Clarification On AT&T Next From An AT&T Employee

[mscriv]

it's all a scam... I don't know a single person that went from on old plan to a new plan that promised to save money.. actually save money.. it's all a series of gotcha's.

Join or "Family Share Plan" it's only $100 a month for up to four lines with unlimited data, text voice and it saves you tons of money and you get free upgrades and phones... Excellent sign me up.... and the bill comes $267/mo....WTF?

It's all a SCAM

Hi. I'd like to introduce myself to you. I'm mscriv and my family saved a lot of money by switching from our old At&t plans to a new family share plan last year. I'm glad I could help you meet someone who "actually saved money" by making the switch.

I'm teasing you friend, but the facts are true. We definitely saved a lot of money by making the switch to a family share plan. We have 8 lines on a 15gb family share plan, my wife and I, my sister, her husband and two kids, and my sister in law and her husband. My sister and her family were previously on Verizon and paying something like $250/mo for their family plan. My wife, her sister, husband, and myself were previously on a 10gb family share plan paying about $240/mo with our two year contract plan. In December of 2013 we switched everyone over to a new 15gb family share plan and then a few monthly later took advantage of adjusting the plan to the new "off contract" option so that we could get the additional $25 monthly discount per line.

With my employer I do get a corporate discount on our account and so with everything combined our new monthly bill for everyone is around $265/mo. We divide that up per line between the different families so my sister and her family pay around $132/mo for their 4 lines and the rest of us pay $66/mo for our 2 lines.

All in all each family was able to cut their monthly bill for cell phone/data service by around 50%.

Keep in mind, when it comes time to upgrade phones those bills will go up on the lines that choose to use the Next plan or phones will be bought outright at full price.

I'm pleased to meet you and glad to pass on this information.

 

[theonekcrow]

This is good information. I did the math one time looking at buying a phone outright, using a NEXT upgrade, and using a standard 2 year upgrade on a 10GB Moble Share Value plan over the course of 2 years.

In that 2 years, the TCO for the phone bought outright and the NEXT plan only differed by $1.00, with the outright purchase having the lower TCO. Meanwhile, the standard 2 year contract was more expensive by almost $300. (As you lose the $25 discount on the line by signing the contract.

 

[yg17]

Anything this complicated and impossible to explain is a scam. PERIOD.

Paying for a product you purchased is a scam?

 

[kring]

If you are on an old At&t plan and haven't upgraded in a while then you may not be currently paying the higher monthly rates. Don't let that confuse you. At&t will not force you to change plans, but if you upgrade and subsidize they will raise your monthly rates for the new contract period. Keeping your same plan doesn't mean you get to keep your older and cheaper monthly payment.

Bingo! that's the big difference, those saving $15/$25 are saving that on a plan inflated $40... so the NET-NET is you are still paying more (AT&T smoke in mirrors in full effect) when compared to grandfathered or older plans, assuming the STILL MEET YOUR NEEDS!

Also, anyone getting FAN discounts on older plans, be aware that AT&T essentially eliminated FAN discounts from applying on the majority of your bill, so here's another example of where your cost goes up unexpectedly.

Simple math, I drop $250 on a phone every two years & I pay only $63/mo for unlimited data and 450min pla with texting. Going to a new AT&T plan is substantially more money, even the AT&T Rep's tell me I'd be crazy to change plans.

And nice to meet you too mscriev! your # of line and scale appears to work out well and makes sense on a newer plan. the single/double lines are the ones that don't seem to hold much/any value.

 

[jlake02]

From my knowledge, you don't have to change your plan (aka give up unlimited data) to do the Next program. At least that's what they told me. Did they make you give it up?

No, I chose to change my plan after dealing with throttling after 5gigs. I also wanted hotspot.

 

[Deguello]

Super-witty!!! all of these "plans" are a scam... AT&T can't actually offer anything that's reasonably understandable bu even genius' without hours of discussion & debate & use cases thrown at it... and the net result is, it works out good for some but not others, and there's lots of fine print, and if you do XYZ before Tuesday it works out great, but if you wait 'till Thursday you get hit with these fees, and you are pre-paying vs post-paying with 2-term cycles..

it's all a scam... I don't know a single person that went from on old plan to a new plan that promised to save money.. actually save money.. it's all a series of gotcha's.

