is AT&T getting rid of contracts entirely?

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Anyone think Verizon is going to follow AT&T (TMobile?) on this one? I'm getting sick of getting raped on Verizon for 3 smartphones, 1 dumb phone and 4GB of data ($245 per month after all taxes). The problem is buying new phones under AT&T is expensive since I can't take my current phones to them (that I know of).

(Disclaimer: I'm very illiterate when it comes to cellphone structure from carrier to carrier - be gentle).

I think itll be tough given Verizon is CDMA and there really isnt a BYOD concept. They might create a better subsidy plan though.

Anyone think Verizon is going to follow AT&T (TMobile?) on this one? I'm getting sick of getting raped on Verizon for 3 smartphones, 1 dumb phone and 4GB of data ($245 per month after all taxes). The problem is buying new phones under AT&T is expensive since I can't take my current phones to them (that I know of).

(Disclaimer: I'm very illiterate when it comes to cellphone structure from carrier to carrier - be gentle).

 

[Radeon962]

Big difference is on the 10GB plan, phone price drops to $15/mo (BYOD and Next). Apparently, if you have a current phone on contract and switch to the Value plan, you are also moved to the $15/mo although you are still technically on the hook for the phone for the rest of your original contract and once on the value plan then you need to buy a new phone outright or Next plan or get moved back to $40/mo with a subsidized phone.

Still trying to figure that part out. I'll probably stop by AT&T this week and talk to them as I have 5 phones on a family plan plus a 6th on a GoPhone plan so it appears that the new Value plan would be $50/month cheaper for me.

 

[piasabird]

Often for internet what they do is offer DSL starting at a low price then they increase it later on a typical 2 year plan you get the low price the first 12 months. I consider this bate and switch. However, it is what it is.

 

[cronos]

Well, there's a new shared plan coming soon which is pretty good if you BYOD.

If you have a family of 4 or 5, this is pretty solid. Even at 3 I think it's decent because of the 10 GB you get:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/01/att-shared-family-plan/

$35/month/line for 5 lines (avg of 2 GB/line) and $40/month/line for 4 lines (avg of 2.5 GB/line). This is *really* good, I think.

They should make it 'framily' Sprint style with allowing separate bills for however grouping we want. That would make it amazing.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

$35/month/line for 5 lines (avg of 2 GB/line) and $40/month/line for 4 lines (avg of 2.5 GB/line). This is *really* good, I think.

They should make it 'framily' Sprint style with allowing separate bills for however grouping we want. That would make it amazing.

Yes, but consider the costs of shelling out $600 / 2 years for a new phone... especially if the Nexus line is dead.

 

[cronos]

Yes, but consider the costs of shelling out $600 / 2 years for a new phone... especially if the Nexus line is dead.

You make it sound like $600 every 2 years is mandatory for every line. First of all, not everyone has to have a brand new flagship device, not to mention it's not like these phones are guaranteed to be dead in two years.

As an example, I bought my Dell Streak for ~$350, and I used it for almost three years, until last year with some (extremely lucky) combination of promo I was able to get my HTC One for only $200 out of pocket. I fully intended to use this HTC One for a lot more than two years as well.

Even someone starting fresh today can get a Moto G for $180 or Moto X for $300 brand new, or if they don't mind non-brand-new phones the GS4 with great condition is only a little over $300 these days on swappa. These phones have a definite possibility to still be in good shape more than two years from now.

Yes, for people who are used to depend on the subsidy crutch it's going to hurt a little more, but if they really want to get rid of that crutch and are willing to be smart about it, this is a great option and it's not going to hurt that much.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Are people really this stupid? Buying a device outright should save you money versus a contract, plus if you get f'ed over you can switch carriers.

If they get rid of the subsidies expect phone prices to fall as they see declining sales for $650 phones. Plus maybe people will stop ditching good phones after 2 years which will push them to improve the software more and rely less on hardware to resolve problems.

Not only that, but with the change to VoLTE we'll see a larger variety of devices and compatibility between networks, so we'll likely see more value prospects like the Moto X and Moto G, the Nexus lines, those low end Nokia phones, and maybe Amazon devices.

