The results of T-Mobile’s killer ‘Uncarrier’-driven 2013: 4.4M new customers

Who would have thought that T-Mobile could turn its fortunes around in a year?

In its fourth quarter 2013 earnings announcement this morning, T-Mobile revealed that it added a total of 4.4 million customers last year — a huge win for a company that was previously losing customers steadily. T-Mobile now says it has 46.7 million customers.

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The figure isn’t too surprising, as we saw T-Mobile steadily grabbing new customers last year. But now that the company’s 2013 fiscal year is over, we have a more complete view over how its bold Uncarrier initiatives truly helped.

With offerings like its early upgrade program, contract-free mobile plans, and free international data and texting, T-Mobile showed that desperation can lead companies to creative solutions — changing entire industries in the process. All of T-Mobile’s competitors were quick to compete with its Uncarrier moves, though it was hard to shake that they were simply following in the footsteps of their much smaller rival.

It’s also hard to talk about T-Mobile’s success without bringing up its CEO, John Legere, who joined the company at the beginning of 2013 and quickly made a name for himself as a straight-talking, t-shirt wearing, foulmouthed executive. Sure, much of that was pure performance for the media, but it was just the jolt of energy T-Mobile needed to stay relevant.