I'm sure the sales staff at ATT will be pushing hard to get people to buy on the NEXT program and not subsidized. It may work for some but I think subsidized isn't a bad deal for many others.
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Carrier Upgrade to 6 on AT&T
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I'm sure the sales staff at ATT will be pushing hard to get people to buy on the NEXT program and not subsidized. It may work for some but I think subsidized isn't a bad deal for many others.
Really just depends on how much data a person (or family) needs and how many lines are on the account. There are instances where switching to 10GB Next is cheaper than the 2-year contract with lower GB.
Looking solely at AT&T's rates assuming a 2-year upgrade schedule and waived activation/upgrade fees on contract, to summarize:
1 line, <10GB: 2-year contract (although prepaid + buy outright is bound to be the best deal for this)
2-3 lines, <10GB: 2-year contract
4 lines, >4GB: Next 10GB
5-7 lines, >2GB: Next 10GB
The more I read and research, the more confused it get.
I'll be upgrading in Feb. Two i6's on NEXT will be cheaper than w/subsidy?
I should add (duh) that I have unlimited data, and my wife gets 2gigs. Our contracts end in Feb. I'm looking at the mobile share 10g, and I'm led to believe that next will be my cheapest monthly option.
I'll be upgrading in Feb. Two i6's on NEXT will be cheaper than w/subsidy?
I should add (duh) that I have unlimited data, and my wife gets 2gigs. Our contracts end in Feb. I'm looking at the mobile share 10g, and I'm led to believe that next will be my cheapest monthly option.
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If you need 10GB of shared data or more, Next is cheaper. If you only need 6GB or less, 2-year contract is better. That said, the monthly payments for Next is more expensive than monthly payments for 2-year contract - at least for the first 20 months while you're paying off the installment on the device. That's partly because you pay a $200 "down payment" for each phone when you go on contract.
Im confused again....
I have two iphones on the 10gb shared plan. Unlimited calls and texting. Have a business discount.
Want to upgrade to the 6 when it comes out.
Do I...
Sign another 2 year contract? (can we even do that anymore?)
Go the next route?
Or just buy the 2 phones outright?
I have two iphones on the 10gb shared plan. Unlimited calls and texting. Have a business discount.
Want to upgrade to the 6 when it comes out.
Do I...
Sign another 2 year contract? (can we even do that anymore?)
Go the next route?
Or just buy the 2 phones outright?
2-year contract
2x iPhone 6 16GB
Base
$100 x 24 months = $2,400
Line Access
(2x $40) x 24 months = $1,920
Upfront Cost
2x $200 = $400
Monthly Total
$180
2-Year Total
$4,720 + taxes + possible upgrade fees of up $80 ($40 per phone)
AT&T Next 12
2x iPhone 6 16GB
Base
$100 x 24 months = $2,400
Line Access
(2x $15) x 24 months = $720
Device Installments
(2x $32.50) x 20 months = $1,300
Upfront Cost
$0
Monthly Total
$195 (first 20 months), $130 (last 4 months)
2-Year Total
$4,420 + taxes
Buy Outright
2x iPhone 6 16GB
Base
$100 x 24 months = $2,400
Line Access
(2x $15) x 24 months = $720
Upfront Cost
2x $650 = $1,300
Monthly Total
$130
2-Year Total
$4,420 + taxes
It probably would have been cheaper for you to switch awhile back then do it when the contract ends.
The upside to how AT&T istransitioning people to the new mobile family plans is that they immediately granted the unsubsidized $15/month price...even if you'd signed your contract a month before. A lot of people experienced a huge drop in their monthly bill by switching.
Now the flip side of this...and what people are going to quickly forget, is the cost of NEXT increases your bill for each device by a net of $17-$33 until the NEXT agreement is fulfilled (20 or 24 months).
This works out fine if a family is on a staggered upgrade schedule. The sticker shock is going to come in for families that like to upgrade multiple devices at the same time. Even if they upgrade to 16 gigs over the NEXT 18, the net cost will be slightly higher than the old $30 rate they had before. If they want larger capacity phones or shorter durations - it'll be more than that.
NEXT doesn't require a down payment....so the actual net cost ends up being pretty close. And there is always the carrot of the rate going down when the device is paid off...something you don't get with the old system.
I see a lot of families becoming a lot more judicious about upgrades.
Yup. I think we'll be one of those. Before, we always upgraded so we don't waste the subsidy. Now, there's actually a big incentive (to the tune of $3,000 + tax every 2 years) if we keep our phones longer.
I'll likely upgrade the 2 iPhone 5s on our lines via Next with the iPhone 6 to get us off-contract and just pay those off early.