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

[mhdena]

If 2 year contracts are done, i wonder what would happen to android sales. I can't imagine people dishing out 700 for a samsung device. All the people that i know who have a samsung is because they are on a 2 year contract and got the device for free.

Very few people dish out full price for an iphone compared to those who buy subsidized.

If 2 year contracts are done, i wonder what would happen to iphone sales. I can't imagine people dishing out 700 for a iphone device. All the people that i know who have a iphone is because they are on a 2 year contract and got the device for free.

 

[C DM]

Very few people dish out full price for an iphone compared to those who buy subsidized.

If 2 year contracts are done, i wonder what would happen to iphone sales. I can't imagine people dishing out 700 for a iphone device. All the people that i know who have a iphone is because they are on a 2 year contract and got the device for free.

Financing options will become what people go for, which are fairly similar to contracts.

 

[macher]

Then i'll be off to T-Mobile. That is the only reason i'm still w/ ATT

Yep me too. Been with AT&T for 10+ years. I'll be looking somewhere else myself.

----------

Financing options will become what people go for, which are fairly similar to contracts.

Not really. I got an iPhone 6/64GB on a 2 year contract upgrade and the cost was $299.99. We have a 4 line grandfathered plan and each line has unlimited data, unlimited text, shared voice minutes.

Next which is financing comes out to close to 2x more. It also depends on your circumstance. Example if I didn't have the $299.99 up front I could 'finance' with Next 20 and the cost would be more because I'm 'financing' it. 2 year contract upgrades for me are significantly less money. But like I said it depends on your circumstances.

 

[imlynxy]

Yep me too. Been with AT&T for 10+ years. I'll be looking somewhere else myself.
I'm with Cingular/Att since April 2005 = also 10 years.
I just wait till iPhone 6s have LTE12 band(BTW Samsung already has it, Apple is busy with politics nowdays :-( ), means better coverage on t-mo. If Att change the rules I don't wait and switch next day. With Att plan I safe around 500 dollars per 2 years (plan + 3 phones) compare to t-mo, but I spend 500-600 dollars on roaming. So it is basically the same amount. If I have to pay for a phone full price it is 449*3lines more for me. For this amount of money I can live with spotty t-mo coverage, but as I said it is getting better and better and LTE12 700 MHz gives more penetration and speed. In Boston and NYC t-mo is faster and better than Att. They have voiceoverWifi. Free SMS, data (may be slow , but really usable) abroad. 20 cents per minute in 150+ countries.

I go Bermuda in June with Att passport it cost me 60*3(plus tax )just 300 mb/line. We t-mo tax is 0, 0*tax=0 We need internet there 24/7.

 

[C DM]

Yep me too. Been with AT&T for 10+ years. I'll be looking somewhere else myself.

----------



Not really. I got an iPhone 6/64GB on a 2 year contract upgrade and the cost was $299.99. We have a 4 line grandfathered plan and each line has unlimited data, unlimited text, shared voice minutes.

Next which is financing comes out to close to 2x more. It also depends on your circumstance. Example if I didn't have the $299.99 up front I could 'finance' with Next 20 and the cost would be more because I'm 'financing' it. 2 year contract upgrades for me are significantly less money. But like I said it depends on your circumstances.

There's also the discount that applies when financing on current plans that offsets the monthly price to some degree. While there's a built in subsidy payment in the monthly line price on the older devices. So people are paying for the phone in a monthly fashion one way or another. The difference is that the older plans don't get the discount for financing, and that's likely part of what's behind the change, to try to get more people onto current plans.

 

[theonekcrow]

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.

Image

This is true, but the only thing they will have to do is:

Two Year Contract*


In the Fine Print:
*On Participating Carriers

 

[Badrottie]

I've had my unlimited att iPad data plan since the very beginning-the first 10 days or so when the device was initially rolled out and before they dropped the plan . Often consider selling it....but then change my mind.

You should keep it only if the data plan is cheaper. I have 6GB mobile share for $40 and I am forced to use tablet less and less. iPad Air with DataConnection 250MB data for 15 a month.

 

[Technarchy]

I jumped ship on 2 year contracts when I got my S5 last year.

I despise being locked into contracts with ETF's.

Next is emancipating.

 

[Chevelle]

Next is awesome. It's like leasing a phone. 300 bucks a year and you can change yearly or sooner. My next contract was due in June. Paid 50 bucks today to pay off my contract and got a 6. The screen feels smaller but that's a different topic I guess. But next is great.

 

[ron7624]

They may stop offering the plan, but there is no way they can take them away from current customers. That will have to die out as the current customers change plans.

 

[Nhwhazup]

They may stop offering the plan, but there is no way they can take them away from current customers. That will have to die out as the current customers change plans.

Unfortunately they will probably let then run out with no renewals. I guess we'll all see soon enough.