Join or "Family Share Plan" it's only $100 a month for up to four lines with unlimited data, text voice and it saves you tons of money and you get free upgrades and phones... Excellent sign me up.... and the bill comes $267/mo....WTF?

It's all a SCAM

My family's phone bill went from $289 a month to $162 and change a month. That's four lines. It is now $197.02 a month because it includes my wife's S5 on Next. Our bill is exactly what I was told it would be.

We actually save money. There have been no gotchas. It's been great. It sounds like you're operating on bad information or bad logic.

 

[dagored]

My family's phone bill went from $289 a month to $162 and change a month. That's four lines. It is now $197.02 a month because it includes my wife's S5 on Next. Our bill is exactly what I was told it would be.

We actually save money. There have been no gotchas. It's been great. It sounds like you're operating on bad information or bad logic.

Maybe, but he might also be like me. The shared plans are great for families. No argument there, but in certain instances, it is more expensive for 1 or 2 people.

I was told by two different AT&T people at two different stores and over the phone, i was one of the exceptions and the mobile shared would be more money than I am now paying.

 

[mscriv]

Bingo! that's the big difference, those saving $15/$25 are saving that on a plan inflated $40... so the NET-NET is you are still paying more (AT&T smoke in mirrors in full effect) when compared to grandfathered or older plans, assuming the STILL MEET YOUR NEEDS!

Also, anyone getting FAN discounts on older plans, be aware that AT&T essentially eliminated FAN discounts from applying on the majority of your bill, so here's another example of where your cost goes up unexpectedly.

Simple math, I drop $250 on a phone every two years & I pay only $63/mo for unlimited data and 450min plan with texting. Going to a new AT&T plan is substantially more money, even the AT&T Rep's tell me I'd be crazy to change plans.

And nice to meet you too mscriv! your # of line and scale appears to work out well and makes sense on a newer plan. the single/double lines are the ones that don't seem to hold much/any value.

Maybe, but he might also be like me. The shared plans are great for families. No argument there, but in certain instances, it is more expensive for 1 or 2 people.

Like it is with any technology purchase the most important factor is finding the right tool that fits your needs at the right price point.

I think you all are definitely correct about the number of lines. Share plans with more lines will produce greater savings. My corporate discount does help us as well. The discount only applies to the primary line which is the line billed for the data share. So, the higher your data needs the more you will save with a corporate discount when it comes to a family share plan.

People who have older plans based on minutes/texts/data may find that their older plan does provide a better monthly rate than newer plans. And if their needs are met with that older plan than there is certainly no reason to change. However, I would encourage everyone to take the time to do their research and see what works best for them. Sometimes a new plan is better, sometime it isn't. It certainly was in our case.

 

[TimothyB]

At the end of my 2 year agreement I switched to ATT Next and picked up an iPhone 5s on launch day. I planned to upgrade the following year with the iPhone 6 being a new generation iPhone.

One important note when I financed the iPhone 5s 32GB with ATT Next. The amount financed was $640. That was $110 less than if you bought the phone full price at an Apple store.

I wonder if that is the same currently. How could you beat 0% financing and $110 retail discount if you planned to upgrade in 12 months.

Though, I probably plan to go back to a 2 year subsidized phone next week since I probably won't care about upgrading to the mid cycle 6s release.

I currently owe $256 on the 5s after 12 months of $32 payments. I honestly wouldn't find it worth while to sell the iPhone privately, and all the risks involved, compared to giving it back to ATT to forgive the $256 balance.

 

[mscriv]

Though, I probably plan to go back to a 2 year subsidized phone next week since I probably won't care about upgrading to the mid cycle 6s release.

I currently owe $256 on the 5s after 12 months of $32 payments. I honestly wouldn't find it worth while to sell the iPhone privately, and all the risks involved, compared to giving it back to ATT to forgive the $256 balance.

TimothyB, with the information that has been shared in this thread about subsidized plans costing more than Next Plans then why would you consider going with a new subsidized plan for the upgrade? I'm just curious, why not turn in your old phone and use Next for your new iPhone 6? Your out of pocked upgrade costs would be less and your monthly bill would either stay the same or slightly go up depending on the Next monthly cost for the iPhone 6. I'm not seeing any positive reason for you to select a subsidized plan? Am I missing something?

 

[Deguello]

Maybe, but he might also be like me. The shared plans are great for families. No argument there, but in certain instances, it is more expensive for 1 or 2 people.

