AT&T Launches Lower-Cost Mobile Share Value Plans for Families

[zhenya]

yeah for you it doesn't work. but ur making it appear that the entire new plan completely sucks for everyone. you should have compared a 2gb plan to the 10gb to really make it stick!!

So you did an Apples to Bannana's comparison. Great

Are you guys reading the same thread I am? The VAST majority of people commenting here and all over the tech sites are NOT coming directly from 10GB plans - they are 'upgrading' from smaller plans because AT&T is making it appear cost-effective to do so. The entire POINT of that post was to show what the REAL costs of that switch is. It's EXPENSIVE for the vast majority of people who don't need that much data, and aren't currently paying for it. They haven't discounted prices at all, they've just obfuscated the costs of moving into a more expensive plan.

 

[rye9]

Mobile Share Value Cost with NEXT
10GB Data - $100/month
iPhone 16 - $15/month
iPhone 64 - $15/month
iPhone 16 NEXT fee - $32.50/month
iPhone 64 NEXT fee - $42.50/month
TOTAL: $205/month - year 1 - $2460 - year 2 - $2460
TWO YEAR TOTAL: $4920 - and you never own the phones
PROS: You get a large bucket of data and are eligible for a new phone every year.

Mobile Share Value Cost with BYOD
10GB Data - $100/month
iPhone 16 - $15/month
iPhone 64 - $15/month
iPhone 16 upfront cost - $650
iPhone 64 upfront cost - $850
Total: $130/month + $1500/ 2 years - $3060 - year 1 - $1560 - year 2
TWO YEAR TOTAL: $4620 and you recoup ~$600 on phone resale which will offset some of the $1500 for the new cycle of phones.

Is this true? From what I understand, Next and BYOD are actually the same price. You pay $32.50 a month until you've payed off the entire $650 cost of the phone (20 months). With both Next and BYOD it's a $15/mo charge to be on the plan, but the device cost is the same. And you own the phone in both cases, according to the FAQ on the website. So many people here have said you don't own the phone, but their website seems pretty clear that you do. From the site:

"Do I own the smartphone? Or is this a leasing offer?

The smartphone is yours and you’re responsible for 20 or 26 monthly payments"

 

[zhenya]

Is this true? From what I understand, Next and BYOD are actually the same price. You pay $32.50 a month until you've payed off the entire $650 cost of the phone (20 months). With both Next and BYOD it's a $15/mo charge to be on the plan, but the device cost is the same. And you own the phone in both cases, according to the FAQ on the website. So many people here have said you don't own the phone, but their website seems pretty clear that you do. From the site:

"Do I own the smartphone? Or is this a leasing offer?

The smartphone is yours and you’re responsible for 20 or 26 monthly payments"

It is true if you keep the phone for the entire 20 month period. AT&T is banking on the fact that a large number of people won't, as the iPhone release cycle tends to be almost exactly 1 year. If you can get the newest device right now with no change to your monthly bill (right now) you can bet a lot of people will do that, even though it costs a lot more money in the long run. If you are willing to not take that temptation, the NEXT deal is a fine alternative, although still more expensive than the current subsidized plans. (Yes, they give you more data in return - for most people that extra data is of little to no value other than as a feel-good).

 

[BladesOfSteel]

Yeah, as I figured, this is a big up-front obfuscation of the details to lock you into a much more expensive path in the long run. Let's run some numbers.

Assume for both scenarios that we have a family plan with 2 iPhones - one 16GB and one 64GB. I am looking at the actual costs as they will appear when you go to upgrade, not what they are locking you into now based on a phone you already own but will likely want to upgrade relatively soon.

Mobile Share Value Cost with NEXT
10GB Data - $100/month
iPhone 16 - $15/month
iPhone 64 - $15/month
iPhone 16 NEXT fee - $32.50/month
iPhone 64 NEXT fee - $42.50/month
TOTAL: $205/month - year 1 - $2460 - year 2 - $2460
TWO YEAR TOTAL: $4920 - and you never own the phones
PROS: You get a large bucket of data and are eligible for a new phone every year.

Mobile Share Value Cost with BYOD
10GB Data - $100/month
iPhone 16 - $15/month
iPhone 64 - $15/month
iPhone 16 upfront cost - $650
iPhone 64 upfront cost - $850
Total: $130/month + $1500/ 2 years - $3060 - year 1 - $1560 - year 2
TWO YEAR TOTAL: $4620 and you recoup ~$600 on phone resale which will offset some of the $1500 for the new cycle of phones.

