Carrier New ATT Plans Feb 2, 2014

aneftp said:

$30x4 lines is $120. Plus 10gb data (forgot the price was ?$110 under old mobile share?). So $230 for 4 lines with subsides. Remember it's not $40/line. It's $30/line when you signed up for the 10gb data share under the old plan. $35/line with 6gb. $40/line with 4gb.

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It's $120 for 10GB under the old plan...per month. So $240/month.

With ATT NEXT. You do not own your phone on day one. You only own it after paying what amounts to the full price even though 20 months of installments or paying it in full.

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Wrong! With NEXT, you sign a finance agreement. You are responsible to pay off the phone, period. However, you own it. You can sell it on day 1 for $2,000 on eBay if you want. Pay off the balance with AT&T and move on...no strings attached. No more AT&T. If you didn't own it...how could AT&T allow you to sell it. Please visit their FAQ and learn about NEXT. Look for the question that says, "Do I own the smartphone? Or is this a leasing offer?"

It's evident you just cannot compare the old data shared plans to the new ones. For some odd reason, you keep comparing your ancient plan to these new plans. That's your prerogative. If your ancient plan saves you money...by all means, please do not switch. But to suggest that NEXT is a terrible deal versus those that subsidize an iPhone (on an iPhone line) is just disingenuous. Again, I refer you to the math. It does not lie.

CosmoPilot said:

It's $120 for 10GB under the old plan...per month. So $240/month.



Wrong! With NEXT, you sign a finance agreement. You are responsible to pay off the phone, period. However, you own it. You can sell it on day 1 for $2,000 on eBay if you want. Pay off the balance with AT&T and move on...no strings attached. No more AT&T. If you didn't own it...how could AT&T allow you to sell it. Please visit their FAQ and learn about NEXT. Look for the question that says, "Do I own the smartphone? Or is this a leasing offer?"

It's evident you just cannot compare the old data shared plans to the new ones. For some odd reason, you keep comparing your ancient plan to these new plans. That's your prerogative. If your ancient plan saves you money...by all means, please do not switch. But to suggest that NEXT is a terrible deal versus those that subsidize an iPhone (on an iPhone line) is just disingenuous. Again, I refer you to the math. It does not lie.

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Of course, you finance it, just like half of Americans financed their homes during the housing bust. It's still not paid for. Not going to get into semantics. But until something is paid off, it's never fully "owned."

These "ancient" plans aren't even ancient. They were still available less than 6-7 months ago.

What ATT did with mobile share was jack up the prices in summer of 2012. Now they are trying to "go down on the prices" to compete.

It's like me selling you health care premiums in 2013 for $150/month (ancient voice plans that were available less than 6-7 months ago).. With Obamacare, that same policy will cost you $250 now in 2014. But than 6 months down the road, I tell you I will give you a great deal and sell you the premiums for a fabulous price of $200/month.

So you are comparing a jacked up mobile share price with the newer more consumer friendly mobile share price.

ATT isn't LOWERING prices.

Same thing has happened with the cable industry. Once bills crept up to around $150. It hit a wall. Now it's happening with cell phone industry once bills start hitting close to $300. They are just finding creative ways to maintain revenue.

aneftp said:

Of course, you finance it, just like half of Americans financed their homes during the housing bust. It's still not paid for. Not going to get into semantics. But until something is paid off, it's never fully "owned."

These "ancient" plans aren't even ancient. They were still available less than 6-7 months ago.

What ATT did with mobile share was jack up the prices in summer of 2012. Now they are trying to "go down on the prices" to compete.

It's like me selling you health care premiums in 2013 for $150/month (ancient voice plans that were available less than 6-7 months ago).. With Obamacare, that same policy will cost you $250 now in 2014. But than 6 months down the road, I tell you I will give you a great deal and sell you the premiums for a fabulous price of $200/month.

So you are comparing a jacked up mobile share price with the newer more consumer friendly mobile share price.

ATT isn't LOWERING prices.

