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AT&T to Stop Offering Two-Year Phone Contracts Starting January 8
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Not all of us. I'm still on a limited calling plan. I asked a CSR if they could put me on an unlimited plan for the same price, but that was not an option. They did let me keep my 7000 rollover minutes when switching to the 700 minute plan though, so I should have unlimited calling for the foreseeable future.
I think two things killed the 2 year contract.
- For families the Family version of the Next Plan is a better deal as it really reduces the cost per user. (e.g. my brother has 5 users and his per user cost is lower than mine)
- People do not understand how to compare total costs to give them an apples to apples comparison. People tend to try and compare apples to oranges. In my scenario I save at least $355.56 over 24 months...when looking at total dollars.
(e.g. my corporate discounted unlimited data plan over 24 months costs me $66.48 a month before tax with the up front cost of $399 6s Plus 64GB...over 24 moths $1,994.52 not including taxes. By going with an 18 month Next Plan that has a 24 month payoff, I would pay $0 upfront then $35.42 for phone + 37.50 5GB data access + $25 phone service = $97.92...over 24 months $2,350.08 not including taxes)
For some, to come up with the down payment is difficult to do. Though the return on paying the up front ($399 in my case) is better than probably any other place you could invest it in. That is why people sell their phones in month 24. However, if I keep my phone past month 24, my savings starts to quickly erode over the Next 18 Plan w/ 5GB as it will drop by $35.42 a month.
Yeah, it appears that corporate customers (i.e., those who get FAN discounts through their employers) will still be able to do contract pricing so it's not all at&t customers.
I am on the next plan and just randomly asked for an unlock and got it from Att. I think it was ~ 6 months in I requested it.
Some will say it's a good thing for several reasons including making the full price of these phones more transparent to all customers, perhaps putting pressure on Apple to reduce prices, catching up with the rest of the world, hopefully putting more pressure on AT&T/Verizon to be more competitive, etc.
Over Paying???????
I Have Unlimited Data for $30.00 soon to be $35.00 & I pay $5.00 for 200 sms messages also I have 900 roll over minutes for $59.99 in which I have 9,000 rolled over. I NEVER go over on Messages & my calls are no way near a problem going over... How are you FEELING SORRY for ME? How Do YOU Think I AM OVER PAYING???? My Bill is $94.99 plus all taxes & I Get AN IPHONE WITH THAT PRICE which comes out to $105.40 every month... OVERPAYING??? FOR UNLIMITED 4G LTE????
I DO NOT THINK SO..!!! All I have to do for the last 6 Years Is I pay $199.00 every "S" Model fora Brand New 4S, 5S, 6S Iphone to Boot with that payment added in, so then I sell the thing at the end of the 2 years seeing I then OWN IT....
So Now Next time There will not be subsidized , Oh well , I just buy the iPhone Outright and I still get UNLIMITED DATA..!!!
WORKS FOR ME....!!!!
I was paying $102 a month until I got rid of it last month.
Nation 450 with Rollover
$39.99
AT&T Roadside Assistance
$2.99
International Roaming - Standard
$0.00
Data Unlimited for iPhone on 4G LTE with VVM
$30.00
Messaging Unlimited
$20.00
Total Monthly Charges
$92.98
Surcharges & Fees
Administrative Fee
$0.61
Federal Universal Service Charge
$2.27
Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge
$1.20
Total Surcharges & Fees
$4.08
Government Fees & Taxes
County Sales Tax - Telecom
$0.81
OH State Sales Tax - Telecom
$3.68
State/Local Wireless-E911 Costs ($.25/billed number)
$0.25
Total Government Fees & Taxes
$4.74
Total for xxx-xxx-xxxx
$101.80
The price wasn't bad when the phone was subsidized. I got rid of because I was using less than 2GB a month on it. I couldn't turn it into a hot-spot when I was in the field. I could get on Verizon for $90 with 6GB of data and have my iPhone and iPad on it. I still haven't gotten rid of my iPad unlimited plan yet. Lucked out that the Company I work for upgraded their Verizon plan and was able to put both my iPhone and iPad Pro on it.
Right now with a company/corporate discount I pay $145/w taxes for two smartphones. The only comparable plan is the 15GB Data plan which puts my bill at $180/mo for two phones and that's before taxes and fees. Not a great upgrade.
I Have Unlimited Data for $30.00 soon to be $35.00 & I pay $5.00 for 200 sms messages also I have 900 roll over minutes for $59.99 in which I have 9,000 rolled over. I NEVER go over on Messages & my calls are no way near a problem going over... How are you FEELING SORRY for ME? How Do YOU Think I AM OVER PAYING???? My Bill is $94.99 plus all taxes & I Get AN IPHONE WITH THAT PRICE which comes out to $105.40 every month... OVERPAYING??? FOR UNLIMITED 4G LTE????
