Verizon to allow more frequent device upgrades with new ‘VZ Edge’ plan

It looks like T-Mobile’s recent Uncarrier campaign is starting to catch the attention of the other major US carriers, because hot on the heels of it announcing its new ‘Jump’ upgrade program, comes word that Verizon may be following suit.

The news comes this afternoon in the form of a [purported] leaked Big Red training slide. The slide details ‘VZ Edge,’ a new upgrade plan that allows Verizon subscribers to pay a monthly fee for the ability to upgrade their devices more frequently…

T-Mobile unveils Jump

So, both AT&T and Verizon are now making you wait longer to upgrade to a new smartphone, going from 20 to 24 months?

That’s exactly where T-Mobile is hoping to leapfrog the nation’s leading telcos with its new upgrade initiative called Jump.

As reported earlier today, Jump basically lets you upgrade when you want, not when you’re told (“two years is too tong to wait” to upgrade your phone”).

More precisely, you can upgrade up to twice a year as soon as six months from enrollment. So welcome to the Jump upgrade club my friend and don’t forget to jump past the fold (pun intended) for the full breakdown…

T-Mobile to "upgrade upgrades" with new plan

T-Mobile is holding a media event later today at 2:30PM Eastern / 11:30AM Pacific to announce “our boldest moves yet.” A leaked memo suggests the Deutsche Telekom-owned telco is readying a new unlimited upgrade plan for smartphones. “We've upgraded upgrades,” the memo reads. Called Jump, the idea is to allow customers to upgrade when they actually want to instead of waiting the usual two-years until their contract expires. I've included more tidbits after the break…

“Don’t pay more than new customers. Seriously ” reads one bullet point.

“No annual service contracts. No overages. No brainer,” another one has it.

I’ll be looking forward to hearing T-Mobile’s CEO John Legere curse during today’s press conference.

The memo, obtained by The Verge, can be seen top of post.

TmoNews yesterday speculated Jump would require a “very small” membership fee and that T-Mobile would ask customers to trade-in their existing handset in order to qualify.


In exchange for this fee, customers would receive insurance on their device as well as the two annual upgrades. The idea of this club is just one of many opportunities T-Mobile’s CEO is considering with their new UNcarrier model.

Jump could fly in the face of AT&T and Verizon as both carriers recently killed early device upgrades, pushing the waiting period back to 24 months.

What’s your take?

Is Jump going to make a difference in the greater scheme of things?