Mobile Share Cost with 2 year contract
4GB Data - $70/month
iPhone 16 - $40/month
iPhone 64 - $40/month
iPhone 16 upfront cost - $200
iPhone 64 upfront cost - $400
Total: $150/month + $600/2 years = $2400 - year 1 - $1800 - year 2
TWO YEAR TOTAL: $4200 and you OWN the phones and can recoup the upfront cost on resale - effectively keeping you at the $1800/year cost in perpetuity.

Clearly nothing has changed and NEXT is still a very expensive way to own a phone, so before changing to these plans, you need to make sure that you are ok with the large out of pocket costs upgrading to new phones will cost you - for just two new iPhones that's $1500. Are those of you with 3,4,5 smartphones really going to be ok paying $2-3k up front for new devices? Because what AT&T is banking on here is that you won't and you'll instead sign up for the very expensive NEXT plans which net them a LOT of extra money straight from your pocket.

The existing mobile share plans with a two year contract are still cheaper for most people. This is why AT&T is pushing these new plans. Marketing through obfuscation.

I may be wrong on this, but your math is a little flawed on the Next portion.

In your example, you used the numbers from the 12-month option on Next. In both cases (the 16gb and 64gb) your monthly NEXT payments would stop after 20 months.

So, your year two costs would be $75 a month cheaper for months 21,22,23 and 24. That saves a total of $300.

Then, at that point, you don't have to trade in your device. So you could sell it as you would normally.

 

[zhenya]

I may be wrong on this, but your math is a little flawed on the Next portion.

In your example, you used the numbers from the 12-month option on Next. In both cases (the 16gb and 64gb) your monthly NEXT payments would stop after 20 months.

So, your year two costs would be $75 a month cheaper for months 21,22,23 and 24. That saves a total of $300.

Then, at that point, you don't have to trade in your device. So you could sell it as you would normally.

Yes, you are right. If you keep a NEXT device for the full 20 months, the total costs for NEXT are the same as BYOD (see above post). Still more expensive than a subsidized plan with less data. The assumption was that for many NEXT users they would upgrade frequently once the option presented itself for no immediate change in monthly cost.

 

[rye9]

It is true if you keep the phone for the entire 20 month period. AT&T is banking on the fact that a large number of people won't, as the iPhone release cycle tends to be almost exactly 1 year. If you can get the newest device right now with no change to your monthly bill (right now) you can bet a lot of people will do that, even though it costs a lot more money in the long run. If you are willing to not take that temptation, the NEXT deal is a fine alternative, although still more expensive than the current subsidized plans. (Yes, they give you more data in return - for most people that extra data is of little to no value other than as a feel-good).

Okay thanks. Although I'm still a tiny bit confused; if I'm not willing to upgrade after a year and pay the full thing through... how is this still more expensive than a subsidized plan? My math says that for subsidized, it's 2 years... $40/mo times 2 years is $960 + the $200 cost of the subsidized phone = $1160

Where next would be $15/mo times 2 years = $360 + $650 for the phone = $1010

 

[alm99]

If you currently get a corporate discount will it still apply? Will that discount now apply the to the base $100 charge?

 

[viewfly]

Are you guys reading the same thread I am? The VAST majority of people commenting here and all over the tech sites are NOT coming directly from 10GB plans - they are 'upgrading' from smaller plans because AT&T is making it appear cost-effective to do so. The entire POINT of that post was to show what the REAL costs of that switch is. It's EXPENSIVE for the vast majority of people who don't need that much data, and aren't currently paying for it. They haven't discounted prices at all, they've just obfuscated the costs of moving into a more expensive plan.

Compare going from a 6 gb plan at $90 a month to the 10 gb $100 a month. Your comparison doesn't work so well for BYOD to every two year subsidy.

It adds $480 to the 2 year plan. In both cases you own the device.

2 gb per month is not much for two devices and tethering a wifi ipad.

 

[koa]

I don't see where it says you can apply the $50 to the price of the phone.
In fact it says you don't get the $50 until after the new phone is activated.

I thought the same thing. Here's a link to some fine print. If you buy in store, it states the amount can be applied to the phone. If you buy online or even ship to store, you'll get the giftcard later. But if you get it normally in store, the small print does say you can apply it to the phone.

I just bought an iPhone yesterday from a Best Buy store and received the $50 GC at time of purchase and applied it toward the cost of the phone.

Make sure you register your phone number with BB before purchasing the phone.

