Copyright The Street
T-Mobile has a new CEO, and the phone carrier is wasting no time in implementing drastic policy changes that impact customers. On Nov. 1, Srini Gopalan officially became CEO of T-Mobile, replacing Mike Sievert, who held the position for over five years. Gopalan has been adamant about enforcing a “digital transformation” at the company, especially during a time when it is losing phone customers to competition after rolling out price hikes over the past year. In T-Mobile’s latest earnings report, it revealed that while it added 1 million new postpaid phone customers during the third quarter of this year, its postpaid phone churn (the number of customers who canceled their phone service) increased by 3 basis points year over year. “The amount of friction and frustration we cause customers today because of our processes and the state of evolution in this industry is phenomenal,” said Gopalan during an earnings call in October. “We have a huge opportunity to change that with our digital transformation.” Over the past two months, several leaked internal documents have unveiled T-Mobile’s plans to introduce huge policy changes that impact customers. T-Mobile policy changes that leaked documents have exposed: One document revealed that T-Mobile reportedly plans to make customers 100% dependent on its T-Life app to handle upgrades, new lines, account activations, and more, by January 2026. Another showed the phone carrier’s plan to accept damaged or broken devices as trade-ins for promotions, but for a reduced value compared to undamaged ones. This was later confirmed on T-Mobile’s website. In October, a leaked document flagged that T-Mobile is preparing to phase out its LTE service (4G network) over the next two years. T-Mobile’s decision to retire its JUMP! On Demand program on Dec. 1 was also exposed in leaked documents. T-Mobile later confirmed this change. T-Mobile limits a convenient payment option Once again, T-Mobile has made another significant change, and this time it affects how customers pay their bills. T-Mobile is no longer allowing customers to make payment arrangements for past-due balances via traditional channels, such as in-person visits to a T-Mobile store, through its automated phone system, or with customer service over the phone, for a small support fee. Customers will now be required to use the T-Life app to set up these arrangements themselves, a change that took effect on Oct. 30. To set up a payment arrangement through the app, customers have to select “Manage Tab” and choose “Set up a payment arrangement.” “Setting up a payment arrangement for your T-Mobile account is quick and easy,” states T-Mobile on its website. “Payment arrangements are not available through representatives. When calling Customer Care or going to a Retail Store, our Experts will walk you through how to use T-Life to set up or manage your payment arrangement. This will save you the $10 payment support fee.” T-Mobile first launched its T-Life app in January last year. It advertised the app as a “simplified experience” that allows customers to be more self-sufficient by giving them the ability to manage their own accounts and services. However, T-Life has previously received backlash from some customers for being too complicated to use. Some customers have even walked out of T-Mobile stores due to frustration with navigating the app. Therefore, some customers may not be too thrilled about relying on the T-Life app to set up payment arrangements. T-Mobile risks losing more customers to competitors The move from T-Mobile comes days after it increased its late fee from $7 to $10 (or 5% of the past-due balance; T-Mobile will pick whichever is higher) for customers who pay their bills late. It also closed a loophole last week that allowed credit card customers to obtain the company’s $5 autopay discount. T-Mobile’s bold changes, especially when it comes to billing, may further exacerbate its problem of losing loyal customers, who are sick of encountering higher fees and monthly bills, to competitors. How higher phone bills are impacting Americans: The average cost of an unlimited data plan for American families is $244 a month. Also, 42% of Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T customers have seen their phone bills increase in the past year, which is 7% higher than average. In addition, 58% of Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T customers are considering switching to a different phone carrier as their services become more expensive. All three phone carriers risk losing a combined 230 million customers due to high mobile plan pricing. Source: WhistleOut T-Mobile and other phone carriers are also losing customers to cable TV companies, which have been offering bundled phone, internet, and TV services at discounted prices. According to recent MoffettNathanson data shared by Light Reading, Spectrum, Comcast, and Altice USA welcomed 886,000 new phone customers during the first quarter of 2025, an increase from the 804,000 they added during the same quarter in 2024. More Telecom News: DirecTV customers threaten to leave after latest warning T-Mobile suffers massive boycott from customers Verizon quietly backtracks on harsh change that angered customers In an analyst note obtained by Investor’s Business Daily, Raymond James analyst Frank Louthan said that despite T-Mobile’s “solid” third-quarter performance, competition remains a major concern. “T-Mobile put up a solid quarter and raised estimates, but the negative narrative around heightened competitiveness is an overhang for the group,” said Louthan. “Investors are concerned about the potential for a price war from Verizon.”
