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Carrier Do you want AT&T, Verizon and Sprint to adopt T-Mobile uncarrier strategy?

Do you want AT&T, Verizon and Sprint to adopt T-Mobile uncarrier strategy?

  • Yes

    Votes: 203 80.2%

  • No

    Votes: 50 19.8%
  • Total voters
    253
AlvinNguyen said:
I don't know about you guys but I got into a family plan and it looks like this:

Line 1 +$50 UT, UT, 500MB
Line 2 +$10 UT, UT, 500MB
Line 3 +$10 UT, UT, 500MB
Line 4 +$20 UT, UT, 2.5gb
Line 5 +$30 UT, UT, Unlimited Data (free 2.5gb mobile hospot)

So we are paying $130 for 5 lines (I used to pay $100 for just 1 line and thats with 950 minutes and 2 gig of data...wtf?) - and I get unlimited data and mobile hotspot with 2.5gig AND unlimited data and text in over 100 countries?

Thats really great even if the overseas data is slow - it's good enough for iMessage, emails, and light browsing - I don't see how you can go wrong with T-Mobile. All with no contract!
Click to expand...

Add in the monthly phone payment of your iPhone so you can fairly compare it. ~$20 monthly iPhone payment x 5 = ~$100 a month. $130 + $100 = $230 a month total (still MUCH cheaper than AT&T/Verizon)
 
m1key said:
Add in the monthly phone payment of your iPhone so you can fairly compare it. ~$20 monthly iPhone payment x 5 = ~$100 a month. $130 + $100 = $230 a month total (still MUCH cheaper than AT&T/Verizon)
Click to expand...

True if you want to finance your phone. My parents don't upgrade their phones every year (or even every 3 years really since they don't use it for anything other than a phone). They have iPads for everything else.

I opted to pay for my phone out right. I get a new iPhone every year at $650 and sell my old one for $350 - so essentially I spend $600 over the course of 2 years and thats upgrading once a year. I could add that to my monthly and definitely is still cheaper with the tmobile plan.

My family goes overseas at least once a year. My sister does it 3-4 times a year to Canada. So I guess in all we are benefitting on the traveling use benefit as well.

Another nice factor that no one seems to mention is that if you're on the unlimited talk, text, 4g data for $70 (individual) or $30 as an added line on a family plan, you also get 2.5gb of tethering. Thats HUGE! For me it means I don't have to buy an LTE iPad and pay another $130 over the wifi unit AND save $30 / month on iPad data too.
 
AT&T's version is kind of interesting (I'm on AT&T). I'm not due for an upgrade yet, but I might use the payment plan instead of the usual buy the phone with a subsidy and 2 year contract.
 
Another benefit I forgot to mention is that with Tmobile your monthly bill will decrease once the phones are paid off.

This is beneficial because I notice a lot of users here talk of "waiting to use their upgrades" or "saving their upgrades until the next iPhone comes out". Some are even content with their 2 or 3 year old iPhones 4/4S. Wouldn't it be nice for your monthly bill to drop by $20 for those months that you're waiting for the phone that you want to be released?

For example, I have a family member who is on Sprint and wants a 5S but his upgrade isn't available until January. If he were on Tmobile he would be able to just pay the remaining two months balance on his phone ($40) and upgrade today. No such flexibility offered by the other 3 carriers.
 
m1key said:
I don't think you understand how T-Mobile works. You pay $100 down for the phone and pay the rest of it off interest-free in monthly installments for up to 2 years (how fast or slow you want to pay it off is up to you). Your monthly plan + monthly phone payment combined will still be significantly cheaper (15-20%) than AT&T/Verizon. So what you are saying here is completely irrelevant. I think the problem is purely psychological, people hate the idea of spending $600 on a phone, but they don't realize that the overall cost with AT&T/Verizon (although they sell the phone for $200) is SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive. Not only that, you get more freedom, and after you pay off your phone, you don't have to pay for an inflated cell phone bill that steals money from you because of subsidized phone pricing.
Click to expand...

Still, doesn't change the fact that I wouldn't even be able to make a phone call in my own bedroom with T-Mobile. I've been a customer in the past, I've had nothing but issues with them.
 
Jessica Lares said:
Still, doesn't change the fact that I wouldn't even be able to make a phone call in my own bedroom with T-Mobile. I've been a customer in the past, I've had nothing but issues with them.
Click to expand...

Sounds similar to my story as well. The prices are great, but the service doesn't match. I would get pissed when I would see my phone on Edge.
 
wordoflife said:
Yes.