And, like people pointed out, they're already going to let you spread out the cost, so its going to end up pretty much the same as before (only now the ETF fee is finishing buying the phone outright).

 

[darkswordsman17]

I think itll be tough given Verizon is CDMA and there really isnt a BYOD concept. They might create a better subsidy plan though.

If T-Mobile and AT&T see success I think Verizon will follow but we'll see. They might try to leverage the subsidy contracts on the people that can't think beyond a month's costs.

Of course, I believe Verizon saw as many new customers as T-Mobile has from the latter's lauded changeup to the status quo, but they have the best LTE coverage right now so that might be the reason (I've seen quite a few people that got tired of AT&T's rollout that switched, or T-Mobile people that needed better coverage but that was also back before T-Mobile really shook things up).

I was on Verizon and wanted to switch to their prepaid but they wouldn't let 4G/LTE devices on it ("A Note 3 uses more data" because that matters when you have bandwidth caps...), so I had to switch or get reamed by Verizon's garbage service plans. On top of that they made my Mom have to pay for the $60 smartphone plan even though she has a 5-6 year old flipphone.

 

[gorcorps]

I'm really confused what the difference between Mobile Share and Mobile Share Value is. If you get 10gb, isn't that a no brainer? It's cheaper for anyone who wants 2-5 lines. Not sure why they keep the old one around then.

Edit: And wow AT&T Next is just like a scam. They advertise $25/month but you end up having to pay $32.50 / month if you do the AT&T Next 12 plan.

Why not just make all smartphone plans $25/month and depending on whether you want a subsidized phone every 12, 18, 24 months, or BYOD, you pay an additional device fee. Done. It's deceptive to advertise the 2 year contract as $40/month for a smartphone with no extra installment charges, but the Next plans as $25 / month. It's even more confusing when the device installment plan is paid over 20 months. So essentially if you're on a AT&T Next 12 plan, and you got a 5s at launch, you could upgrade to your iPhone 6 (speculating Apple's release schedule), and you will still be paying for that 5s for another 8 months. Do you pay another $30.25/month for the iPhone 6? So essentially you're paying $15 / month + $30.25 for the iPhone 5s + $30.25 for the iPhone 6?

You're overthinking it, it works very similar to how buying a car works now (except there's no interest). The price of the phone is spread out to 20 months. If you keep the phone longer than that, you don't have an extra phone payment and you'd be paying less per month than you would have otherwise. If you want to switch to a new phone after 1 year, you trade in your used device to get the new one. You're no longer paying for the old one, just the new one.

There's still a couple questions I have regarding the whole thing:

- I don't think you can sign up for a Next plan currently without buying a new phone on the plan first. Maybe I'm just missing it... but I already have a phone that I'm happy with, and I wouldn't mind going to a non-contract service. They say I'm eligible but I'm being forced to add a phone to my cart to start with. I just want the plan.

-Can I pay an optional deposit on the phone to lessen the monthly payments? I'm so used to paying 100-200 up front for a phone that I'd be willing to do that still if I that money gets taken out of the monthly fee. Currently it looks like your only options are pay 100% up front or pay 0% up front without anything in between.

-Can I pay off the balance of the phone at any time? Say I find a good deal on another phone outside of ATT (used or otherwise). So I pay for my new phone in full on craigslist or something. Can I then sell my old phone myself and use that money to pay off the rest of my old phone at once?

 

[cliftonite]

Yes, but consider the costs of shelling out $600 / 2 years for a new phone... especially if the Nexus line is dead.

You don't have to upgrade every two years. If the subsidies end phone prices will have to drop if they want to keep selling them at the same rate.

 

[bearxor]

There's still a couple questions I have regarding the whole thing:

- I don't think you can sign up for a Next plan currently without buying a new phone on the plan first. Maybe I'm just missing it... but I already have a phone that I'm happy with, and I wouldn't mind going to a non-contract service. They say I'm eligible but I'm being forced to add a phone to my cart to start with. I just want the plan.

If you just want to switch to the new 10GB Value Plan, you need to call, chat or visit a store. They can switch you. From some more reading I've done on it, It doesn't look like they null your contract. They do flag you as eligible for an AT&T Next plan though.