 

[zhenya]

Okay thanks. Although I'm still a tiny bit confused; if I'm not willing to upgrade after a year and pay the full thing through... how is this still more expensive than a subsidized plan? My math says that for subsidized, it's 2 years... $40/mo times 2 years is $960 + the $200 cost of the subsidized phone = $1160

Where next would be $15/mo times 2 years = $360 + $650 for the phone = $1010

It depends on how much data you are paying for on the subsidized plan, but here's some numbers for you:

Assume the 4GB data plan and two 16GB iPhones for 20 months.

NEXT:
4GB data bucket: $70/month x 20 months: $1400
Line 1: $25/month x 20 months: $500
Phone 1: $32.50/month for 20 months: $650
Line 2: $25/month x 20 months: $500
Phone 2: $32.50/month for 20 months: $650
TOTAL: $3700

2-YEAR CONTRACT:
4GB data bucket: $70/month x 20 months: $1400
Line 1: $40/month x 20 months: $800
Phone 1: $200 one time payment
Line 2: $40/month x 20 months: $800
Phone 2: $200 one time payment
TOTAL: $3400

In both cases you own the phone at the end, but the total NEXT price costs you an extra $300.

 

[MacManTexas56]

Are you guys reading the same thread I am? The VAST majority of people commenting here and all over the tech sites are NOT coming directly from 10GB plans - they are 'upgrading' from smaller plans because AT&T is making it appear cost-effective to do so. The entire POINT of that post was to show what the REAL costs of that switch is. It's EXPENSIVE for the vast majority of people who don't need that much data, and aren't currently paying for it. They haven't discounted prices at all, they've just obfuscated the costs of moving into a more expensive plan.

i didn't read through 10 pages of apples to banana comparisons. it's sad if it really took 10 pages for people to realize comparing a 4gb to a 10gb doesn't work lol

 

[Gjwilly]

I thought the same thing. Here's a link to some fine print. If you buy in store, it states the amount can be applied to the phone. If you buy online or even ship to store, you'll get the giftcard later. But if you get it normally in store, the small print does say you can apply it to the phone.

The fine print also says that if, for technical reasons, they can't issue the GC at time of purchase, they will e-mail it to you later and you will not be allowed to apply it to the purchase of the phone.
I wonder if a store full of minimum-wage, under-trained sales reps trying to deal with a store full of crazed, iPhone launch-day, Apple customers counts as a technical difficulty?

 

[zhenya]

Compare going from a 6 gb plan at $90 a month to the 10 gb $100 a month. Your comparison doesn't work so well for BYOD to every two year subsidy.

It adds $480 to the 2 year plan. In both cases you own the device.

2 gb per month is not much for two devices and tethering a wifi ipad.

The 6GB/month plan is $80/month - https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/data-plans.html#fbid=kZPWRjzQmF4

To do the comparison again:

NEXT:
6GB data bucket: $80/month x 20 months: $1600
Line 1: $25/month x 20 months: $500
Phone 1: $32.50/month for 20 months: $650
Line 2: $25/month x 20 months: $500
Phone 2: $32.50/month for 20 months: $650
TOTAL: $3900

2-YEAR CONTRACT:
6GB data bucket: $80/month x 20 months: $1600
Line 1: $40/month x 20 months: $800
Phone 1: $200 one time payment
Line 2: $40/month x 20 months: $800
Phone 2: $200 one time payment
TOTAL: $3800

Again, you have to do the LONG-TERM math for your specific situation, but this is not a discount program by AT&T, it is specifically designed to move people into more expensive plans by obfuscating the costs and giving a small discount up front.

 

[phr0ze]

Lets break this down.

• Existing people are grandfathered to $15/line.
• You can still subsidize.
• If you upgrade your phone using subsidized prices your line rate goes to $40 on just that line.
• If you don't use subsidized pricing, the rate stays at $15.