Same thing has happened with the cable industry. Once bills crept up to around $150. It hit a wall. Now it's happening with cell phone industry once bills start hitting close to $300. They are just finding creative ways to maintain revenue.

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You finance & 0% interest and pay $15 per line. Nobody financed homes at 0%!

You subsidize at $40 per line with $299 up front.

When gas drops to $2.00 a gallon, you would argue its a terrible deal because you get it at $1.00 per gallon. Well, not everyone is as lucky as you. AGAIN, comparing the previous shared plans to the new ones. NEXT is cheaper than subsidizing. If you have a deal w/AT&T where u pay pennies compared to new customers or those on the previous shared data plans then congrats. Just stop already with saying NEXT is a terrible deal. You pay for the cost of the phone...not a penny more, not a penny less. At $15 per line versus $40 per line it's cheaper.

CosmoPilot said:

You finance & 0% interest and pay $15 per line. Nobody financed homes at 0%!

You subsidize at $40 per line with $299 up front.

When gas drops to $2.00 a gallon, you would argue its a terrible deal because you get it at $1.00 per gallon. Well, not everyone is as lucky as you. AGAIN, comparing the previous shared plans to the new ones. NEXT is cheaper than subsidizing. If you have a deal w/AT&T where u pay pennies compared to new customers or those on the previous shared data plans then congrats. Just stop already with saying NEXT is a terrible deal. You pay for the cost of the phone...not a penny more, not a penny less. At $15 per line versus $40 per line it's cheaper.

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I'll agree with you on that one (for the most part).

But remember people like my brother who had the mobile sharing 10GB with $30/line add on. It's a wash. NEXT isn't cheap. It's the same. Why do you think ATT automatically switched those on the 10GB data plans to the new data plans. Because the subsidy price and the new no subsidy savings are a complete wash.

Look, I have been a Cingular/ATT customer for 10 plus years. I have had great service with them. No issues with them. ATT has been adjusting their mobile sharing and NEXT plans on the fly. It seems things are changing so fast. People need time to evaluate their options. Even in December, ATT said those who went on NEXT (or brought their own phones) would save $15/line on mobile share

http://9to5mac.com/2013/12/05/att-l...notable-monthly-savings-18-month-next-option/

Can you imagine if you had a 4GB data share and in December 2013 were paying $40/line. Than ATT said they would give you $15/off if you paid full price/installments or brought your own phone. That means that line was costing you $25/line in December.

Now February 2014 rolls around and ATT is coming out with a new promo.

I am happy ATT is responding to market forces. Something is going on internally at ATT. Maybe they feel the heat from T-Mobile USA's recent efforts to pay the ETF of their competitors.

Just got into the new 10GB plan. I was paying $105 for a paltry 2GB and kept getting overage charges. I'm glad I don't have to worry about that anymore because for me 10GB is practically all-you-can-eat for only a few bux more a month.

Everything being equal: If you had the older $120 for 10GB mobile share plus $30/line

Question:

If you had 4 lines immediately available for full subsidy upgrade RIGHT now, would you switch to the next mobile share?


Seems to me if someone had just used all 4 of their full subsidy upgrade 02/01/2014 than switched to the new mobile sharing plans, those people would be making off like bandits

What do you guys think?

Because the difference of one day (those who upgraded February 1st 2014) means someone taking advantage of $450/line subsidy X4 = $1800 savings than immediately switching to the mobile sharing and than paying only $15/smartphone line

No wonder why these new mobile sharing plans were leaked with less than 24 hours lead time.

aneftp said:

Of course, you finance it, just like half of Americans financed their homes during the housing bust. It's still not paid for. Not going to get into semantics. But until something is paid off, it's never fully "owned."

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There is a big difference between a secured loan, like for a house or car, and an unsecured loan, like for a phone or something purchased on a credit card. AT&T is not going to come repo your phone if you don't pay your bill. I'm sure there is no part of the agreement that allows you to give the phone back when you completely terminate your contract either.
AT&T wants your money, not the phone. They might send you to collections, but they are not taking the phone back unless you are using NEXT to upgrade to a newer model.

aneftp said:

I'll agree with you on that one (for the most part).