I never claimed it was ideal for all people in all circumstances. I said it wasn't a scam. A family membership to a gym for 1 or 2 people probably isn't the way to go, either, but that doesn't make it a scam when a family buys one.

It sounds like he doesn't grasp the concept or he has an axe to grind.

If it's a scam for AT&T to charge me $125 less for basically the same service while adding unlimited talk, I hope they scam me again to get my bill down to $40.

 

[roland.g]

At&t and all the other carriers are trying to move away from subsidized plans. They don't want to pay for hardware if they can pass that cost along to you. It will only be a matter of time before we see all subsidized plans disappear. Now that smartphones are established in the market and financing is readily available there is no need for the carriers to eat subsidies anymore.

Like bbeagle stated:



So, basically, you can sign a two year contract and have At&t subsidize the initial cost of your phone, but they are going to get that money back by charging you higher monthly rates on your plan. Simply put, those who want to subsidize are penalized with higher monthly bills.

The upgrade path of buying a phone every two years and selling your previous model is still a viable option whether you buy your phone at full price (financing or not) or whether you subsidize. However, the savings previously associated with subsidizing no longer exist now that monthly rates are higher for those who choose the subsidy and 2 year contract.

In terms of numbers you can think of it this way:
If you go with a 2 year contract and subsidy then you will save $350 ($549 - $199) on your initial upgrade cost. That seems great, but keep in mind you will be paying out either $15 or $25 more per month on your bill depending on your selected data plan. So, that works out to either $360 ($15 x 24mo) or $600 ($25 x 24mo) depending on your plan. Your initial savings is completely lost based on your higher monthly payments. When looking at it this way you see that signing a 2 year contract with a subsidy actually cost you money in the long run as opposed to buying your phone outright or financing it at 0% with the Next Plan.

If you are on an old At&t plan and haven't upgraded in a while then you may not be currently paying the higher monthly rates. Don't let that confuse you. At&t will not force you to change plans, but if you upgrade and subsidize they will raise your monthly rates for the new contract period. Keeping your same plan doesn't mean you get to keep your older and cheaper monthly payment.

If you buy a 16GB iPhone 6 off contract the price is $649 , not $549. And you do have to tack on $40 activation fee because only Next waives that.

Subsidized the phone is $199 + $40. So your price is either $689 or $239, a difference of $450.

If you buy an iPhone 6 for $199 subsidized, 2 years later you own your phone and are eligible for a new device subsidized, if that still exists. And you own that device and can sell it. Your contention is that you pay an extra $360 or $600 in costs over that time for not getting the discount. However, as I am on a Grandfathered Unlimited Plan there is no discount and no penalty. My cost stays the same over 2 years. But if you buy the Next 12, you will pay $390 for renting the phone for a year and will be Next eligible again. If you buy your Next handset for 20 payments but upgrade at 12 you will pay $650 for your phone but own it. So in 2 years time on a Next 12 plan you can pay $780 to rent 2 phones (and save $0, $360, or $600) or you can pay $1,300 to own and subsequently sell both phones (still saving $0, 360, or $600) versus paying $239 for one phone that you made last you 2 years. But at $650 per phone, it is just interest free, and a waived activation fee, you have bought a no contract phone at full price.

If you get the upper end of the savings the cost is $839 vs $780, a difference of $59 in favor of Next. But on the lower end Next will cost you $541 more if you are Grandfathered, or $181 if you only get the $15 per month savings. Ideally if you elect to do Next, you should buyout the remaining 8 payments on your iPhone and then sell the phones each year rather than trade it in. Hopefully the phone will be worth more after only a year, making the extra $260 you pay on Next to own the phone worth it.

But the way I see it, other than getting a 6S next year, and not having to wait 2 years to upgrade, there is marginal savings of $59 versus potentially paying much more to get that yearly upgrade. I will sell my 2 year old iPhone 5 64GB next week for $200-$400 depending on the way I sell it (Best Buy, Craigslist, etc.), a phone I spent $400 on. And I will get the new 64GB iPhone 6 or 6 Plus subsidized for $300 or $400. After my activation fee, my new iPhone will cost me $40 to $240 without a $35-45 payment on my bill every month.

 

[DravenGSX]

At the end of my 2 year agreement I switched to ATT Next and picked up an iPhone 5s on launch day. I planned to upgrade the following year with the iPhone 6 being a new generation iPhone.

