Sorry T-Mobile Customers, It Looks Like You’re Going To Miss Out On The iPhone 5

It looks like the nation’s fourth largest carrier will continue to bleed subscribers in 2013. T-Mobile is preparing its employees with sales material to help them battle the iPhone monolith, something we wouldn’t expect them to do if they were about to get the iPhone 5.

The only one of the Big Four wireless carriers sans iPhone, the troubled company continues to see subscribers bolt for greener (iPhone-laden) pastures.

The leaked memos, first seen Monday, discuss a mobile game designed to help employees practice their sales skills, and a Grab & Go suite available through the company’s electronic learning system. However, the most significant thing is the date.

These selling aids go live on Sept. 21. It could just be a coincidence, and since they don’t have an iPhone, T-Mobile may just be going along with the crowd that says the iPhone 5 will launch in retail on that date, but it’s still a key indicator.

A second leaked memo says that new Monthly4G microSIM kits supporting the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S are incoming, specifically for unlocked iPhones. While that again points to T-Mobile missing out on the iPhone 5, it could also point to T-Mobile continuing to make its network more “iPhone-friendly.”

In May, T-Mobile said it would be moving to make its network iPhone-compatible, the year. The 3G frequencies on the current iPhone are incompatible with T-Mobile’s network, meaning that the unlocked iPhones its customers have are running on 2.5G, or EDGE.

 

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