Verizon Will Drop Phone Contracts, End Discounted Phones

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Verizon, the nation's largest wireless provider, will stop offering phones at discounted prices when customers sign two-year service contracts.

The move was made in the name of simplification, but it could result in some customers paying more.

All wireless carriers have been trying to wean customers off subsidies, in which a $649 iPhone 6 goes for $200 with a two-year contract. Instead, carriers have been encouraging people to buy phones outright by paying the full retail price in monthly installments. A few carriers, namely Sprint, also offer leasing options for a lower monthly fee, but the customer doesn't get to keep and resell the phone without additional payments. Verizon is the second national carrier, after T-Mobile, to end subsidies entirely for new customers.

Existing customers will be able to keep current plans. Verizon says there will be restrictions, but it didn't elaborate. For instance, it wasn't immediately clear whether customers keeping the current plan will still qualify for subsidized phones.

Under the new plans, which take effect Aug. 13, prices for voice, text and data services will drop by roughly $20 per month compared with subsidized plans. But customers will no longer get the subsidies on the phone, valued at about $19 for an iPhone 6. But there are variations, so some will pay a bit more, others a bit less.

Verizon is also streamlining its data plans to four main options, ranging from "small" at 1 gigabyte to "x-large" at 12 gigabytes, all sharable under family plans. Verizon currently has 15 options ranging from 0.5 gigabyte to 100 gigabytes. Two gigabytes is plenty for most single-line customers, though a few hours of streaming video could eat that up.

Customers will no longer have two-year commitments, but they might be stuck with Verizon for two years anyway as monthly installments for the phone stretch over that time.

Here's a look at how the changes affect various customers. These monthly prices are for unlimited calling and texts and a set amount of sharable data. The phone costs extra.

———

INDIVIDUALS:

Those with contracts paid $60 a month for 1 gigabyte of data and $90 for 3 gigabytes. Subtract the $19 worth of subsidies on the iPhone 6, and the monthly cost was $41 for 1 gigabyte and $71 for 3 gigabytes.

Those who were already buying their own phones paid $45 for 1 gigabyte and $75 for 3 gigabytes.

Under the new plans, customers will pay $50 for 1 gigabyte (a price increase for both groups) and $65 for 3 gigabytes (a price cut). The 2 gigabyte plan is being discontinued, so customers will have to choose more or less.

———

COUPLES:

For two lines, couples paid $130 a month for 3 gigabytes and $150 for 6 gigabytes under subsidized plans. Subtract the value of the subsidies ($38 for two iPhones), and you got $92 for 3 gigabytes and $112 for 6 gigabytes.

Couples who bought or brought their own phones paid $100 for either 3 gigabytes or 6 gigabytes, thanks to steeper discounts Verizon had offered to customers who declined subsidies and chose larger data plans.

Under the new plans, that couple will pay $85 for 3 gigabytes (a price cut) and $100 for 6 gigabytes (a price decrease from subsidized rates, but no change for others).

———

FAMILY OF FOUR:

Four lines sharing 10 gigabytes cost $240 a month under subsidized plans, or $165 after subtracting the $75 value of subsidies on four iPhones. Those who weren't on subsidized plans paid $140 a month.

There will no longer be a 10 gigabyte option. A new 12-gigabyte plan will cost $160. So that's a price cut for those on subsidized plans and an increase for others (but those customers are also getting more data to share).

Verizon Will Drop Phone Contracts, End Discounted Phones
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You Win Perfect

You Win Perfect

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Lux said:
Maaaaan I'm not upgrading nothing else. I'm already running iOS 9 beta on my iPhone and I have a Note 4 with AT&T that I copped for $49 last October. I've eaten good... But I'm tapping out.
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I buy all my phones straight up every time. I upgrade maybe every 3 years or so. I'm on cricket $35/month unlimited talk/text 2.5 GB of data. I been ditched the major carriers that price gouge. I work all day I don't got time to be sitting on my phone usin up data. Once I get home I'm on WiFi. I'm due for a phone upgrade this fall tho.
 
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Tony_Bromo said:
You got one of those china man joints? :lupe:
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You damn right... :youngsabo:

But i usually buy from amazon, price is crazy high but the phone straight from the company is worth it. If you use alibaba or dhgate it's 50/50 from what i heard... :francis:

Trying to cop the
sam_1488-600x400.jpg


Huawei Ascend Mate 7 :takedat:
 
.༼-◕_◕-༽.

.༼-◕_◕-༽.

.༼-◕_◕-༽.
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You Win Perfect said:
I buy all my phones straight up every time. I upgrade maybe every 3 years or so. I'm on cricket $35/month unlimited talk/text 2.5 GB of data. I been ditched the major carriers that price gouge. I work all day I don't got time to be sitting on my phone usin up data. Once I get home I'm on WiFi. I'm due for a phone upgrade this fall tho.
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That's whats next. I'm going back to prepaid on that Note 4
 
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