T-Mobile US, Inc. CEO John Legere has a dream. A dream that one day mobile phone customers will not be judged by the score on their credit report, but by the number of months they’ve paid their mobile phone bills on time. Starting today, with the announcement of his Smartphone Equality initiative, that dream is now a reality. T-Mobile customers who have paid their wireless phone bills on time for the last 12 months will now automatically qualify for the best device pricing on every tablet and smartphone available. That includes the zero money down, no interest plans previously offered only to customers with excellent credit.

An interesting pattern has emerged. T-Mobile, the self proclaimed uncarrier, has continually shifted away from the mobile phone carrier status quo in order to adopt more consumer friendly policies. Shortly thereafter, the other major carriers usually follow suit with their own versions. If Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and Sprint adopt their own Smartphone Equality guidelines, it would be a big win for consumers, as well as for device makers. According to Legere, more than 50 percent of Americans don’t qualify for the phone deals that are heavily marketed. Consumers who are excited about buying the Samsung Galaxy S5 or the iPhone 6 they’ve seen in all the commercials often end up going home with a much older model, once they find out that their credit score drastically limits their options. For T-Mobile customers in good standing, that will be a thing of the past.

Legere is of the opinion that the inability to buy the latest and greatest smartphone isn’t a First World problem, or an unnecessary luxury. Consumers who get older model phones may not be able to upgrade to the latest operating system build, which, in many cases, will prevent them from downloading and utilizing the latest apps. The mobile phone industry tracks the percentage of active users who are using the most current OS versions. Google’s most recent Android build, Lollipop, is running on less than .1 percent of active phones. Smartphone Equality could have a huge impact on these adoption rates. Especially if the other carriers begin looking at their customers’ mobile phone bill payment histories, instead of credit scores. In the near future, consumers might let their electricity get turned off before they make a late payment on their phone bill. Who would risk missing out on the iPhone 7, or the Galaxy S6?

image courtesy of GeekWire