Here is a break down of costs. For simplification latest 16GB iphone is used. Assumptions a 1 year old iphone in good condition resells for $400, 2 year old iphone in good condition resells for $250. (Data costs are not included since they are fixed):


New Phone every 2 Years phone pricing
Buy phone outright (Value Plan) (Catch is you can not buy outright on launch day)
Phone $649
Service $15/month x2 years = $360
Activation $36
Sell phone -$250
Total cost: $795 for 2 Years

Keep current plan and get a subsidized phone (Original Plan)
Phone $199
Service $30/mo x2 Years = 720
Activation $36
Sell Phone -$250
Total cost: $705 for 2 years

New phone every year pricing
Buy phone outright (Family Value Plan)
Phone $649
Service $15/month 1 year = $180
Activation $36
Sell phone -$400
Total cost: $465 for 1 Year

Next 12 Plan (Family Value)
Financing $32.50/month 1 year = $390
Service $15/month 1 year = $180
Total cost: $570 for 1 year

Subsidized Tablet Loophole Original Plan (Yes you need to get a tablet, but only once and could buy POS tablet used)
Phone $199
Service $30/mo x1 Year = $360
Activation $36
Tablet Plan $10/mo x1 Year = $120
Sell Phone -$400
Total cost: $315 for 1 Year

 

[viewfly]

The 6GB/month plan is $80/month - https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/data-plans.html#fbid=kZPWRjzQmF4

To do the comparison again:

NEXT:
6GB data bucket: $80/month x 20 months: $1600
Line 1: $25/month x 20 months: $500
Phone 1: $32.50/month for 20 months: $650
Line 2: $25/month x 20 months: $500
Phone 2: $32.50/month for 20 months: $650
TOTAL: $3900

2-YEAR CONTRACT:
6GB data bucket: $80/month x 20 months: $1600
Line 1: $40/month x 20 months: $800
Phone 1: $200 one time payment
Line 2: $40/month x 20 months: $800
Phone 2: $200 one time payment
TOTAL: $3800

Again, you have to do the LONG-TERM math for your specific situation, but this is not a discount program by AT&T, it is specifically designed to move people into more expensive plans by obfuscating the costs and giving a small discount up front.

This is were you cannot generalize for everyone situation. Everyone has different price points depending when they switched plans over time.

MY 6 Gb share plan costs $90/month, not $80. Going from 6 Gb to 10 Gb saves me $50 a month. $195 to $145 for 3 phones. That's $1200 that I can save up to purchase new phones. And I get 4 Gb more per month

Also the 2 year calculation must use 24 months not 20. It takes 24 months to get a new phone. Also the 12 month NEXT is cheaper than the 20 month NEXT plan.

 

[DaveWonders]

It depends on how much data you are paying for on the subsidized plan, but here's some numbers for you:

Assume the 4GB data plan and two 16GB iPhones for 20 months.

NEXT:
4GB data bucket: $70/month x 20 months: $1400
Line 1: $25/month x 20 months: $500
Phone 1: $32.50/month for 20 months: $650
Line 2: $25/month x 20 months: $500
Phone 2: $32.50/month for 20 months: $650
TOTAL: $3700

2-YEAR CONTRACT:
4GB data bucket: $70/month x 20 months: $1400
Line 1: $40/month x 20 months: $800
Phone 1: $200 one time payment
Line 2: $40/month x 20 months: $800
Phone 2: $200 one time payment
TOTAL: $3400

In both cases you own the phone at the end, but the total NEXT price costs you an extra $300.

True you would own the phone on the Next plan, but I don't think you would yet on the 2 year contract. They have become very strict on early upgrades. Here's the calculations based on 24 months:

NEXT:
4GB data bucket: $70/month x 24 months: $1680
Line 1: $25/month x 24 months: $600
Phone 1: $32.50/month for 20 months: $650
Line 2: $25/month x 24 months: $600
Phone 2: $32.50/month for 20 months: $650
TOTAL: $4180

2-YEAR CONTRACT:
4GB data bucket: $70/month x 24 months: $1680
Line 1: $40/month x 24 months: $960
Phone 1: $200 one time payment
Line 2: $40/month x 24 months: $960
Phone 2: $200 one time payment
TOTAL: $4000

Difference of $180. BUT, also add in 2 $36 activation fees and it's a difference of $54 per line. It's more expensive, but you have a lot of flexibility and freedom with NEXT in this example.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

I went in yesterday with 3 iPhones plan that had 6gb of data which we constantly went over on. Anyway we figured it out to switch to Next it would cost me 75 dollars for the phones each month and service 155 dollars which included 10gbs that I would save about 30- 40 dollars a month without my overage charges . I jumped on it and selling my 3 iPhones now, put cash in pocket. Now i did 18 months which was for a 16gb phone 25 per month and a 32gb 28.75 per month. I did 2 16gb and 1 32gb. Now the part that was interesting was the young lady said there is no contract this way and not stuck for 2 years. Our biggest issue like everyone else is we change phones each release and I figured the 5s is good enough to keep us in for 18 months than upgrade. We really don't need anymore than the 5s as far as features and speed. So I thought it was a good idea. Every month has been bills over 300 dollars. With this staying in the 10gb range it came up to about 255 before taxes. I really needed the 10gbs and that was what I was really after. The kids are killing me here on data.