It used to be that you had to wait until you were upgrade eligible before beginning a Next plan. Then, only a few weeks ago, they changed it to six months in to your current contract. Now, they're letting you move to the new share plan as long as you had a contract renewal before Feb 2nd and make you Next eligible.

Also, you don't HAVE to do a AT&T Next plan when you go to upgrade your phone. You could sign a traditional two-year agreement and, at that time, your monthly line fee will simply go up to $40/mo instead of $15/mo. So you could use this as a temporary discount.

-Can I pay an optional deposit on the phone to lessen the monthly payments? I'm so used to paying 100-200 up front for a phone that I'd be willing to do that still if I that money gets taken out of the monthly fee. Currently it looks like your only options are pay 100% up front or pay 0% up front without anything in between.

Yes, you can make an additional payment for the phone when you purchase it if you like. You're probably better off doing that at a physical store. You could also simply do the Next plan, then call in to customer service and pay an additional balance towards your device. Unsure if doing it afterwards will make the monthly payment drop, however.

-Can I pay off the balance of the phone at any time? Say I find a good deal on another phone outside of ATT (used or otherwise). So I pay for my new phone in full on craigslist or something. Can I then sell my old phone myself and use that money to pay off the rest of my old phone at once?

Yes, you can pay it off anytime. You can make payments for 12 months, pay it off, then get a new phone on the AT&T Next plan and sell off the device if you think you can get more for it.

My math on that would be:
iPhone 5S 32GB, initial upfront is $52 (tax). Then, 37.50/mo for 12 months. So, by the time you've traded it in, you've paid $502 of the $801 total. If you sold it on the second hand market, I wouldn't expect to get more than $400 for it, $350 would probably be an easy sell.

So you'd be paying it off with an extra $300, to turn around and make MAYBE $50-75 on it. I don't think it would be worth the effort for me. But, if you have another use for it, like putting it on a family members line or something, that could be worthwhile.

 

[Wonderful Pork]

I switched over from my Family Talk to a new Mobile Share today - saves me $30/month from my old bill, and about $50/month for a plan with equivalent features.

Here's why I did it:

1. We don't go near 10GB/month, average about 4-6GB (mainly me). My old unlimited iPhone plan didn't get hotspot or FaceTime over cellular. Now it does.
2. I can finally turn data on for my mom's unlocked windows phone without paying +$20-$30/month
3. the FAN discount is taken off the $100 base charge ($22/month), with $15/phone additional it made sense. With $40/phone I would have paid more on the old Mobile Share vs Family Talk plans which didn't make it worth it.

Overall I'm pleased with the switch. I can upgrade phones whenever I want and sell the old devices for $$$ since I take care of them AND they'll be factory unlocked. No more $36 activation fees every couple of years, and I can walk whenever I want, plus tether to my tablet in the few cases I need it.

I think used device pricing will trend upwards slightly (all operating systems) because there is now value attached to the phones. I'd LOVE for new device prices to drop to about $400 (like the first iPhone did), but I doubt that will happen. I realize Nexus and other device prices are already there however I mainly use iOS.

 

[bearxor]

I never switched to the newer mobile share plans because they adjusted the prices so that I would be paying the same. I'm on the original $130/10GB plan with each additional line being $30. That gave me a $162.70 base price with two phones.

They moved it to $100 with each phone costing $40 with the newer plans. All so that they could "reduce" the price of the phone add on by $15 if you were on AT&T Next. That put it at a base price of $159 for me. Was never enough incentive to switch.

Now, it's a base price of $109. Great deal, especially when a plan on TMobile for me would be $110 before phone payments. Great move by AT&T to keep customers that were REALLY on the fence about jumping to TMobile.

 

[gorcorps]

If you just want to switch to the new 10GB Value Plan, you need to call, chat or visit a store. They can switch you. From some more reading I've done on it, It doesn't look like they null your contract. They do flag you as eligible for an AT&T Next plan though.

It used to be that you had to wait until you were upgrade eligible before beginning a Next plan. Then, only a few weeks ago, they changed it to six months in to your current contract. Now, they're letting you move to the new share plan as long as you had a contract renewal before Feb 2nd and make you Next eligible.

