The "subsidy" was baked into the cost of the data plan. You were paying AT&T back, and then some. If you were on an MVNO you'd easily pay half of the monthly cost and save yourself hundreds of $$ over a two-year period.
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AT&T to Stop Offering Two-Year Phone Contracts Starting January 8
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Verizon already did this back in August. Welcome to a duopoly. What ever one does the other is sure to follow.
I did the math. under the "non contract" prices that Verizon was offering, I'd save between $12 and $16 per month. Over 24 months, that doesn't come CLOSE to the $900 in subsidies I receive ($450 per phone x 2 phones) under contract. I'd rather stay under contract than have to buy my own phone.
Sure, under those plans, I'd get a gig or 2 more data but I don't even use that much so it's still not worth it to me. If I worked away from home and used more data, then maybe... but not as of now.
Sure, under those plans, I'd get a gig or 2 more data but I don't even use that much so it's still not worth it to me. If I worked away from home and used more data, then maybe... but not as of now.
I have contract phones, unlimited data with a FAN old plan.
No matter how I price it on the current shared data, my plan remains cheaper than any plan offered to date with them.
No matter how I price it on the current shared data, my plan remains cheaper than any plan offered to date with them.
Hard to compare to my situation because I have 3 lines, we share 3 GB and 700 minutes (both of which we never run into the limit) for a total of $80/mo. No phone subsidies, so I buy gently used iPhones for much cheaper than new.
The difference is that with the old system you (a) kept paying a higher monthly price even if you didn't get a new phone at the end of the two-year period and (b) you had to buy the high monthly price even if you bought your own phone.
What I mean is, if you compare how much you pay for your smartphone service over a two-year period to another person using an MVNO for two years, you'd be paying hundreds and hundreds of $$ more, because you're on this fancy AT&T plan.
You and I are in the same boat. I feel like I only had to pay for the very first iPhone and keep breaking even after selling my phone every year.
Att is definitely hip to this hence why no more two year contracts...
Either that, or customers were keeping older, out-of-contract phones for longer than expected because they didn't want to pay the $199+ required to get a new smartphone/start a new 2-year contract.
With the installment plans, there is no $199+ required payment to upgrade to a new phone.
You haven't. The subsidy was just baked into your contract fee. If you use the no-contract plans, you get a $15-$25 discount per month depending on the data volume (saving $360 or $600 over 2 years compared to the contract).
It really depends on your circumstances. For some people the mobile share plans are more expensive than the old contracts, for others less. They tend to favor family plans with high data volumes.
Personally I'm glad that the days of lock-in contracts are coming to an end. I prefer the flexibility and transparency of the contract-free plans.
Verizon's non-contract prices are a huge ripoff. If you want to do a real comparison, take a look at any MVNO, like Consumer Cellular or PagePlus and see how much you'd be saving over a two year period. It would be hundreds of $$.
People were ending up paying full price no matter what choice of payment you were using. Full up front, 2 year, or next all ended up in paying full price for the phone. Using the next plan drops your price per line by 25 dollars/ month over the 2 yr contract plan, so it will all break even in the end. As far as unlimited data, it something that should be phased out. I gave mine up years ago and it's not that big of a deal.
Lease your living space!
Lease your car!
Lease your music!
Lease your phone!
Anyway I'm on VZW and it at least looks like I'll still be able to get a subsidized device since I have that now, unless VZW announces tomorrow to kill that.
But if it gets to the point where I have to shell out close to $2,000 for two mid-storage tier phones to buy outright every two years for my wife and I, I don't think I'll be buying phones every other year as that's an obscene expense to have every other year.
Lease your car!
Lease your music!
Lease your phone!
Anyway I'm on VZW and it at least looks like I'll still be able to get a subsidized device since I have that now, unless VZW announces tomorrow to kill that.
But if it gets to the point where I have to shell out close to $2,000 for two mid-storage tier phones to buy outright every two years for my wife and I, I don't think I'll be buying phones every other year as that's an obscene expense to have every other year.
it was baked into the cost yes but my data usage -- actually needing unlimited data aka 3-10gb of data a month -- and resale value of the iPhone completely outweighed that.
I pay $30/mo ($35 soon) for unlimited data and because of subsidies I haven't paid for an iPhone since the original. I have had every model on launch day. I've calculated the math over the years and compared it to all of AT&T's new plan options as they have rolled them out. With the amount of data I go through on average; roughly 15 GB/mo for the last few years, I have saved an incredible amount of money. Not to mention every other year when I received a subsidized phone I actually make a profit by selling my current one. Generally making enough to pay full price for next years model after again selling my current one...and still retaining a little profit.
TLDR; Unlimited plans and 2 year contracts=free phones and cheap date. I've done the math.
I'm not so sure about this... I've experienced 3 lines on 2 year contracts and now AT&T Next and I can tell you that the contracts were less expensive. 2 year contract on AT&T Next is expensive because they charge you extra to "access" your data pool. With 2 year contracts and "old" plans AT&T pays a subsidy on the phone and doesn't charge a $35/mo access charge or whatever it is. Off contract, they do not pay the subsidy and thus the consumer pays more. If contracts weren't causing AT&T to lose money they would keep them, trust me.
Let me know when one of them starts having mobile hot spots and I might consider it.
Its like healthcare, there is more money in the comeback aka bandaid approach, than to actually fix the problem and cause a decline in returning customers.
Um no. You are wrong. I am on a grandfathered unlimited plan and I recently got a message from AT&T that I could save money by switching to AT&T NEXT. When I used their comparison tool I got the following:
So for $10 more per month I can have a data cap. No thank you.
It's definitely going to be dependent on each account. Some are over paying, while others are not.
There were never any "subsidies", everyone were paying for their phone. It was merely a payment plan for the phone linked to your service plan. I always hated the term subsidy, because it made no sense at all considering what it was.
With Apple doing the lending now, the phone companies are now out of that business,
With Apple doing the lending now, the phone companies are now out of that business,
The price of smartphones will eventually begin to slide southward or fewer people will be able to afford them
As much as I hate AT&T, I think this is a right move, separating the cost of phone and service. For sooo long people here in the US have thought that an iPhone costs only $200. I've seen numerous confused faces when they're told that they are paying $650+ for their shiny new iPhone every year. Teaching these points to my shared plan of 9 people was one of the hardest things I had to do and I guarantee you half of them still think that they got their phones "free" using Next.
Disclaimer: my carrier is AT&T!
Disclaimer: my carrier is AT&T!