I don't think customers should continue paying a subsidy after it has already been payed off.
So basically you over pay them, or get locked into another contract. Win-win for them.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Paying $90+ for ONE phone is WAY too much. That and the fact that you are locked for 2 years...
 
Do you want AT&T, Verizon and Sprint to adopt T-Mobile uncarrier strategy?

Yes 168 80.38%
No 41 19.62%
 
I agree that I like the idea of the phone price and the rate plan price being separate. I think that's the way it should be. It's too bad T-Mobile coverage isn't up to par. I travel a lot so I'll be sticking with Verizon. Need my LTE everywhere and fortunately I still have unlimited data.
 
Right now I'm planning to drop to a prepaid plan next fall when my contract is up unless I really decide I want to upgrade to a new phone.

What makes it tough to compare is that I have a grandfathered plan, so if I want to switch back, I would have to get a more expensive pan.

It also makes the prepaid savings smaller than otherwise. Especially with my discount.
 
Sure if it means I pay less per month when I buy my phones off contract (which I do).
 
http://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiem...bscribers-with-promise-of-no-annual-contract/
T-Mobile Brings In 1 Million New Customers With Promise Of No Annual Contract

Is the best strategy for a wireless carrier actually an un-carrier approach? If T-Mobile’s better-than-expected third quarter 2013 earnings report is any indication, acting less like a traditional wireless provider might be the best way for wireless companies to behave.

T-Mobile reported more than 1 million net customer additions in the third quarter of 2013, a figure that includes 648,000 total net subscribers for the quarter.
 
EbookReader said:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiem...bscribers-with-promise-of-no-annual-contract/
T-Mobile Brings In 1 Million New Customers With Promise Of No Annual Contract

Is the best strategy for a wireless carrier actually an un-carrier approach? If T-Mobile’s better-than-expected third quarter 2013 earnings report is any indication, acting less like a traditional wireless provider might be the best way for wireless companies to behave.

T-Mobile reported more than 1 million net customer additions in the third quarter of 2013, a figure that includes 648,000 total net subscribers for the quarter.
Click to expand...

I still hate the phrase "No Annual Contract" because while you don't have an annual contract you still have to payoff your phone and that is your contract.
 
rockitdog said:
I still hate the phrase "No Annual Contract" because while you don't have an annual contract you still have to payoff your phone and that is your contract.
Click to expand...


There is "No Annual Contract" for the phone service.

There is a "monthly installment payment" if you finance the phone. If you pay up front or bring your own device, there is no "monthly installment payment."


you still have to payoff your phone
Click to expand...

of course you have to payoff your phone. T-Mobile is loaning you money. You have a contract with them saying you have to pay it back.

If you borrow money from the bank to buy a house, don't you have a contract with the bank to pay back the loan?
 
EbookReader said:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/11/11/fcc-competition-t-mobile/3497187/

T-Mobile gains traction in urban areas
Click to expand...

Good article. I am interested in what their long-term strategies for coverage are too. I'm wondering whether they plan to just continue to strengthen their presence in the cities or will they actually go after rural data coverage at some point in the future. A couple articles came out yesterday saying that they sold $1.8 billion in stock in order to purchase spectrum from an unnamed source and they also said they don't plan on participating in the 600mhz spectrum auction next year.
 
CEmajr said:
Good article. I am interested in what their long-term strategies for coverage are too. I'm wondering whether they plan to just continue to strengthen their presence in the cities or will they actually go after rural data coverage at some point in the future. A couple articles came out yesterday saying that they sold $1.8 billion in stock in order to purchase spectrum from an unnamed source and they also said they don't plan on participating in the 600mhz spectrum auction next year.
Click to expand...

Yeah I read that too. Are they buying 700 MHz then say from verizon?

Does tmobile postpaid offer better coverage since it roams on AT&T? Like in rural area or inside buildings, do u get service bc it's postpaid versus prepaid?
 
CEmajr said:
Good article. I am interested in what their long-term strategies for coverage are too. I'm wondering whether they plan to just continue to strengthen their presence in the cities or will they actually go after rural data coverage at some point in the future. A couple articles came out yesterday saying that they sold $1.8 billion in stock in order to purchase spectrum from an unnamed source and they also said they don't plan on participating in the 600mhz spectrum auction next year.
Click to expand...

Yeah I read that too. Are they buying 700 MHz then say from verizon?