Also, you don't HAVE to do a AT&T Next plan when you go to upgrade your phone. You could sign a traditional two-year agreement and, at that time, your monthly line fee will simply go up to $40/mo instead of $15/mo. So you could use this as a temporary discount.

I forgot to mention (and it's important to note) that I wouldn't be looking at any sort of group or family plan. I'm the only one on my plan so I'd be looking at just the best possible deal for one device. I pay for the cheapest voice plan I could find at the time ($40) + $30 for 3gigs data + $10 texts

 

[cronos]

It used to be that you had to wait until you were upgrade eligible before beginning a Next plan. Then, only a few weeks ago, they changed it to six months in to your current contract. Now, they're letting you move to the new share plan as long as you had a contract renewal before Feb 2nd and make you Next eligible.

Are you saying that there is a mechanism for converting from regular subsidy/contract plan to Next/BYOD and take advantage of this new MobileShare plan? Personally I've left postpaid a long time ago but I have friends who have always done the 'family' plan between 4 or 5 friends and share the monthly bills equally. I'm just wondering if this new change will be beneficial for them and how much chaos it is to convert if it is possible.

Let's say this family plan currently has four lines, with different contract cycles (ranged from out of contract to only 7-8 months in), how will it work?

 

[cronos]

I forgot to mention (and it's important to note) that I wouldn't be looking at any sort of group or family plan. I'm the only one on my plan so I'd be looking at just the best possible deal for one device. I pay for the cheapest voice plan I could find at the time ($40) + $30 for 3gigs data + $10 texts

With a BYOD or off contract, the current AT&T Mobile Share Value plan with one line is $70 (unlimited talk/txt + 1 GB data), it's $80 with 2 GB and $95 for 4 GB.

It does look like you have a sweet spot there with a total of $80 including 3 GB data that you're happy with (although I'm sure your talk+text isn't unlimited, but if it's enough for you, then it's enough), so I don't think you're going to have any advantage converting to the Mobile Share Value plan. Unless you think 1 GB data is enough for you, then you can shave $10 off of your current monthly bill.

 

[bearxor]

I forgot to mention (and it's important to note) that I wouldn't be looking at any sort of group or family plan. I'm the only one on my plan so I'd be looking at just the best possible deal for one device. I pay for the cheapest voice plan I could find at the time ($40) + $30 for 3gigs data + $10 texts

Then I wouldn't bother moving. Even moving to a 4GB shared plan with one device wouldn't be worth it, especially if you opted for AT&T Next, which would make put your bill in to the $110+ range.

Are you saying that there is a mechanism for converting from regular subsidy/contract plan to Next/BYOD and take advantage of this new MobileShare plan? Personally I've left postpaid a long time ago but I have friends who have always done the 'family' plan between 4 or 5 friends and share the monthly bills equally. I'm just wondering if this new change will be beneficial for them and how much chaos it is to convert if it is possible.

Let's say this family plan currently has four lines, with different contract cycles (ranged from out of contract to only 7-8 months in), how will it work?

Yes, you can switch from a standard postpaid plan where you have a phone on subsidy to the new 10GB Mobile Share Value Plan, provided that you signed a new contract before Feb 2nd.

When you switch to the MSVP, every line will become eligible for a Next plan.

In this case, with four lines (assuming no discounts), they'd pay $160 before taxes for the four lines. That's about $45/person after taxes or so. In addition, each one would be eligible to use Next, that could tack on another $30 or so, depending on the phone of course.

 

[bearxor]

When I checked yesterday, the new plan was not available for me to change to online. When I checked it today, it's now available for me to switch to it online. Here's the breakdown between old and new if anyone's interested.

 

[cronos]

Yes, you can switch from a standard postpaid plan where you have a phone on subsidy to the new 10GB Mobile Share Value Plan, provided that you signed a new contract before Feb 2nd.

When you switch to the MSVP, every line will become eligible for a Next plan.

In this case, with four lines (assuming no discounts), they'd pay $160 before taxes for the four lines. That's about $45/person after taxes or so. In addition, each one would be eligible to use Next, that could tack on another $30 or so, depending on the phone of course.