I DO NOT THINK SO..!!! All I have to do for the last 6 Years Is I pay $199.00 every "S" Model fora Brand New 4S, 5S, 6S Iphone to Boot with that payment added in, so then I sell the thing at the end of the 2 years seeing I then OWN IT....
So Now Next time There will not be subsidized , Oh well , I just buy the iPhone Outright and I still get UNLIMITED DATA..!!!
WORKS FOR ME....!!!!
Does this mean that they are going to stop charging the 15-25 per line charge (on top of plan & data) that was supposed to supplement their loss on the discounted phone (you pay $300 for a phone that is 800 and lock into a two year contract)? I know I was on their next plan and had paid off my phone. Even though I paid the complete 800 I was still being charged 25 a month per line (on top of plan and data charges). It actually forced me to leave AT&T because it was too expensive to pay $100 for the line (with 10gb of data) the $25 per line charge versus all you can eat at $80 a month with T-Mobile (even though coverage is less than be desired for me it isn't terrible). It's all a racket with AT&T. Even their employees know it when you talk to them.
All this says to me is that there shouldn't be any more freaking carrier locked phones or carriers selling devices
PERIOD.
The only reason phones should have been locked to a carrier is because it's associated with a contract purchased at the carrier store
Now since there is no contract. Carriers shouldn't be selling devices. There should be no locks on devices. I should be able to use my data any way I see fit when I want to use it.
Contracts were the only reason carriers sold devices. They need to shutter all these behemoth nonsensical stores wasting space and just open up customer service centers for service and signal issues.
PERIOD.
The only reason phones should have been locked to a carrier is because it's associated with a contract purchased at the carrier store
Now since there is no contract. Carriers shouldn't be selling devices. There should be no locks on devices. I should be able to use my data any way I see fit when I want to use it.
Contracts were the only reason carriers sold devices. They need to shutter all these behemoth nonsensical stores wasting space and just open up customer service centers for service and signal issues.
That is comparable to my plan. I pay $77.37 w/ taxes for just one phone. My brother pays for several phones and his is significantly less than mine would be times 5. But he only has 15GB of data to share, where I have unlimited (but really only use 4 -5 GB a month).
I don't think AT&T would do this unless they knew Verizon had the intention to do the same.
Easy man, take a breath. Great that it works for you. All OP is saying is that many could be paying far less with an MVNO for the actual data they use. $1200 a year is no pocket change, but if you use say >10GB per month it is likely worth it. This is a minority of users though.
Personally, I ditched AT&T and went to Project Fi with the nexus 6P. My bill has been $25 to $30 per month. So for me, I was way overpaying with AT&T unlimited.
As more and more people start to buy phones at retail pricing, it will get more competitive to bring down prices or offer more bang for the buck.
Yep, pretty much in simple terms.
So with this "nice improvement" by AT&T by losing the subsidy and adding an extra $5 to the unlimited data plan it will increase my price to an additional $510 every 2 years or an extra $21.25 a month per phone line by staying with them on the same plan.
I don't think so.
See ya later AT&T.
Been on time with all my monthly payments and no issues for over 16 years. Im sure you will lose many many people like me with this move.
I started with ATT during the first iPhone. I would get a 2 year contract but ever year I would purchase a new iPhone. Two year contracts were not for me so I switched to T-Mobile and purchase the iPhone outright about 2 years ago. For a person that wants a new iPhone every year, 2 year contracts were just not for me from day 1.
I prefer keeping my hardware purchases and my services as separate expenses rather than lump everything under one monthly bill. Big hardware purchases can be made yearly but monthly service fees need to be as small as possible.
I prefer keeping my hardware purchases and my services as separate expenses rather than lump everything under one monthly bill. Big hardware purchases can be made yearly but monthly service fees need to be as small as possible.
Yes, use it right now.
Or in a few weeks you wont be able to.
And in February when they increase your unlimited data plan you can get out of contract for free.
I would if I had another unlimited data plan line with subsidy available.
Guess I'm going to be paying more when we decide to upgrade our phones. I've done the math several times over the years and it's always worked out cheaper for us to buy subsidized iPhones on a 2 year contract.
$67 with my corporate discount. If I switched to the 5GB AT&T Next, it would be about $85. It's a wash if I never go over 5GB, but I often do.
They a**hats are already going to raise my monthly rate starting Feb 16. I have until Sept. to drop them when my 2 years are up. UNLESS I can drop them in Jan without penalty??
I have to read the full article and of course the *footnotes of any penalties.
Bottom line, I'm sick of ATT's *********!
I have to read the full article and of course the *footnotes of any penalties.
Bottom line, I'm sick of ATT's *********!
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