One important note when I financed the iPhone 5s 32GB with ATT Next. The amount financed was $640. That was $110 less than if you bought the phone full price at an Apple store.

I wonder if that is the same currently. How could you beat 0% financing and $110 retail discount if you planned to upgrade in 12 months.

Though, I probably plan to go back to a 2 year subsidized phone next week since I probably won't care about upgrading to the mid cycle 6s release.

I currently owe $256 on the 5s after 12 months of $32 payments. I honestly wouldn't find it worth while to sell the iPhone privately, and all the risks involved, compared to giving it back to ATT to forgive the $256 balance.

You forget about them having to outlay $300 for your knew phone that you wouldn't have had to if you weren't on Next.

 

[marddin]

Next is a rip-off

I'll explain it simply.

Option A: You upgrade every 2 years and pay the subsidized price of each iPhone. Or if you're eager like me you pay the early upgrade fee ($250) if you want to upgrade within 1 year instead of 2.
Example: I have an iPhone 5S right now, full upgrade eligible Sept 2015. I would pay $200 for phone + $250 early upgrade fee. Total: $450
Disclaimer: Your phone is yours and can sell on CL for $100 over market subsidized value ($200) because contract free iphones hold value.

Option B: You go with Next. You pay the full price of the phone, $650 broken down into 20 installments of $32.50
Example: Most of us upgrade within 1 year or 12 installments which is the minimum for AT&T next upgrades. 12 installments of $32.50. Total: $390
Disclaimer: Your next phone is never yours with this route and you must turn it in.


The zinger in all of this is that for a measly $10 a month you can get a dummy line and use it as an upgrade swap every other year. This works great for people who upgrade every year like most of us.

 

[volntitan]

This all makes my head spin. Here is my situation: 4 phones. 3 are grandfathered unlimited and 1 is on 2 gb plan. We have 700 min. shared and pay for unlimited texting. Our bill is roughly $230 a month.

Now 1 of the unlimited phones hardly uses data. Maybe 500mb at most a month. The 2 gb phone never comes close to 2 gb. My phone is unlimited and I might use 3 gb at the most ever. My daughter is unlimited, but she has sniffed 5 gb more than once. I'm not sure 10gb would be enough, especially since I would probably also start using the hotspot for my iPad occasionally.

The daughter and I are really the only ones who get geeked up when new phones come out, so we are the ones that like to purchase the new ones. My wife just joined our plan so she has a 5C and will keep it until no good anymore. My mom is on a 4, so we would probably get her the 5 just to get her something new.

I wish there was some way to objectively tell if I should switch to Mobile Share and use ATT Next or just keep what I have. When you add in the cost of the monthly next program, seems like it doesn't save anything. Right now we just take the monthly bill and split it 4 ways.

 

[roland.g]

This all makes my head spin. Here is my situation: 4 phones. 3 are grandfathered unlimited and 1 is on 2 gb plan. We have 700 min. shared and pay for unlimited texting. Our bill is roughly $230 a month.

Now 1 of the unlimited phones hardly uses data. Maybe 500mb at most a month. The 2 gb phone never comes close to 2 gb. My phone is unlimited and I might use 3 gb at the most ever. My daughter is unlimited, but she has sniffed 5 gb more than once. I'm not sure 10gb would be enough, especially since I would probably also start using the hotspot for my iPad occasionally.

The daughter and I are really the only ones who get geeked up when new phones come out, so we are the ones that like to purchase the new ones. My wife just joined our plan so she has a 5C and will keep it until no good anymore. My mom is on a 4, so we would probably get her the 5 just to get her something new.

I wish there was some way to objectively tell if I should switch to Mobile Share and use ATT Next or just keep what I have. When you add in the cost of the monthly next program, seems like it doesn't save anything. Right now we just take the monthly bill and split it 4 ways.

The only way that the Next plan makes any sense at all is if you switch to Mobile Share. If you keep the unlimited plans, the switch is more costly. And if you are thinking a free 5C for Mom, nothing for your wife, and 6s for you and your daughter, the Next doesn't really benefit you. That's just my opinion. My advice, is get the data you need in terms of costs, estimate your upgrade cycles and make a little spreadsheet. You'll see what you total ownership cost and monthly plan costs are and you can determine over 1 and 2 year cycles where the best price point is. It will take you 15 min.

