 gigahurtzPremium
join:2001-10-20
Palm Coast, FL | Will the bill actually be lower? I'm all for this if the bill would actually be lower, but I don't believe one bit that carriers will drop the overall bill costs due to this switch (even though they should). |
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| It would make upgrading to the latest phone cost prohibitive for many. I was in the habit of upgrading my iPhone with each new generation. That may no longer be possible. In the end thought its still the consumer that gets the shaft and the corporations still take in profits. |
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Reviews:
 ·AT&T U-Verse
| said by TWCcdman:It would make upgrading to the latest phone cost prohibitive for many. I was in the habit of upgrading my iPhone with each new generation. That may no longer be possible.
Or to put it another way, you upgraded when you normally would not have just because you could...the cell provider ate a big chunk of the cost of the new phone. So why not?
Now that they are taking away your free ride and, you know, expecting you to pay full fare for your ticket, you're pissing and whining about "getting the shaft", as if not getting the latest and best the moment it hits the market makes one abused and mistreated by the Big Bad Cell Company.
It's funny how people are ok with sucking others dry but suddenly become soooo conservative about money when it involves their own wallet. |
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| reply to gigahurtz
nope because t-mobile plan are pretty much the same.
Plan prices under this model should be drastic but they are not. |
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| What a bad idea So if the iPhone is paid in full price of $800.00 at $20.00 a month, that would take 40 months to pay off... Looks like customers will NOT be upgrading their devices as often... Talk about shooting themselves in the foot.... Dang... |
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| and it will be the end of the unlimited plan too. Wondering getting a lower rate you will need to changed to one of the shared data plans or a bucket o minutes. AT&T figures out a way to screw the consumer in the end. |
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 codeePremium
join:2001-10-01
Minneapolis, MN | T-Mobiles other ideas? What about T-Mobiles other ideas that AT&T forgot to mention that actually benefit the consumer? Such as unlimited data. AT&T is a pretty irritating company. |
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 TransmasterDon't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY
 ·CenturyLink
| reply to TWCcdman
Re: What a bad idea Again the European model, But your device and then look for service, make it easier to switch carriers. If AT&T knew you could tell them to stick it and switch, and competitors knew they could pick off customers with sweeter deals just think of the impact that would have.
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I am quite sure now that often, very often, in matters concerning religion and politics a man's reasoning powers are not above the monkey's.
- Mark Twain in Eruption |
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| This plan.... won't fly unless there is incentive to the consumer to buy outright. Expecting the consumer to sacrifice a subsidy and keep plan rates high won't cut it. As for the European model, sure it's great, true competition for business but that can't work here now either since SIM-unlocking your phone is now illegal w/o carrier permission.
God how I hate how American corporations do business. Investor-driven, lobbyist-funded, apathetic or downright hostile to the desires of the consumer who pays the dividends and CEO mega-million $ salaries. |
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jagged
join:2003-07-01
Boynton Beach, FL | Hate to say it but... ... I told you all so. T-Mobile's current activations are 80% on Value Plans that offer the device subsidy.
And if AT&T is planning on doing it, guess what Verizon is thinking about? Yep, same thing. It's just a matter of time, to let the mathematicians figure out the pricing so ARPU and EBITDA don't drop take a it.
AT&T and Verizon both hate subsidizing the iPhone especially, it is costing them an arm and a leg. Sprint learned that the hard way, enough to let Softbank buy a 70% stake in them. |
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jagged
join:2003-07-01
Boynton Beach, FL | reply to flycuban
Re: What a bad idea You do know the cost of your iPhone is factored into the voice and data plans you pay per month right?
you'll pay a lower price per month for your voice/data plan and tack on a monthly charge, after a downpayment, for your device of choice.
Right now if someone buys an iPhone from Ebay at a discount, they pay the same price per month as everyone else does but get no phone subsidy. |
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ke4pymPremium
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC Reviews:
 ·VOIPo
 ·Verizon Broadban..
 ·RoadRunner Cable
·Northland Cable ..
| reply to mocycler
Re: Will the bill actually be lower? said by mocycler:Or to put it another way, you upgraded when you normally would not have just because you could...the cell provider ate a big chunk of the cost of the new phone. So why not?
