does it tho? you know these carriers ate the little pre paid companies...i think sprint owns 3 of them. their metrics must be showing that theres money in that model. otherwise they wouldnt change shyt
Sprint owns Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile for sure, I think they might have their hands in 2-3 others as well. The point is that I am not really sure how it all makes sense if the sought after phones are these $600-$700 devices. In the past you are looking at a $200 down payment, a $70-$100 month bill and a $350 ETF on a high end phone.
From what I have seen so far, the "plans" are cheaper, but most people are getting new phones either yearly or on a 2 year cycle which ranges between $25-$40 a month on top of your bill...it has so far amounted to pretty much the same shyt in the end at best or an inevitable L for the consumer.
In the past worst case scenario you paid $550 for your phone, you are now asked to pay full price for the phone stretched out over 2 years and in many cases have your bill slightly higher due to the monthly payments. My friend "jumped" to T-Mobile and his bill with the Galaxy S6 payment per month is about $116 per month, his bill was a flat $88 per month for 2 years whenever he was due for an upgrade after putting the $200 down with Sprint.
On a Sprint 2 Year Plan:
$200 for a top of the line phone upgrade
$88x24 = $2,112
TOTAL = $2,312
On T-Mobile:
$116x24 = $2,784
NET LOSS to the consumer over 2 years = $472
RISK for the Provider - NO upfront $200 payment
So while T-Mobile "advertised" a cheaper overall bill, the monthly payment because of the new phone will indeed cost him more in the long run. One benefit is that he is on a stronger network and there is something to be said for that, but it doesn't look like a great deal on paper in terms of dollars and cents for those who like to stay on top of the phone game.
How is this beneficial again to the consumers? Looks like an L to me for those who want a shiny new phone every 2 years (like most people under 30 do)
Customers lose because the monthly bill is higher and they pay more overall over the stretch of the generally accepted 2 year upgrade cycle.
Companies look like they lose because they don't even secure the $200 upfront from the inevitable cancellations.
The only true way to save major cash is to jump on something like CricKet, Simple Mobile or the other MNVOs that offer a $35-$40 plan and buy your phone at full price.
All this "No Contract", "No Money Down" BS looks like clever manipulation of the stated definitions. If you are agreeing to buy a phone over the course of 2 years...that is effectively a damn contract anyway
