Bring your own phone and you don’t have to sign a two-year service agreement to receive post-paid (monthly) rate plans on T-Mobile’s network. According to Gear Diary, all of Big Pink’s calling plans and features, including MyFaves and mobile to mobile, are included if they are included with the regular plan on contract. If you don’t have an existing unlocked or T-Mobile compatible handset, you can purchase one for the full retail, un-subsidized price and qualify for the bring your own phone promotion.

The wireless landscape in the US has changed from trying to sell new customers on the plan and phone as most people who want a cell phone already have one. Instead, carriers are now trying to poach customers from rival networks or try to sell other bundled services to existing customers, including mobile data and messaging plans. This move will allow T-Mobile to sign up disgruntled GSM customers from rival AT&T and convince them that if their phones are unlocked, they can sign onto T-Mobile’s network risk-free with an easy exit strategy.

Also, this will make the carriers immediately profitable from the date of acquiring the customer as the firm won’t have to recoup costs from heavy subsidies, contrary to AT&T’s strategy with the iPhone. With the iPhone strategy, because AT&T is heavily subsidizing the handset, it won’t be months before the company realizes profits on those customers, and that’s with data add-ons.