 

[mscriv]

snip (cut for post brevity)

If it works the way you describe then I see your point. I could definitely be wrong, but I was under the impression that if you sign a new subsidized contract then you were forced into new rates for your monthly plans. It's my understanding that if you bring your own device to the table then At&t is happy to let you keep any old plan for as long as you want. But, if you are asking them to subsidize the cost of a device then you are essentially agreeing to rate plan adjustments with monthly costs. It's a new contract and that opportunity allows them to make changes. And, as we know, generally speaking, those changes are going to benefit them.

I assume you would hear the old "if you want to upgrade with a subsidy then you will have to sign up for one of our new plans..."

Like I've posted previously, my experiences are based off of utilizing the family share plans and I know for a fact that when you use a subsidy on those plans your previous rates don't matter, you will be charged the new higher rates. If you are on an old grandfathered plan than your circumstances could very easily be different.

If the "loophole" you describe exists then it strengthens my opinion that subsidized plans will soon be a thing of the past. I don't think carriers are willing to continue to bear those costs.

 

[JoJoCal19]

AT&T next is great. A lot of people bashing it don't have their facts straight.

Exactly. AT&T wants to not only finance my phone for me at 0% interest (saving my cash for other uses, or investing), but also give me a $25/mo discount on my service for doing so? I'll take that all day.

 

[definitive]

can anyone recommend the best choice for me?

i'm currently on a 3 line family plan (grandfathered) with 1 line having unlimited data + 200 texts, second line has basic $20 data for iphone, and third line has a basic phone ($10 line). i'm interested in upgrading the third to a smartphone as well, but not sure of the best option, since right now my bill comes out to around $160 after fees and taxes, and i would like to keep the price somewhere around there.

i've been off contract for a few years now, so i'm a bit out of the loop on how these new plans work. i was looking at next options, and it seems like it would cost more than $200/month if i was to upgrade to more recent iphones (main line being 6, and the other two either 5c or 5s). i don't really have any interest in buying a phone outright for $400+.

 

[geoffm33]

Exactly. AT&T wants to not only finance my phone for me at 0% interest (saving my cash for other uses, or investing), but also give me a $25/mo discount on my service for doing so? I'll take that all day.

I am curious where the bolded part comes into play? I am on an old nationwide 450 plan with 5GB data/200 text messages for about $100. How would moving to next help me in terms of the cost of my plan. I get the benefits of upgrading after 1year, etc.

 

[roland.g]

If it works the way you describe then I see your point...

I have verified with AT&T that I can keep my unlimited on an iPhone 6 at my current costs. Nothing will change on my bill for the next two years except a one time activation fee of $40 after I buy my subsidized phone. My wife is on a 3GB per month plan and I have done the math. We could save approx $5 per month on a Mobile Share plan versus that we have now.

However, two things about that. I was in the market for an iPad with Cellular but because AT&T doesn't allow Hotspots outside of Mobile Share, I bought a Verizon model, in part because they have better coverage, especially in the mountains when we go skiing (not for use on the mountain, but in the car) and they allow hotspots at any plan level. I chose Verizon for my iPad over AT&T because of some of their practices. The other thing is I like having my unlimited. I'm sure an acceptable Mobile Share tier would work for us, but when I want to watch football on my phone or something like that I can without worrying about it. Maybe it's just one of those stupid "they'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands" kind of resistance to change things.

But I also know the iPhone 6S will likely be another incremental upgrade like the S models are, and I have kept all my iPhones 2 years save for the original when they gave us one year eligibility on the 3G since we essentially paid full price for the first model. And I take care of my phone. So I just don't see the sense in Next. Even for someone on Mobile Share, upgrading every year, it seems like a wash at best. They want you to pay for the phone.

The Smartphone eligibility and subsidization game is there to keep you with the carrier, and upgrading. It is certainty of revenue on the plan side. All these years of iPhones have made AT&T a ton of money, they didn't lose out of subsidizing. They gained subscribers and all that data revenue. Now they're just changing the model because they know people want to upgrade more often and they know a lot of people don't like those price tags, and it's a whole lot easier to sell $30 a month with a discount. But they wouldn't do it if it didn't make them more $$.

