T-Mobile Jump Plan Offers a New Smartphone Twice a Year

As part of its quest to improve the lives of smartphones users through its new UNcarrier philosophy, T-Mobile has confirmed that it will allow users to upgrade their smartphones twice a year as part of its new Jump program.

Announced today in New York City, T-Mobile’s Jump will allow users to upgrade their smartphones two times a year. Users will be required to pay an extra $10 a month on top of the T-Mobile services they are already paying for. The Jump program also includes handset protection so that damaged and lost phones will also qualify for the program.

T-Mobile says that starting Sunday, July 14th, its customers will be able to choose to upgrade their devices through the Jump program. Even phones upgraded through the company’s Equipment Installation Program will be able to upgrade twice each year as part of the Jump program.  At the time of the upgrade any early payments they have remaining will be eliminated. Effectively, old customers who are a part of the Jump program won’t ever pay more for their devices than new customers.

Users will need to have been a part of the Jump program for at least six months before their first upgrade. They’ll also be required to trade in their old smartphone to use their Jump upgrade. Users will need to pass a credit check to take advantage of the Jump program.

It’s unclear if users who signed up for two-year service agreements before T-Mobile stopped offering them will have to pay an Early Termination Fee to T-Mobile to become part of the program. Early Termination Fees on T-Mobile range as high as $200 depending on how much time is left in the user’s contract.

Today’s development comes as Verizon and AT&T have changed their Terms of Services to limit upgrade pricing for their users to once every two years. Without that special pricing smartphones can cost as much as $700. Currently, the iPhone 5 on AT&T costs users $649 without a two-year service agreement.