In this year’s list of the 50 most innovative companies in business over at FastCompany.com, the usual brands take up spaces. In the top 20 alone you’ll find Google, Apple, Dropbox, Nike, Netflix, Twitter and Tesla. Companies like these are used to being praised for their innovative approaches to their respective market places. The list almost always ignores carriers because, for years, they’ve always acted like carriers do. They’re there to offer a service and make as much money as possible, knowing that they’re necessary, they’ve never had to do too much to keep customers hooked. This year, that trend has stopped.

T-Mobile, amazingly, made it to 20th place, tying with Tesla Motors, Box (cloud storage) and WME. It got there for “being the un-carrier”. Fast Company reports:

The cell phone industry is ripe for reform, but who expected changes to come within its own ranks? T-Mobile has won over customers by offering free international roaming, no contracts, 200 MB of free data on tablets, and faster times between phone upgrades–that is, by trying to be customer friendly.

It’d be all well and good for a company to try to change an industry which has its practices, traditions and ethos well engrained, but Tmo’s doing it, and it’s working.

…T-Mobile’s unorthodox strategy is working, helping to stem 16 consecutive quarters of subscriber losses at the nation’s fourth-largest carrier. In the six months that followed Legere’s diatribe, T-Mobile added 1.4 million long-term subscribers, more than AT&T and Sprint. From May to December, its market value increased by more than 100%, and the company became the subject of feverish acquisition rumors.

As for who finished behind T-Mobile, there were a number of notable companies. Between 21-50 you’ll see names like Fitbit, Square, Github, Flipboard, GoPro, WhatsApp and Phillips. Most importantly, there’s no other mobile carrier in sight.

To check out the full list, head on over to Fast Company’s feature. It’s pretty interactive, and an enjoyable page to go through.