 

[redman042]

People are able to do whatever they want with their money, but if you carry things out to upgrading every 3 years, you save tons of money. The american carriers have "trained" (brainwashed) us to "need" to upgrade every 2 years. If you carry a device out to 3 years, you save hundreds of dollars that 3rd year, no joke. Break the cycle... it's just a phone.

A valid point of view, but for many (like me) it's not just a phone. It's many other things, including my family's primary video and still camera. Yes we have a high end camera too, but we ALWAYS have our iPhone with us. I just switched to the Next annual plan and will always have Apple's best camera tech in my pocket now. And that's a big deal to us. I've already shot videos of my 5 year old that would not have been possible with the iPhone 5 (much better low light photos, bursts, and slo-mo).

But yes, no matter how you slice it, upgrading more often costs more.

 

[Gordo74]

Yeah, as I figured, this is a big up-front obfuscation of the details to lock you into a much more expensive path in the long run. Let's run some numbers.

Assume for both scenarios that we have a family plan with 2 iPhones - one 16GB and one 64GB. I am looking at the actual costs as they will appear when you go to upgrade, not what they are locking you into now based on a phone you already own but will likely want to upgrade relatively soon.

Mobile Share Value Cost with NEXT
10GB Data - $100/month
iPhone 16 - $15/month
iPhone 64 - $15/month
iPhone 16 NEXT fee - $32.50/month
iPhone 64 NEXT fee - $42.50/month
TOTAL: $205/month - year 1 - $2460 - year 2 - $2460
TWO YEAR TOTAL: $4920 - and you never own the phones
PROS: You get a large bucket of data and are eligible for a new phone every year.

Mobile Share Value Cost with BYOD
10GB Data - $100/month
iPhone 16 - $15/month
iPhone 64 - $15/month
iPhone 16 upfront cost - $650
iPhone 64 upfront cost - $850
Total: $130/month + $1500/ 2 years - $3060 - year 1 - $1560 - year 2
TWO YEAR TOTAL: $4620 and you recoup ~$600 on phone resale which will offset some of the $1500 for the new cycle of phones.

Mobile Share Cost with 2 year contract
4GB Data - $70/month
iPhone 16 - $40/month
iPhone 64 - $40/month
iPhone 16 upfront cost - $200
iPhone 64 upfront cost - $400
Total: $150/month + $600/2 years = $2400 - year 1 - $1800 - year 2
TWO YEAR TOTAL: $4200 and you OWN the phones and can recoup the upfront cost on resale - effectively keeping you at the $1800/year cost in perpetuity.

Clearly nothing has changed and NEXT is still a very expensive way to own a phone, so before changing to these plans, you need to make sure that you are ok with the large out of pocket costs upgrading to new phones will cost you - for just two new iPhones that's $1500. Are those of you with 3,4,5 smartphones really going to be ok paying $2-3k up front for new devices? Because what AT&T is banking on here is that you won't and you'll instead sign up for the very expensive NEXT plans which net them a LOT of extra money straight from your pocket.

The existing mobile share plans with a two year contract are still cheaper for most people. This is why AT&T is pushing these new plans. Marketing through obfuscation.

While yes, this may be true as far as new phones go, that last part is incorrect.

Both me and my wife joined ATT when the 5S came out and paid the subsidized price for the phones ($300 for 32GB for me, $100 for 16GB for her on promo around black friday).

Today, I switched from my 6GB Mobile share ($90+35+$35=$160) to the new mobile share value for 10GB ($100+15+$15=$130) and not only that, but the corporate discount I had on my bill (20%), now is weighted against the $100 verse the $90 on the previous bill, so it ends up being around $35 cheaper per month for me ($158 after taxes and fees before with corporate discount, $120 estimated for next month after discount plus taxes and fees). I did not have to buy out the phones, pay any extra fee, nothing. I just switched my plan.

Contrasting this to T-Mobile, with my wife and I each having service ($50+$30+$10(2GB)+$10(2GB) = $100 * corporate discount of 15% = $85/month) and then having to buy the phones at full price ($650*2=$1300 divided over 24 months to compare apples to apples = $54/month), it actually is cheaper to go the ATT route for these 2 years ($110/month (ATT with corporate discount) adding in $16/month for the $400 paid up front for the phones for apples to apples = $126 vs $139 T-Mo) and I get 10GB verse 5GB of data and save $16 a month.