But remember people like my brother who had the mobile sharing 10GB with $30/line add on. It's a wash. NEXT isn't cheap. It's the same. Why do you think ATT automatically switched those on the 10GB data plans to the new data plans. Because the subsidy price and the new no subsidy savings are a complete wash.

Look, I have been a Cingular/ATT customer for 10 plus years. I have had great service with them. No issues with them. ATT has been adjusting their mobile sharing and NEXT plans on the fly. It seems things are changing so fast. People need time to evaluate their options. Even in December, ATT said those who went on NEXT (or brought their own phones) would save $15/line on mobile share

http://9to5mac.com/2013/12/05/att-l...notable-monthly-savings-18-month-next-option/

Can you imagine if you had a 4GB data share and in December 2013 were paying $40/line. Than ATT said they would give you $15/off if you paid full price/installments or brought your own phone. That means that line was costing you $25/line in December.

Now February 2014 rolls around and ATT is coming out with a new promo.

I am happy ATT is responding to market forces. Something is going on internally at ATT. Maybe they feel the heat from T-Mobile USA's recent efforts to pay the ETF of their competitors.

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Next isn't necessarily that much cheaper, you are right, it's just much more convenient. I don't have to lay out $700 at one sitting to get a phone, and I don't have to hassle with selling it after a year. If I BYOD and want a new phone every year I'd pay 700, minus around 400 that I'd sell the phone for, 300/12= 25/month. If I did the next program it would be 35/month, yeah that 10 bucks is worth the convenience of not having to go through what can be an incredibly annoying crapshoot of selling a cell phone these days.

I'm not sure why anyone would care that the market dynamics are jacking up the price then lowering them down and calling it a "sale"...DOH? Welcome to capitalism, is that the first time you've ever seen this tactic? Although personally I am not really seeing that dynamic, I left ATT because having 2 lines with them was costing me about $230 about a year and a half ago. Today those same 2 lines cost me $130 so for me it is cheaper. I mean, when in the past has postpaid actually been about the same price as pre paid?!?! That's good stuff there IMO.

PS add more lines for $15 and you will see the value of these plans skyrocket.

spinedoc77 said:

Next isn't necessarily that much cheaper, you are right, it's just much more convenient. I don't have to lay out $700 at one sitting to get a phone, and I don't have to hassle with selling it after a year. If I BYOD and want a new phone every year I'd pay 700, minus around 400 that I'd sell the phone for, 300/12= 25/month. If I did the next program it would be 35/month, yeah that 10 bucks is worth the convenience of not having to go through what can be an incredibly annoying crapshoot of selling a cell phone these days.

I'm not sure why anyone would care that the market dynamics are jacking up the price then lowering them down and calling it a "sale"...DOH? Welcome to capitalism, is that the first time you've ever seen this tactic? Although personally I am not really seeing that dynamic, I left ATT because having 2 lines with them was costing me about $230 about a year and a half ago. Today those same 2 lines cost me $130 so for me it is cheaper. I mean, when in the past has postpaid actually been about the same price as pre paid?!?! That's good stuff there IMO.

PS add more lines for $15 and you will see the value of these plans skyrocket.

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I agree. The more lines you have at $15/line. The more bang for the buck you have.

Single line (and to a certain extent) 2 lines still get the short end of the stick with post paid plans. They are probably better off going prepaid.

It's just wrong for single lines to have to pay $70-100/month even with subsidies on ATT/verizon.

CosmoPilot said:

Just stop already with saying NEXT is a terrible deal. You pay for the cost of the phone...not a penny more, not a penny less.

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Not true.

I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet, but If you do Next, and pay in installments, those installments will be added to your cell phone bill. That means those annoying federal, state and local taxes will be charged on your installment payments EVERY MONTH even though you already paid sales tax on the price of the phone when you sign up for Next. You are being double taxed. So Next is not a 0% loan. The monthly cell phone bill taxes are your interest, essentially.