 

[TimothyB]

TimothyB, with the information that has been shared in this thread about subsidized plans costing more than Next Plans then why would you consider going with a new subsidized plan for the upgrade? I'm just curious, why not turn in your old phone and use Next for your new iPhone 6? Your out of pocked upgrade costs would be less and your monthly bill would either stay the same or slightly go up depending on the Next monthly cost for the iPhone 6. I'm not seeing any positive reason for you to select a subsidized plan? Am I missing something?

It's a good question, I've been running the numbers again and I may just stay with Next to avoid those up front costs and stable payments. I'll read the thread again, but everyone's situation is slightly different.

Subsidized looks attractive at first because I don't plan to upgrade next year and will keep the phone for 2 years. Why pay near full price for the phone with ATT Next at that point. I'm also not on any mobile share plan where Next helps lower the phone fee. I'm a single user and still grandfathered into unlimited data (5GB), the mobile share plans just don't benefit me.

 

[pcmofo]

My wife and I both have grandfathered Unlimited data accounts. Since I bought the iPhone 3G, I have had *every* iPhone model their is. This has cost me ONLY the cost of my original iPhone 3G ($199+tax+upgrade fee~$250)

(I am using rough examples here, I ordered typically the mid range "32gb" phone, but the same math works...)

1) Buy the iPhone 3G on launch day for $199 + tax + $37 upgrade = -$250
2) Sell the 12-month old iPhone 3G for +$400+
3) Buy the 3GS on launch day outright for $650 + tax = -$700
4) Sell the 12-month old iPhone 3G for +$400+
5) Buy the iPhone 4, subsidized for $199 + tax + $37 upgrade fee = -$250

If you assume you paid -$250 for the 3G +$400 for the sale of the 3G - $700 for the 3GS +$400 for the sale of the 3GS you end up paying $150 at the end of two years with two new iPhones, ready to buy your 3rd iPhone for $250 total on contract. So your out of pocket expenses might be a bit much buy the net result is you only ever pay the original $250 because the resale value of a 12-month old iPhone is so high.

You can also do this every 2- years (and the math is much easier) as the cost of the iPhone is $200, and in 2 years it's worth about $200.

Another option is to pay $~15 a month for another line, then alternate upgrades, upgrading one of the lines every year with the new iPhone but only activating it on the primary data line. This cost and additional $360 a month, but you save $450 by not paying full price for the new iPhone every other year, and you have a free second line, which nets out to $90 in savings and easier math. A friend of mine has done this every year without issue.

If you have unlimited data the Next plans are a huge rip-off. If you are paying the newly inflated ATT prices for everything then, yeah they could save you money, but they are not factoring in that you LOSE $400 by not having that 12-month old iPhone to sell after you paid in $300-$400 in the same time frame. In retrospect you would have paid only $199 with the 2-year contract.

 

[JoJoCal19]

I am curious where the bolded part comes into play? I am on an old nationwide 450 plan with 5GB data/200 text messages for about $100. How would moving to next help me in terms of the cost of my plan. I get the benefits of upgrading after 1year, etc.

NEXT is only available with one of the Mobile Share plans I believe. With NEXT, AT&T will discount the line of service you have a phone through NEXT on (or buy full retail or bring your own device) by $15/mo if you're on the 8GB plan or below and $25/mo for the 10GB and higher mobil share plan. You need to run the math to see which route is better for you cost wise but I know generally the more lines you have the better of a deal it is. It has been shown that some people with 1 or 2 lines don't see any savings with Mobile share plans and NEXT.

 

[mscriv]

I am curious where the bolded part comes into play? I am on an old nationwide 450 plan with 5GB data/200 text messages for about $100. How would moving to next help me in terms of the cost of my plan. I get the benefits of upgrading after 1year, etc.

It's a good question, I've been running the numbers again and I may just stay with Next to avoid those up front costs and stable payments. I'll read the thread again, but everyone's situation is slightly different.

The reason these threads can easily get complicated is because of the variation of plan differences. We often find ourselves comparing apples to oranges specifically with folks who are on individual plans vs. folks who are on family share plans. The $15 or $25 cost monthly rate difference people are referring to is the discount At&t gives for family rate plans when you bring your own phone to the line. If you are using the At&t Next plan then that qualifies as bringing your own phone to the plan because you have financed the phone through them.

I don't know how At&t handles the rate plans on grandfathered plans or older 1 or 2 line plans. Some of the other posters here have shared their experiences so there is definitely a difference. You would have to check with At&t to get a definitive answer for your specific plan and needs.