Deutsche Telekom AG's DTE.XE +1.95% T-Mobile has removed the image of Apple Inc.’s iPhone one month into a marketing campaign that encourages people to bring their unlocked iPhone to the carrier.
The marketing push openly invited people to bring an unlocked iPhone from AT&T Inc. to the network and claimed savings of $50 in their monthly bill. Images of the iPhone as the bottom of an open padlock were featured prominently in stores.
T-Mobile is the only major U.S. carrier that doesn’t sell the iPhone, something it has cited as a reason for losing customers. The iPhone made for AT&T’s network can also run on T-Mobile, which has said there are more than one million iPhones operating on its network.
A T-Mobile spokeswoman said the reason for the change was a “natural progression” of the campaign. The company only used the imagery in September to capitalize on the excitement around the launch of the iPhone 5, she said.
The company is switching out the iPhone image for “other AT&T smartphone images”, the spokeswoman said. The program, which includes having demonstration iPhones in stores, hasn’t changed.
The spokeswoman said she is unaware of the company having “direct communications” with Apple because of its marketing program. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment, along with an AT&T spokesman.
TmoNews, a blog focused on news related to T-Mobile, first reported the change and posted a picture of a purported internal directive that the iPhone name and images “can no longer be used” in marketing.
The T-Mobile spokeswoman said that “while the language seems strong” it was only intended to ensure that sales representatives switch out the marketing materials on schedule.
While the iPhone will work on T-Mobile’s network, the iPhone generally doesn’t have all the same functionality as it does when running on AT&T’s network because of differences in network frequencies. Most iPhones on T-Mobile’s
network connect over a second-generation network.
network connect over a second-generation network.
T-Mobile is reworking its network so the phones will be able to run on its higher speed network and has said it is working on an application that will allow customers to use Apple’s “visual voicemail” feature.
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