven percent lower than the first quarter in 2012. However, since the iPhone sales did not begin until April 12, the revenue brought in from those sales was not in first quarter reports.
T-Mobile was recently in a bit of trouble with the state Attorney General in Washington because of the payment plans for its phone. This allowed customers to receive the option of a full refund if they had signed up with T-Mobile since its new payment plan went into effect.
