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The difference here is that the subsidy is explicit and optional and limited in time.

In the plan the article outlines, you pay T-Mobile $20 a month for 24 months to pay off the phone. On one hand it is better because because you can leave anytime and the cots are clear, but on the other, it looks a lot like a two year subsidized plan.

That's the glass is half empty view.

The other view is your're saving money by being given an interest-free loan to purchase the phone.

But isn't it the same with a two-year subsidized phone plan? You pay a little up front, and a little extra each month. Again, kudos to T-Mobile for making the costs transparent, but I don't see how it is substantially different.

Well, after the two years, you're T-Mobile bill goes down by ~$20/line a month while your bill on the other carriers stay the same.

This assumes, of course, that you don't buy a new phone and start the process all over again.

As long as they un-bundle the price of the phone from the price of the plans, consumers win.

But wouldn't you say they are just un-bundling it into a separate line item on your bill? You still pay $20 a month for 2 years. I really do appreciate the transparency, but I'd still make a choice based on overall cost.

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