 

[theonekcrow]

Honestly, this wouldn't be a bad move anyways. Overall TCO for 2 years is a bit cheaper on a Next Plan or a buy outright plan. I created this spreadsheet in Numbers, and to get that subsidy, you are paying a $150 premium for Apple's price in the slides over 2 years.

The spreadsheet is based on a 64 GB 6+. Prices for AT&T's service plan comes from AT&T's website and the phone pricing comes from Apple's Online Store. This assumes that the phone and service is kept a full 24 months from the date of purchase.

 

[Ron20]

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.

I hope it doesn't cancel the plan due to i have it as well and thankfully i just upgraded

----------

I jumped ship on 2 year contracts when I got my S5 last year.

I despise being locked into contracts with ETF's.

Next is emancipating.

I love my 2 year contract due to it keeps me from getting a new phone every year plus since its my grandmas account i respect her and won't increase the bill any. But we have 2 lines so i can switch she loves her iphone4s to much to change

 

[ron7624]

Unfortunately they will probably let then run out with no renewals. I guess we'll all see soon enough.

I've never seen them do that, not ATT. I'm pretty sure folks will be able to keep what they have until they decide to terminate. They still renter the original iPad unlimited plan for 29.95 per month with people using 70gb of data monthly. And allow the people to continue even after switching devices. Imo, if they were going to dump anyone, it would be those plans.

 

[Nhwhazup]

I've never seen them do that, not ATT. I'm pretty sure folks will be able to keep what they have until they decide to terminate. They still renter the original iPad unlimited plan for 29.95 per month with people using 70gb of data monthly. And allow the people to continue even after switching devices. Imo, if they were going to dump anyone, it would be those plans.

.

I surely hope you are right. Even though I don't use a ton of data, I like my grandfathered plans just the way they are.

 

[Surreal]

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.

They only 'make' you trade it in if you haven't finished paying it off, no? That was my interpretation of the plan. Once you pay it off, you are no longer 'in' the next program so this just encourages you to finish paying off the phone before you purchase another, which makes sense.

 

[boomhower]

I sold my Verizon UDP last year and went to AT&T when they did the double data promo. I've been happy with them and haven't had any issues. I did the next plan and actually like it. Upgrade every year with the same bill.

 

[Technarchy]

They only 'make' you trade it in if you haven't finished paying it off, no? That was my interpretation of the plan. Once you pay it off, you are no longer 'in' the next program so this just encourages you to finish paying off the phone before you purchase another, which makes sense.

That's about right.

You have the choice to trade in your phone and upgrade early or pay-off your device and keep it.

AT&T leaves it up to you to decide.

I've used Next 3 times in 12 months on the same line. I think it's awesome.

 

[tecnho]

I am grandfathered in with unlimited data an use an average of 6GB/Month with some months going over 8 or 9 and I always get the minimal 450 min talk. ATT data plan for 10 is listed as 100$. Should I assume that in any scenario I should hold on to my unlimited plan? I don't care if I upgrade after a year or two, but am interested what you guys think would be the most economical path based on these new hypothetical developments?

 

[Rayfire]

I am grandfathered in with unlimited data an use an average of 6GB/Month with some months going over 8 or 9 and I always get the minimal 450 min talk. ATT data plan for 10 is listed as 100$. Should I assume that in any scenario I should hold on to my unlimited plan? I don't care if I upgrade after a year or two, but am interested what you guys think would be the most economical path based on these new hypothetical developments?

We're in the same boat. I've run my own math on AT&T, and from what I can tell, retaining your grandfathered plan for a single line is the best plan with subsidy. I'd rather just pay $200 every 2yrs to upgrade rather than paying extra $25-30/mo to cover the purchase. I don't plan on upgrading phones every year anyway (unless work forced me to).

If you're on a family plan, that will be a different story.

 

[bbotte]

Been with AT&T since 2007, when my unlimited data goes, so does my money.

 

[tecnho]

We're in the same boat. I've run my own math on AT&T, and from what I can tell, retaining your grandfathered plan for a single line is the best plan with subsidy. I'd rather just pay $200 every 2yrs to upgrade rather than paying extra $25-30/mo to cover the purchase. I don't plan on upgrading phones every year anyway (unless work forced me to).



If you're on a family plan, that will be a different story.

Been with AT&T since 2007, when my unlimited data goes, so does my money.

I agree with you both. My question is what do we do if they cut off our access to the 2-year contract/subsidized purchase?

 

[Applejuiced]

Been with AT&T since 2007, when my unlimited data goes, so does my money.

Same here.
I will just go to T-Mobile with all 4 of my lines.

 

[oldhifi]

Great, why should you pay to cancel you phone plan. You don't have to pay to cut off your cable or power..It's just a rip off

 

[C DM]

Great, why should you pay to cancel you phone plan. You don't have to pay to cut off your cable or power..It's just a rip off

Because you didn't pay the full price for the phone and got it subsidized by promising to be on a contract and paying the rest of it off that way? It's rather simple (whether or not many might actually get it or care to get it).