Therefore, if you do Next and pay it off immediately, it is cheaper than carrying out the installment plan (not sure how much, someone want to do the math?)

I have come to the conclusion that the cheapest way to upgrade is to either:
(1): Do Next and pay off immediately.
(2): By a full retail price from AT&T (if you bring from outside (apple), they charge $36 activation fee) AT&T's retail price device IS unlocked, so no difference there.

Am3923 said:

I have come to the conclusion that the cheapest way to upgrade is to either:
(1): Do Next and pay off immediately.
(2): By a full retail price from AT&T (if you bring from outside (apple), they charge $36 activation fee) AT&T's retail price device IS unlocked, so no difference there.

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So after all these pricing games of cost of phone, fee per device, cost of data plan etc, can anyone figure out how this is a net revenue change to AT&T? The subsidy is still there in form of a 0% loan. The contract is still there in that you're obliged to pay off the balance (Next installments are the new ETF).

What's really changed after all these changes? Has the total cost per line (device + service) gone up?

aneftp said:

Everything being equal: If you had the older $120 for 10GB mobile share plus $30/line

Question:

If you had 4 lines immediately available for full subsidy upgrade RIGHT now, would you switch to the next mobile share?


Seems to me if someone had just used all 4 of their full subsidy upgrade 02/01/2014 than switched to the new mobile sharing plans, those people would be making off like bandits

What do you guys think?

Because the difference of one day (those who upgraded February 1st 2014) means someone taking advantage of $450/line subsidy X4 = $1800 savings than immediately switching to the mobile sharing and than paying only $15/smartphone line

No wonder why these new mobile sharing plans were leaked with less than 24 hours lead time.

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Yes, it is indeed very interesting that the people that get the best possible deal are those that just very recently bought subsidized phones from ATT.

aneftp said:

Seems to me if someone had just used all 4 of their full subsidy upgrade 02/01/2014 than switched to the new mobile sharing plans, those people would be making off like bandits

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This is correct.

There was literally about 48 - 72 hours, where one could have taken advantage of upgrading immediately, and then changing to the new 10GB and $15 per line afterwards.

Of course, the person would have to have been (1) eligible, and (2) willing to forgo iPhone 6 (in June - Sept). If iPhone 5s (or, any of ATT's offerings at the time) were the person's phone of choice for the next several years, this would have been the way to go.

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dave420 said:

AT&T is not going to come repo your phone if you don't pay your bill. I'm sure there is no part of the agreement that allows you to give the phone back when you completely terminate your contract either.
AT&T wants your money, not the phone. They might send you to collections, but they are not taking the phone back unless you are using NEXT to upgrade to a newer model.

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If phones purchases in this fashion becomes the norm, I'm become much more wary of buying phones from ebay, CL, or any other marketplace, since there are absolutely *NO* assurances the phones have been paid off and won't instantly become blacklisted for non-payment.

Unless, on every purchase, there's a process to contact T-Mobile and ATT to verify that there's no balance remaining on the equipment. I doubt either company would allocate any resources to this endeavor.

Prise said:

If phones purchases in this fashion becomes the norm, I'm become much more wary of buying phones from ebay, CL, or any other marketplace, since there are absolutely *NO* assurances the phones have been paid off and won't instantly become blacklisted for non-payment.

Unless, on every purchase, there's a process to contact T-Mobile and ATT to verify that there's no balance remaining on the equipment. I doubt either company would allocate any resources to this endeavor.

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Swappa verifies balances on an account. You gotta be very careful though, even now. used Tmobile phones are pretty notorious for this.

gotluck said:

Yes, it is indeed very interesting that the people that get the best possible deal are those that just very recently bought subsidized phones from ATT.

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Sure, like any other enterprise, there were "those" in the know, before the general public, which is customary.

Prise said:

Sure, like any other enterprise, there were "those" in the know, before the general public, which is customary.

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But you would think that becuase ATT already has them on the hook, they wouldn't cut them any slack.

