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AT&T to Stop Offering Two-Year Phone Contracts Starting January 8
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Well, I am on contract till September so I guess its constant Netflix streaming for me till then.
That's perfectly fine. I assume that's what many will do. I also assume many won't be buying phones as often as they used to. Some will leave. Eventually ATT will dunk the plan all together once there is nothing "forcing" them to keep it around.
yeah, probably won't be every two years for me anymore. but we shall see
If you were a person who bought a new phone every two years under UDP contract you can essentially figure your costs of owning a new iPhone just went up by about $15 a month (this is accounting for the $5 monthly increase as well).
Edit: it's actually $18.25 a month not accounting for the $5 increase in UDP. That brings us to $23.25. Damn. Worse than I thought.
Sort of off topic, but I'm curious how this change will effect att customers buying insurance or Apple care. If I KNEW I was going to keep my phone two years (never have in the past), I might jump on AC+ at least.
Just purchase it with a CC that offers extended warranty (Amex is best) and you're covered against manufacturing defects in the second year, assuming you purchase it outright. This won't work with NEXT plans with $0 down though because Amex can only reimburse you up to the price you paid for it (to cover the out of warranty replacement).
So I can't keep unlimited data and get AT&T next? Basically I Want to know how I can keep my unlimited. Also after I'm done financing the phone so I get to keep it? Or do I have to trade it in for a new one?
Its kind of funny people saying my very old Family Plan that I upgrade every 2 years for 199 has built in subsidies.It in fact Does NOT ,this is why ATT is doing away with the 2 year plans.... Pretty smart on ATT's part but not good for those of us who have the real old ATT plans that do not have the subsidies built in !!! I should know have been paying the bill for the last 15 years or so...
even without using Next, i've kept every single one of my iPhones. and i only paid that upfront cost of $200-$300 each time
ATT is banking on most people not being smart enough to do that and giving into the next plan and data caps. It's a subtle way to reduce unlimited plans without announcing to the world they are phasing unlimited out.
We have been Cingular/AT&T members since 2006, having been with T-Mobile from 2003-2006 and U.S. Cellular from 2000-2003. This really blows for those that kept one of the old Cingular Nationtalk or Familytalk plans. The additional $25/mo "savings" for switching to a Next plan (really a $25/mo penalty for having a contract) only applies to shared data plans. There was absolutely zero downside to a subsidized phones under the old plans. We had two lines that were available for an upgrade, as well as having grandfathered unlimited data, and we bought two new phones and then jumped ship back to T-Mobile the same day. We get the subsidized phones and the ETFs get covered.
As I Stated in my post. Next is better if you are under the Mobile Share Value plan. I did not refer to the unlimited data plans. And Yes, I still think I "get it".
But you can keep unlimited on NEXT if you're grandfathered so your point is moot. Sure, it may be more expensive but it's still doable.
And when you have three lines like myself it's very hard to justify staying with AT&T. 3 subsidies is worth $50 per month. Why would I want to keep paying the same bill but have an extra $1350 in phone costs every 2 years?
You are upset that we all get to enjoy the unlimited plan without paying much.
One thing people are confusing in the unlimited data plans with builtin, never-ending subsidy and the mobile share plans is that the mobile share plan doesn't include the price of the phone at all.
I pay $135 for two unlimited data plans with the built-in, never ending subsidy. The comparable Mobile share data plan is $170 with no phone costs at all.
If i did a NEXT plan for two phones, my monthly cost would go to $185 for the unlimited plan (which still has the neverending subsidy built into it) compared to $220 on Mobile share plan. After the NEXT plan ends, my cost go back down to $135 for the unlimited data plan (which still has the neverending subsidy built into it) compared to $170 for the Mobile share plan.
AT&T wants all of us high data users off the grandfathered unlimited plans because they are losing money on us when compared to what we would be paying on the Mobile Share plans. As someone said earlier, the NEXT plans are designed to get people to lock into AT&T in a different way.
And count me in as someone who has re-upped the two year contract on unlimited data for the last 6 years. My current contract is up in October.
I pay $135 for two unlimited data plans with the built-in, never ending subsidy. The comparable Mobile share data plan is $170 with no phone costs at all.
If i did a NEXT plan for two phones, my monthly cost would go to $185 for the unlimited plan (which still has the neverending subsidy built into it) compared to $220 on Mobile share plan. After the NEXT plan ends, my cost go back down to $135 for the unlimited data plan (which still has the neverending subsidy built into it) compared to $170 for the Mobile share plan.
AT&T wants all of us high data users off the grandfathered unlimited plans because they are losing money on us when compared to what we would be paying on the Mobile Share plans. As someone said earlier, the NEXT plans are designed to get people to lock into AT&T in a different way.
And count me in as someone who has re-upped the two year contract on unlimited data for the last 6 years. My current contract is up in October.
You are wrong. AT&T states that if you have been notified about the increase in price for the unlimited data plan increase, you can not renew a new 2-year contract and then cancel without paying the ETF. Anybody renewing now WILL pay the ETF when they cancel.
You can absolutely do NEXT and keep your unlimited data. I spent 30 mins mulling the option when upgrading to my 6+. I was a little short on cash at that time and I wanted the 128gb which was 499 with upgrade discount. I ended up just paying the $ because I didn't want my monthly bill to increase.
I called again to get more info such as how the charges break down per line as well as taxes and discounts. They said that there is only a single charge for the service and that it is not broken down per line. I also got a good estimate on taxes and fees for my area. Lastly they said that my 15% discount through my employer is applied to the total cost AFTER taxes!
At first I thought I would go with their unlimited data plan since it still saves me money, but with their Binge On and Music Freedom programs I don't think I will need more than the 6GB LTE per line. The one phone that uses about 16GB a month mostly uses it from HBO, Netflix, and Slingbox which are all part of the Binge On program!
The last concerns that I have and should be able to answer next week are:
What kind of coverage and data speeds do I have at work? I'll have to ask my T-Mobile coworkers.
Will I have to pay ETF, or will I be able to have it waived now since I am cancelling due to the $5 data increase? To be honest, this won't hold me back as I would make up the difference in less than 4 months of savings.
How long after waiving/paying ETF will my phones be unlocked? I'm not sure if I can activate service with T-Mobile if my phones are still locked. If I can, how long will I be without service as I wait for AT&T to unlock my phones so that they can start working with T-Mobile?
Since you were so kind and let me know about this deal I decided to share the numbers I crunched in an excel spreadsheet. I'm not sure how similar this situation would be for you but I figured it would be a good starting point for you and others.
So you can do att next and keep the same phone plan you have and just pay a finance fee? Also how do o know if I have a fan account and still qualify for two year upgrade.