While I wouldn't jump for joy for a cellular phone company, I have to say I've been very pleased with improvements at T-Mobile over the past few years. There's now a $30/mo level that meets my needs, when there wasn't when I first joined; I ended up on the $40/mo plan for years, because the $20/mo plan would easily cost more in overruns for even my light-to-medium use. The plan I was on included unlimited weekend minutes and free nationwide long distance, both of which were features that were "added" to my account to encourage me to sign new service contracts, and were not available (together) to new customers; now they're part of the standard plans. You can change plans at any time via the web site, and the plans are succinctly arranged and described. Changing plans does not require signing a new commitment, and you can always change plans, and drop and add features, at will during your commitment period.

I remember the day when it was common knowledge that existing T-Mobile customers got screwed when they wanted to upgrade their handset. Eventually, word got out that if you called them up and threatened to switch to another provider, you could get the new customer rebate deal. Today, new customers can always get the new customer rebate on a new handset if you agree to another 1-year commitment, and they offer it to you without being asked.

Even in my first cell phone days I enjoyed their 24-hour phone-based support. They were especially willing to replace faulty hardware when I was still figuring out that my crappy old apartment's power outlet was responsible for blowing out my batteries. Lately, their phone scripts seem especially well-written and pro-actively offer commonly desired information. I called to express interest in their phone Internet service (now that I have a phone that supports it), and half of my questions were answered before I asked them.

I'm also pleased to notice that when you send email to a T-Mobile phone, it arrives within seconds. T-Mobile used to be terrible at this: I once was invited to a movie by a friend via email to my phone, but didn't receive it until over 24 hours after the movie had ended. I had coworkers that tried to use mail to their phone as their work pager, only to give up because it was unreliable. Personal tests and more word of mouth indicate that this little problem has been fixed.

While all of these improvements seem like obvious necessities in the highly competitive wireless phone industry, they're all reactions to specific (but I imagine common) customer demands. It's great to see T-Mobile have matured as they've grown. (I have a not-so-short list of complaints, of course, but I'll save those for a later entry.)