Almost as if they are trying to stop the bleeding, rather than attracting new customers. As a totally off contract customer looking at these plans, Im a bit piffed. Though at least you can finally get reasonable off contract/unsubsidized/byod pricing on ATT Postpaid (unless you have a single line).

Tmobiles ETF deal must have really been working.

gotluck said:

But you would think that becuase ATT already has them on the hook, they wouldn't cut them any slack.

Almost as if they are trying to stop the bleeding, rather than attracting new customers. As a totally off contract customer looking at these plans, Im a bit piffed.

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You're right.

It appears to me they changed course to keep attrition low, rather than to attract new customers. Initially, they had the $450 bonus to entice those with T-Mobile, but abruptly ended the program, in favor of this one.

The terms for pre 2/1 were well known to anyone who worked at ATT, since they all read it on their internal systems. I'm sure they, along with some of their friends and family, had more time than the general public to figure out the value of upgrading before 2/1, then changing to the new 10GB plans immediately.

In the end, I sense ATT is now more focussed on retention (to keep those from taking advantage of Uncarrier 4.0), and attracting Verizon's customers.

All in all, their new plans, especially if a person uses lots of data or is with Verizon, would seem pretty compelling. It's much less appealing to T-Mobile customers, which is why I think they've realized the $450 credit did nothing, other than to attract perk abusers en masse.

gotluck said:

But you would think that becuase ATT already has them on the hook, they wouldn't cut them any slack.

Almost as if they are trying to stop the bleeding, rather than attracting new customers. As a totally off contract customer looking at these plans, Im a bit piffed. Though at least you can finally get reasonable off contract/unsubsidized/byod pricing on ATT Postpaid.

Tmobiles ETF deal must have really been working.

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Usually us "mac rumors members" and other "bloggers" get advance notice days in advance of "new" promos. The first I heard of this new data plan was literally around 3-4pm on a Saturday.

ATT kept this promo under tight wrap until the very last minute. Most of us with grandfathered plans and multiple subsidy upgrades available had very little time to digest the best value. Whether to switch or not.

aneftp said:

I agree. The more lines you have at $15/line. The more bang for the buck you have.

Single line (and to a certain extent) 2 lines still get the short end of the stick with post paid plans. They are probably better off going prepaid.

It's just wrong for single lines to have to pay $70-100/month even with subsidies on ATT/verizon.

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Single lines still suck on post paid definitely. 2 lines I would say it's a wash, depending on if you want to save that last $10 or so, or if you value extra features like tethering, facetime over LTE, roaming, etc.

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Am3923 said:

Not true.

I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet, but If you do Next, and pay in installments, those installments will be added to your cell phone bill. That means those annoying federal, state and local taxes will be charged on your installment payments EVERY MONTH even though you already paid sales tax on the price of the phone when you sign up for Next. You are being double taxed. So Next is not a 0% loan. The monthly cell phone bill taxes are your interest, essentially.

Therefore, if you do Next and pay it off immediately, it is cheaper than carrying out the installment plan (not sure how much, someone want to do the math?)

I have come to the conclusion that the cheapest way to upgrade is to either:
(1): Do Next and pay off immediately.
(2): By a full retail price from AT&T (if you bring from outside (apple), they charge $36 activation fee) AT&T's retail price device IS unlocked, so no difference there.

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I don't think that's the case. You pay the entire cost of sales tax on the phone up front. I really doubt you get charged the use taxes/fees on the actual hardware, although I can't say I know for sure.

gotluck said:

Tmobiles ETF deal must have really been working.

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I sense it is absolutely working.

All things being equal, and assuming adequate service, T-Mobile's Simple Choice plans are without peer, in terms of value. In terms of price point value, ATT will never be willing (nor, should they) to price low enough to match T-Mobile's. The ATT customer is Verizon's customer, and not T-Mobile's. Those for whom T-Mobile works and appeals to have no reason to pay more for either ATT or VZN (no need to mention Sprint here, for obvious reasons); but, those on paying VZN's prices will suddenly find ATT's $100 new line & new Mobile Share Value plans quite compelling, especially the 10GB shared with $15 per line.