Does tmobile postpaid offer better coverage since it roams on AT&T? Like in rural area or inside buildings, do u get service bc it's postpaid versus prepaid?
 
Both AT&T and Verizon said that they might get rid of subsidies if T-Mobile is successful at it.

T-Mobile is VERY successful at it.

Will they be true to their words?

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/01/07/could-verizon-att-follow-t-mobile-in-ending-subsidies/

Could Verizon, AT&T Follow T-Mobile in Ending Subsidies?

Last month Deutsche Telekom AG's DTE.XE +0.57% T-Mobile USA said it would completely stop subsidizing phones in 2013, instead offering plans that essentially allow for interest-free financing.

“That is a great thing,” Verizon Communications Inc. VZ +0.88% Chief Executive Lowell McAdam said in an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. He joked that Verizon would support U.S. regulators in banning phone subsidies.

Although he likes the idea of ending subsidies, he questioned whether U.S. customers are ready for that type of shift because they have been conditioned to getting lower-cost phones for so long.

Verizon “could move to that very quickly” if people wanted it, he said.

AT&T T +0.45% Mobility Chief Executive Ralph de la Vega said Monday the company is watching the T-Mobile strategy, and AT&T could make a similar move if it becomes popular, but the company isn’t focused on the issue.
Click to expand...
 
EbookReader said:
Both AT&T and Verizon said that they might get rid of subsidies if T-Mobile is successful at it.

T-Mobile is VERY successful at it.

Will they be true to their words?

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/01/07/could-verizon-att-follow-t-mobile-in-ending-subsidies/

Could Verizon, AT&T Follow T-Mobile in Ending Subsidies?
Click to expand...

Don't count on it anytime soon. T-Mobile will need more than a couple of great quarters to get them to change. Though AT&T is losing customers last I heard unless you count tablets.
 
http://arstechnica.com/business/201...-eliminate-mobile-handset-subsidies-entirely/

Price shock

However, others point out it will be quite a sticker shock for many users when they figure out how much a smartphone costs unsubsidized.

“My concern is that US consumers have become accustomed to spending $199 or less on a mobile device,” Hugues De La Vergne, an analyst at Gartner Research, told Ars. He added this strategy “might make things difficult for T-Mobile.”

“All of a sudden telling consumers that the Samsung or HTC device they want may cost $199 or less on other operators but will cost $400 to 500 on T-Mobile will be a tough sell without a lot of education and advertising into the total cost of ownership of the device, of which the rate plan is the largest part. It is going to be tough for the fourth largest operator to reset handset pricing expectations overnight.”
Click to expand...

Look like T-Mobile eliminated the price shock quite nicely.

How?

Something like this: $99 down payment + $22 a month for 24 months installment for a top of the line device.
 
AT&T CEO: Carriers Can't Afford Big Subsidies for Devices Any Longer

MacRumors said:
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Wireless carriers like AT&T and Verizon will not be able to continue the smartphone subsidy model that has driven widespread smartphone penetration to this point. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, speaking at an investor conference today, said the current model is not economically viable, reported CNET.

With more than 75 percent of mobile phone users owning smartphones -- and that number growing towards 90 percent -- Stephenson said carriers will "move into maintenance mode" and that "the model has to change" because carriers "can't afford to subsidize devices like that". Many higher-end smartphone power users also tend to upgrade their phones as often as possible, something that can become expensive for carriers subsidizing those purchases to the tune of hundreds of dollars per device.
As part of a larger strategy to move away from straight device subsidies, AT&T rolled out its AT&T Next smartphone and tablet upgrade program earlier this year -- following T-Mobile's lead -- to entice customers to pay for devices in full, spreading the payments out over several years with no down payment or upgrade fees.

This month, AT&T introduced a new "value plan" that gives customers a $15/month discount on smartphone plans when users bring an off-contract device, purchase a phone at full retail price, or use an AT&T Next financing plan. The new plans come after several price adjustments to AT&T Next plans as customers analyzed similar offerings from other carriers.

Stephenson noted that carriers have largely solved their data capacity issues because of LTE and can now focus on lower end customers, saying that AT&T will "go very aggressively in the prepaid market".

Apple has seen huge success with the iPhone, largely because of carrier strategies that saw its smartphones heavily subsidized while locking customers into two-year contracts. As demand in Western countries begins to peak, Apple executives have often spoken of the importance of growth in countries where purchasing phones for full-price, with prepaid voice and data plans, is more popular.

Article Link: AT&T CEO: Carriers Can't Afford Big Subsidies for Devices Any Longer
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