Thanks, but I'm mostly wondering about the phones that are still in contract. What's going to happen with the phones? Do they value the phones based on the number of months left in the contract and then prorate it and added the value to the monthly as a 'Next line'?

 

[bearxor]

Thanks, but I'm mostly wondering about the phones that are still in contract. What's going to happen with the phones? Do they value the phones based on the number of months left in the contract and then prorate it and added the value to the monthly as a 'Next line'?

Nothing happens with the phones. They can keep using them. Both my phones are under a contract. The plan itself simply switches. It does not break the contract either. If they switched, the phones that were under contract will still be under contract.

At that point they're eligible for a Next upgrade, but you're not required to start it in order to switch to the new MSVP.

It's possible to switch to the new MSVP, and then upgrade the lines on a standard contract. But, at that time, the monthly per line fee jumps from $15 to $40. If they had upgraded the lines out of contract on Saturday, they could have switched them over to the new MSVP and not incurred a penalty at all. But too late for that now, right?

 

[cronos]

Nothing happens with the phones. They can keep using them. Both my phones are under a contract. The plan itself simply switches.

At that point they're eligible for a Next upgrade, but you're not required to start it in order to switch to the new MSVP.

Got it. Thanks. I think this makes it a really good deal for some people (now that I saw your screenshot, it's a great example. That's pretty sweet!).

 

[gorcorps]

With a BYOD or off contract, the current AT&T Mobile Share Value plan with one line is $70 (unlimited talk/txt + 1 GB data), it's $80 with 2 GB and $95 for 4 GB.

It does look like you have a sweet spot there with a total of $80 including 3 GB data that you're happy with (although I'm sure your talk+text isn't unlimited, but if it's enough for you, then it's enough), so I don't think you're going to have any advantage converting to the Mobile Share Value plan. Unless you think 1 GB data is enough for you, then you can shave $10 off of your current monthly bill.

That's what I was worried about (and haven't yet spent the time researching), and even more worried if AT&T decides to make this their norm

Right now my price including subsidy is even cheaper than these new prices which in theory don't include the subsidy. Single device users like me are probably in the minority, but if they try to force me into anything like this I'd be taking advantage of the non-contract to go to Verizon.

Asshats

 

[bearxor]

That's what I was worried about (and haven't yet spent the time researching), and even more worried if AT&T decides to make this their norm

Right now my price including subsidy is even cheaper than these new prices which in theory don't include the subsidy. Single device users like me are probably in the minority, but if they try to force me into anything like this I'd be taking advantage of the non-contract to go to Verizon.

Asshats

This is the way it will be for every carrier in the US within two years. I expect AT&T to do it before the end of the year. Sprint will probably happen sometime mid-year, probably depends more on SoftBank's acquisition of TMobile more than anything. I expect Verizon to lag significantly behind. They might go in to 2016 before they do it.

But the carriers are tired of fronting billions of dollars in device subsidies. AT&T's been talking about it in a round about way for a couple years now but is getting really serious about it really quick, probably due to TMobile.

 

[Tsaar]

I am (well...was) on contract with a Note 2, and my wife is on contract with an iPhone 5. 4gb shared was ~150 after taxes, fees, and discount.

Switched to Next with a LG G2. Changed to 10gb. My new bill is ~135. This includes corporate discount.

Think about this. I more than doubled my data, got a new phone (I can sell my Note 2), and my bill dropped by ~15 dollars.

THANK YOU T-MOBILE!

 

[quest55720]

Got 4 lines 2 smart phones 2 and 3 gig data packages and 2 dumb phones. Only 1 line under contract for another year. No brainer for me to switch over and save 20-25 a month and be able to upgrade the 2 dumb phones to cheap smart phones. Once the contract is up then can decide what to do maybe prices will be even better or switch to NVO. After living with 520 for 2 months I have no issues with a low end smart phone to be honest. So giving up my 2 year upgrade is no big deal and rather have no contract and be free to get best possible deal in the future. Can only hope many switch to these plans and quit buying high end phone drive the price of them down.