Carrier Rumor that AT&T will end 2 year contracts at the end of May

Not sure why this would cancel the grandfathered Unlimited Plans.

I have had the plan for many years now and do not use my upgrades so I am not under a two year contract.
 
That's true, it wouldn't end the unlimited plans, as long as people pay full price for their phones, but it would end the subsidies, meaning it would force people currently in contracts to pay a monthly payment to finance their phones (hopefully in exchange for lower rates on the plans).
 
It wouldn't be surprising. That's the way the industry is moving and 2 year contracts are becoming a bit archaic. Also contrary to popular belief, this financing of phones encourages consumers to upgrade even MORE than before since they can trade in their phones each year and upgrade instead of waiting 2 full years like in the past. AT&T probably realizes this as well. It would help them sell more iPhones.
 
Yup, me working in the wireless industry, I've been told by all carrier reps that 2 year contracts are going to soon be non existant.
 
Newtons Apple said:
Not sure why this would cancel the grandfathered Unlimited Plans.

I have had the plan for many years now and do not use my upgrades so I am not under a two year contract.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying it would *cancel* the unlimited plans but for those on unlimited data the subsidy was already built into the cost. If you did NEXT on unlimited data its more expensive for someone on a single line. Family plans are a bit different and the cost is often less.
 
No thanks. I have no qualms with the subsidized model at all. Never have had any issues with it. Of course, I'm not one of those people who swaps carriers monthly to save a few bucks here and there. It's all a giant waste of time.
 
I have 3 lines off contract now on a grandfather plan. Should I buy 3 phone on a low price and resell them now? I was planning to wait till iphone 6s come out with LTE 12 and switch to T-mo with contract compensation. I like t-nmo international roaming plan. What do you think about all of this?
 
I was just in an ATT store and the guy I was speaking with said ATT is finally moving away from them and ending them. Now, this came from a manager so who knows how true that is.

I would not be surprised though if it is true.
 
imlynxy said:
I have 3 lines off contract now on a grandfather plan. Should I buy 3 phone on a low price and resell them now? I was planning to wait till iphone 6s come out with LTE 12 and switch to T-mo with contract compensation. I like t-nmo international roaming plan. What do you think about all of this?
Click to expand...

It's hard to say. If I start seeing the rumor corroborated from different sources then the likelihood that its true begins to rise in my estimation. Sometimes the carriers will even announce these things.

Who knows? AT&T may also change other aspects of its offerings that make them cheaper somehow. One can only hope right?
 
barkomatic said:
I came across this article recently that cited "sources" which claim that AT&T may end the 2 year contract option at the end of May. If true, this certainly will affect the upgrade plans of many customers--especially those with grandfathered unlimited data. Anyway, its just a rumor--but a plausible one. Thoughts?

http://www.androidauthority.com/att-ending-two-year-contracts-600915/
Click to expand...
Certainly plausible particularly since Verizon has already implemented this a couple of years ago. Mind, if you're a heavy data user, unlimited + phone payments is still cheaper than if you get a tiered data plan.

500 min plan: $40
unlimited data: $30
installment (Next 18 $750): $31.25
Total: $101.25

Mobile Share (with installment for Next 18 $750)
10GB: $146.25
15GB: $176.25
20GB: $196.25
30GB: $271.25
40GB: $346.25
50GB: $421.25
 
heyyitssusan said:
Yup, me working in the wireless industry, I've been told by all carrier reps that 2 year contracts are going to soon be non existant.
Click to expand...

I never waited the two years anyways. Of course I start with my two year contract and then months later after a new phone release of my liking, I would just wait for a certified version to come available and get it cheap at full price or go thru a outside source and buy. No contract, and still have a "upgrade." So with this news, it seems old to me.
 
Interesting. I am on my employers' plan. My company pays for my service but not the device. I wonder how Next works in a corporate environment.
 
rui no onna said:
Certainly plausible particularly since Verizon has already implemented this a couple of years ago. Mind, if you're a heavy data user, unlimited + phone payments is still cheaper than if you get a tiered data plan.

500 min plan: $40
unlimited data: $30
installment (Next 18 $750): $31.25
Total: $101.25

Mobile Share (with installment for Next 18 $750)
10GB: $146.25
15GB: $176.25
20GB: $196.25
30GB: $271.25
40GB: $346.25
50GB: $421.25
Click to expand...
What did Verizon implement a couple of years ago? They still have the usual 2-year contracts that they have had for a long time now.
 
I could see this coming. I'm on an unlimited plan and although I don't use a ton of data, it's nice to know I have it if I need it.

