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Carrier Buying unlocked phone vs subsidized phone

Y

Yekezei

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 20, 2013
44
0
I've always lived in Belgium (nobody really ever buys locked phones here) and I'm moving to the US for a few years. Upon reading forums I noticed a lot of Americans buy subsidized phones.

I was looking on the verizon website and I would have to pay 90 dollars a month??? Currently I'm paying about 15 euros in Belgium for 2GB LTE and free calls & texts.
Quick math:
-Belgium: (700€ phone + 360€ plan for 2 years) is 1060 euros for 2 years.
-USA: (100$ phone + 2160$ for 2 years) is 2260 dollars for 2 years.

Is it cheaper to buy an unlocked phone in the US? I'm just confused as all the technology in the US is so much cheaper as in Europe but I can't seem to find a cheaper solution.

Thanks
 
Yekezei said:
I've always lived in Belgium (nobody really ever buys locked phones here) and I'm moving to the US for a few years. Upon reading forums I noticed a lot of Americans buy subsidized phones.

I was looking on the verizon website and I would have to pay 90 dollars a month??? Currently I'm paying about 15 euros in Belgium for 2GB LTE and free calls & texts.
Quick math:
-Belgium: (700€ phone + 360€ plan for 2 years) is 1060 euros for 2 years.
-USA: (100$ phone + 2160$ for 2 years) is 2260 dollars for 2 years.

Is it cheaper to buy an unlocked phone in the US? I'm just confused as all the technology in the US is so much cheaper as in Europe but I can't seem to find a cheaper solution.
Click to expand...

Verizon and AT&T are likely the priciest carriers in the US. They also have the best coverage. The reason why most folks just get subsidized phones is because previously, you pay the same monthly rates even if you buy subsidized or pay full price. The landscape is slowly changing thanks to T-Mobile's "Uncarrier" plan but both Verizon and AT&T still tend to be pricey compared to others.

Unfortunately, BYOD is pretty useless on Verizon since their voice network is still CDMA and they limit the phone models allowed on prepaid. Look into an AT&T (GSM) MVNO such as StraightTalk if you want cheaper rates, good coverage and a relaxed BYOD policy. T-Mobile is also inexpensive and might be a good option if the area you're planning to move to has coverage.
 
You can buy a $650 iPhone 5s unlocked and use it on a variety of prepaid services. You won't get anything near 15 euros. More like $50 a month.
 
617aircav said:
You can buy a $650 iPhone 5s unlocked and use it on a variety of prepaid services. You won't get anything near 15 euros. More like $50 a month.
Click to expand...
Yup. Prepaid is typically $40-50 a month if you want a reasonable amount of data included. The exception is T-Mobile's 100 minute, unlimited text, unlimited data (5GB LTE) prepaid plan for $30/month. I tried the T-Mo plan and got worse than dial-up speed and constant timeout (with mobile web pages, even!) after I've used up the 5GB so practically speaking, it's really just 5GB.
 
Most non USA people browsing these forums don't realize most americans are on "family plans". Believe it's someone where between 60-65% of Americans are on family plans.

European countries don't really offer "family plans".

What family plans do is drive the average cost per line line very quickly.

If you look at ATT "mobile share 10GB" with 4 lines. It's $160/4 lines. So about $40 a line. You pay "full price" for your phones.

So if you pay $40/line x 24 months and pay the "full price" for iPhone 5s ($650 plus taxes) that comes out to $1610 total per line plus taxes. But the math gets funky because many Americans also get "discounts" from work ranging from 8%-28% off their bill. My discount is 24%.

Now compare this to Belgium plan you described.
700 Euro for phone is $950 USD for iPhone 5s 16GB (yes, Apple charges more in Europe). I understand $950 includes VAT. But it's still at least $200-250 more than the USA price even factoring in taxes.

So $950 USD for iphone 5s 16GB in Belgium plus 368 Euro for 24 months. That's about $490 USD

So $1440 USD cost (for Belgium) vs. $1610 for USA ATT customer on mobile share per line.

So the difference isn't as great as it appears.

And if you factor in discounts, USA family customers with ATT may even be CHEAPER per line than Belgium.

If you are single line, your best bet is to go to ATT's AIO/Cricket wireless prepaid plans. https://www.cricketwireless.com/merger-info-files/cricket.html

$45 (including taxes) for prepaid (auto debit) or $50 per month. unlimited talk and text plus 2GB data, throttled after wards. You pay full price for phone.

Do the math comes out to about $1700 for 24 months including service and the phone. And you are NOT in a contract. You can cancel any time.
 
Alright thanks a bunch! But shouldn't I actually have a family there in order to purchase a family plan
 
US credit history

You need a social security number and a credit card in good standing from a U.S. Bank for a couple of years before you can do the contract phones. Otherwise there's a sizable deposit.

You're probably best buying a full price phone and getting a value plan than paying the deposit they'd require if you don't have enough U.S. credit history.

Welcome to 'murica :cool:

Yekezei said:
Alright thanks a bunch! But shouldn't I actually have a family there in order to purchase a family plan
Click to expand...
 
You're better off to just pay $650 for an unlocked iPhone direct from Apple and go to a prepaid service like Cricket, T-Mobile, or Straight Talk for $50/month.

Forget about Verizon/AT&T as you'll have a large deposit since you're not from the US and even still you'll get ripped on the monthly rate plan prices.
 
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