NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - T-Mobile USA, a unit ofDeutsche Telekom AG, on Tuesday announced it wouldstart selling Apple Inc's iPhone 5 on April 12 for anupfront payment of $99.99 followed by 24 monthly payments of$20.
The No. 4 U.S. mobile provider, which plans to merge withsmaller rival MetroPCS Communications, announced itsplan to sell the device on the same day that it held an event topresent its broader plans for service plans without devicesubsidies.
It hopes the iPhone and the new service plans will fend offcompetition from bigger rivals Sprint Nextel, AT&T Inc and Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc, after years of contractcustomer losses.