I'm the biggest supporter of T-Mo providing competition and honestly, was debating buying out my ETF just last week and moving my 2 5S's to T-Mo, but now, it just doesn't make sense since I'd be getting only 5 GB for $85/month and I'd have to factor in $600 worth of ETF ($30/month for the remainder of a contract), so I'd still be paying the equivalent of $115/month (more than the $110 for ATT) for less service area and less data (half).

Maybe once my ETF shrinks to where it makes sense, but at this point, this makes the most economical sense.

 

[rye9]

It depends on how much data you are paying for on the subsidized plan, but here's some numbers for you:

Assume the 4GB data plan and two 16GB iPhones for 20 months.

NEXT:
4GB data bucket: $70/month x 20 months: $1400
Line 1: $25/month x 20 months: $500
Phone 1: $32.50/month for 20 months: $650
Line 2: $25/month x 20 months: $500
Phone 2: $32.50/month for 20 months: $650
TOTAL: $3700

2-YEAR CONTRACT:
4GB data bucket: $70/month x 20 months: $1400
Line 1: $40/month x 20 months: $800
Phone 1: $200 one time payment
Line 2: $40/month x 20 months: $800
Phone 2: $200 one time payment
TOTAL: $3400

In both cases you own the phone at the end, but the total NEXT price costs you an extra $300.

The 2-year contract pricing is more expensive over the course of 24 months though. Your analysis, while correct, doesn't consist of a fully paid off phone under contract. The next phone is paid off in 20 months, yes, but extend the analysis 4 months longer and the next option is cheaper

 

[DaveWonders]

The 2-year contract pricing is more expensive over the course of 24 months though. Your analysis, while correct, doesn't consist of a fully paid off phone under contract. The next phone is paid off in 20 months, yes, but extend the analysis 4 months longer and the next option is cheaper

2 year contract is still less expensive, but only $54/line. But you have the option to upgrade if you want, or maybe NEED to because it was lost or broken. Plus you're not technically under contract.

 

[phr0ze]

ATT lets me backdate my switch a whole month. Dill they actually give me back my savings for switching today from last month?

----------

ATT lets me backdate my switch a whole month. Dill they actually give me back my savings for switching today from last month?

I did it, Backdated to January 7th. Says they simply remove the charges as of Jan 7th, and charge the new amount.

I'm saving $95/month, Nearly $1200/year

 

[TheAppleFairy]

att is just a money hungry company...

Yet they are much cheaper than Verizon. Pointless post.

 

[Scuba629]

The AT&T Next plan is a bad idea unless you buy out the "lease". So this year when the iPhone 6 comes out I will use the Next 12 and instead of $37.50 for 12 months I will just pay out the 20 month contract. I know its $750 dollars but I can then sell the phone for at least $400.

If you trade in the AT&T Next phone at 12 months your saying that its only worth $300 dollars(8 Months x 37.50).

Below are my numbers for a year. This is of course assuming I upgrade each year in contract at $549 or out of contract at $749. It also assumes I get $400 dollars for my phones.

Current 4GB Mobile Share Plan (2 iPhone, 2 iPad)
Monthly $170.00
Upgrade $298.00 (1098 - 800)
Fees $17.08
Taxes $7.91
Discount $11.90

Total $2,495.08


New 10GB Famly Value Plan (2 iPhone, 2 iPad)
Monthly $150.00
Upgrade $698.00 (1498 -800)
Fees $17.08
Taxes $6.97
Discount $17.00

Total $2,582.60

As you can see the difference is $87.52 for the year, but I get 6GB more and the ability to upgrade any date I want instead of waiting till Sept 14 2014.

 

[saintforlife]

I read it as if you are a 10GB plan or greater, your rate is $15 a month. If you have a lesser plan, you'll be charged $40 until you go off contract, which it'll drop to $15.

I just bought my iPhone 5S for me and my wife, and a 5C for my son at subsidy prices, they are only charging me $15 a month, not $40.

If I understand you correctly, you bought an iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C recently at subsidized prices. Now in the last day or two you switched to the new ATT 10 GB family plan. ATT is only charging $15 per phone. This is correct. This is their way of enticing people who are on subsidized phones away from that model. You will see the big change two years from now when you want to upgrade and you will have to buy the new phones at full price. You are good to go till then.