At this point, ATT's strategy appears two pronged. One, to offer enough perks to existing post paid subscribers to keep them from taking advantage of Uncarrier 4.0. And, in the process (since, they must lower prices regardless), finally start the long awaited price war to take market share from Verizon.

Finally, none of these carriers really care about the prepaid market, aside from token offerings. They'll just sell the service to wholesalers, who (MNVO) will in turn provide them at a lower price, much like OEM goods.

Hopefully, this will bring an end to the collusion we've had the bear the last decade.

Prise said:

This is correct.

There was literally about 48 - 72 hours, where one could have taken advantage of upgrading immediately, and then changing to the new 10GB and $15 per line afterwards.

Of course, the person would have to have been (1) eligible, and (2) willing to forgo iPhone 6 (in June - Sept). If iPhone 5s (or, any of ATT's offerings at the time) were the person's phone of choice for the next several years, this would have been the way to go.

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If phones purchases in this fashion becomes the norm, I'm become much more wary of buying phones from ebay, CL, or any other marketplace, since there are absolutely *NO* assurances the phones have been paid off and won't instantly become blacklisted for non-payment.

Unless, on every purchase, there's a process to contact T-Mobile and ATT to verify that there's no balance remaining on the equipment. I doubt either company would allocate any resources to this endeavor.

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Yep, this is the peace of mind I'm talking about. I don't use CL anymore, it's just a bit too shady for me and you never know what you are getting. Ebay isn't much better. Swappa is very nice and I just bought a phone off there. But even with Swappa, whats to say a phone isn't reported stolen or there is a balance after you buy the phone? Plus there is the time and effort to sell a phone, meet someone at a police station, email back and forth, haggle on price, etc. That's why the Next program is very nice IMO and I will probably end up using it maybe with the ip6.

cwwilson said:

Just got into the new 10GB plan. I was paying $105 for a paltry 2GB and kept getting overage charges. I'm glad I don't have to worry about that anymore because for me 10GB is practically all-you-can-eat for only a few bux more a month.

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I am curious how many phones do you have that you'd run through 2GB easily?

Prise said:

Finally, none of these carriers really care about the prepaid market, aside from token offerings. They'll just sell the service to wholesalers, who (MNVO) will in turn provide them at a lower price, much like OEM goods.

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I hear you and agreed on all accounts except for the above. At least concerning ATT's GoPhone. It would appear that ATT postpaid is competing with gophone pricing for 2 (if you have some kind of FAN discount) or especially 3+ lines.

I'm likely moving off prepaid with my 2 gophone lines.

When you bring Straight Talk and other lower priced MVNOs into the mix, yes you are right. But I've found the caveats are not worth it over gophone, personally.

spinedoc77 said:

Plus there is the time and effort to sell a phone, meet someone at a police station, email back and forth, haggle on price, etc. That's why the Next program is very nice IMO and I will probably end up using it maybe with the ip6.

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Right, these days, there is certainly considerable time and opportunity costs to selling anything on CL or ebay (the risks of paypal are too high for me).

I mean, the emails one gets from CL. LOL "Meet me at the park, and I'll pay you cash!"

CosmoPilot said:

Yes it would. AT&T will let you put down whatever amount you want at the time of purchase. Then the remaining balance is divided by 20 months (for NEXT 12) or 26 months (for NEXT 18). That figure is then added to your $15 line.

The biggest downfall I see in putting money down at the time of purchase is the requirement to go into an AT&T store to purchase your phone. Maybe others can correct me, but I don't see how an online purchase would be able to separate the two. This would make iPhone launch day buying more trouble in my opinion.

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So if i were to get a 5s through Next 18 for 26 months and put down $300 almost half what would my payment look like around $15 instead of $25 is that right (math is not my specialty)? Or would the monthly price stay the same and the duration would go down from 26 months to less?