Now that they are taking away your free ride and, you know, expecting you to pay full fare for your ticket, you're pissing and whining about "getting the shaft", as if not getting the latest and best the moment it hits the market makes one abused and mistreated by the Big Bad Cell Company.
It's funny how people are ok with sucking others dry but suddenly become soooo conservative about money when it involves their own wallet.
I don't think it's exactly about a free ride. I'm sure the difference was being made up by everyone for the high voice/text prices for sure. Back in the day the phrase was "the cost of doing business".
There's only going to be one winner in this - for the short term. Those winners will be the share holders of the Bell companies.
The phone makers will hurt. Most people simply won't spend $800 on a telephone. |
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 DaveDudeNo Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey
kudos:1 | rather it this way American needs to be more like captialist europe , same phone works on many carriers. LTE is the need cross carrier model. Change a sim, change your carrier. |
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| reply to gigahurtz
Re: Will the bill actually be lower? of course not. AT&T do not offer any sort of discount if you BYOD, which shows it's just a money grap.
My plans cost half as much when I BYOD overseas and they would give me a credit if I locked into a 12 months contract. |
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| reply to mocycler
Speak for yourself. I've never made a single dollar from shafting another person.
Probably why I also do not vote (R). |
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Reviews:
·Callcentric
| reply to TWCcdman
How does having more choices shaft the consumer? Ironically, that's the fundamental (oil) of capitalism - choice.
It's why having one uber powerful walmart has screwed the US consumer in retail.
Choice is why Europeans (ironically) and many in the Asia_pac pay half as much as we do and receive better value. |
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1 edit | It's a great change The free phone from years past is still the scourge of the industry today. People don't have a clue how much these devices really cost. If anything it will create competition among the smartphone makers to lower costs. If Google is able to keep their Nexus pricing down, they will be the real winners with this change until other the other guys catch up...
With the S3, you put like $100 down, then pay $20 a month for the next 20 months. After that you reap the savings of their lower priced value plans. More expensive phones have a higher down payment.
This will hurt those Apple fanbois who parade around with their sense of early upgrade for nothing entitlement.
edit: check out t-mobiles value plan pricing... it's much cheaper then the classic plan pricing... |
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gigahurtzPremium
join:2001-10-20
Palm Coast, FL Reviews:
·Bright House
| reply to mocycler
Re: Will the bill actually be lower? said by mocycler:said by TWCcdman:It would make upgrading to the latest phone cost prohibitive for many. I was in the habit of upgrading my iPhone with each new generation. That may no longer be possible.
Or to put it another way, you upgraded when you normally would not have just because you could...the cell provider ate a big chunk of the cost of the new phone. So why not? Now that they are taking away your free ride and, you know, expecting you to pay full fare for your ticket, you're pissing and whining about "getting the shaft", as if not getting the latest and best the moment it hits the market makes one abused and mistreated by the Big Bad Cell Company. It's funny how people are ok with sucking others dry but suddenly become soooo conservative about money when it involves their own wallet. I'm confused by what seems to be a politically motivated statement 
If the carrier allows you to upgrade every 12-18 months, anyone who doesn't take advantage of this is crazy. I upgrade whenever I have an upgrade available (I have 5 lines on my account). I upgrade each year and sell the previous phone and make money on everything when it's all said and done. I am already paying for it in my monthly bill, so what difference does it make? |
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gigahurtzPremium
join:2001-10-20
Palm Coast, FL Reviews:
·Bright House
| reply to Telco
said by Telco:How does having more choices shaft the consumer? Ironically, that's the fundamental (oil) of capitalism - choice.
It's why having one uber powerful walmart has screwed the US consumer in retail.
Choice is why Europeans (ironically) and many in the Asia_pac pay half as much as we do and receive better value.
I am not a fan of Walmart, but the problem is that we the consumer continue to support a company like Walmart. They're a shit company with poor business practices, yet the consumer still goes and shops there because they want to save a few bucks. |
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| reply to ke4pym
Mainly because there is not a phone made that should cost anywhere near $800 full retail. $300 would be a fair price and fair profit for any of these phone makers and resellers. This includes the iPhone the Galaxy and any other that has been produced in the last 5+ years.
It is the subsidies of the phone companies that have kept the retail price of these phones so high and we will all see that as this becomes common place the market settles in a year or 2. |
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