On Friday, T-Mobile began selling Apple’s current generation iPhone 5. Over the weekend, the carrier was quick to boast of blockbuster opening sales.
“Today has been gangbusters for T-Mobile,” CMO Mike Sievert tells AllThingsD. “We experienced lines out the door this morning at nearly all of our almost 3,000 stores nationwide.”
T-Mobile is making the iPhone a key part of its rebranding effort — a push that also includes ditching phone subsidies and long-term contracts and playing a serious game of catch-up when it comes to building its LTE network.
Following years of rumors suggesting the inevitability, late last month subscribers of T-Mobile learned they will finally gain long-awaited access to Apple’s flagship touchscreen device.
The nation’s fourth largest carrier will now be afforded the opportunity to better compete with AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint – each of which has offered the iPhone for a considerably lengthy period of time already.
The device will have access to T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network, available in several markets across the US.
At the company’s March “uncarrier” event, T-Mobile confirmed plans to offer a 16-gigabyte iPhone 5 for just $99 up front, followed by 20 monthly payments of $20.