What about the unlimited data on the iPads with ATT? I have one of the original plans with no contract - just renews itself every month and charges my credit card. Any news on those? I would imagine they'll do away with these as well. Although I'm not sure how many of them are out there. Every time I get a new iPad through Best Buy, they have a hard time figuring out the cellular part of it and it takes hours and usually 2 or 3 techs to figure it out. They always keep telling me that I must have a plan and account but I've never had an account number. Hope they leave the iPad plan alone.
 
Apple will soon no longer be able to say the latest iPhone starts at $199

http://www.androidauthority.com/att-ending-two-year-contracts-600915/

Rumor is that AT&T is ending the 2 year contract option soon. Once AT&T goes that route, Verizon and Sprint can't be far behind. T-Mobile stopped doing contracts a while back. So when the iPhone 6S is launched later this year, no longer will Apple be able to show a price slide like the one below. This will force Apple to put up prices like $649, $749 up on the screen, which Apple probably doesn't want to highlight, because there are still a vast majority of people in the US who think their smartphones cost $199. Ouch.

apple_iphone6_iphoe6_plus_price.jpg
 
Well, they could also do "$20/month" or whatever the EIP fee for the respective carrier is; or they may just not advertise the price as readily anymore themselves
 
Sure they can. At T-Mobile you only pay the upfront tax on a 16gb iPhone which is roughly $60 I think. It is still $0 down and monthly payments are only around $25 as I recall.

So Apple can still say 'Free' for the iPhone with an * and then in small print at the bottom say EIP for 16GB model applies.
 
macher said:
This might only pertain to the newer plans not the grandfathered plans.
Click to expand...

I can only be hopeful but I highly doubt it. I would think those are the plans they want to get rid of. I just did the calculation and it would cost me a lot more to go to the Next plan.
 
I can see them ending the subsidized phone plan, it was only a matter of time, given who the rest of the world buys phones and the success T-Mo has. I don't know if they can cancel the grandfathered plans and not get in trouble with the government but that will play itself out as well.
 
maflynn said:
I can see them ending the subsidized phone plan, it was only a matter of time, given who the rest of the world buys phones and the success T-Mo has. I don't know if they can cancel the grandfathered plans and not get in trouble with the government but that will play itself out as well.
Click to expand...

This is just speculation on my part, but my guess is while they will not cancel you plan or change your rate, you will not be allowed to purchase a subsidized phone.

Since the subsidy is built into the monthly price of contract plans, most people will find that it will be cheaper to move to a tiered data plan and Next financing.

Personally, I think this will help consumers in the long run. When people finally see how much they've actually been paying for a subsidized phone, many (not all) will opt for less expensive phones.

We are already seeing some very capable mid-tier phones on the market. I would expect this trend to continue.

I don't expect Apple to be in any trouble as they've very shrewdly never competed on price. But this may work as a damper on future price increases.
 
C DM said:
What did Verizon implement a couple of years ago? They still have the usual 2-year contracts that they have had for a long time now.
Click to expand...
Sorry I wasn't clear. I was referring to the grandfathered unlimited and phone subsidies part. Verizon still has 2-year contracts but they cut off the phone subsidies for lines with unlimited data a couple years back. There are some ways to circumvent this (e.g. using a different line, buying through Best Buy) but as far as company policy goes, unlimited data = pay full price.
 
Yes exactly.

Apple will sell even more iPhones because the carriers advertise "$0 down" now instead of $199. That's actually one of the things that helped them sell so many 6/6 Plus in 2014.

iPhone 5S - $0
iPhone 6 - $0
iPhone 6 Plus - $0
iPhone 6S - $0
iPhone 6S Plus - $0

Probably will look great to most consumers.
 
Boy I hope you are right. I have no problem paying for my phone outright or doing my own financing. What really bugs me about the Next plan is that they have you pay for your phone and then they also make you trade it in. So it seems to me the customer pays for the phone and ATT gets to keep it. Right now with my contract plan, I certainly get that I'm paying for the phone through my monthly plan but at least when my contract is over, the phone is mine.

And of course we all know that that providers especially the big ones, don't change their plans to benefit the customer. If ATT goes in this direction, they'll lose a lot of customers. For me, I've stayed with them since the iPhone 3G as they were the only ones with the iPhone. Then when Verizon came out with the iPhone's, ATT gave me a free micro tower for the house to boost the signal - worked to keep me with them. Now the main thing keeping me from looking at other providers is my unlimited data FAN plan. If that goes away, they'll have nothing to keep me from moving on. I would imagine that others with the grandfathered unlimited data plans will feel the same way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Back
Top