AT&T Only one of Big 4 in US to still offer contracts

[rhapdog]

Sprint has announced they will do away with the 2 year contract by the end of the year. (Source)

Verizon announced earlier this month they will be doing away with 2 year contracts. T-Mobile did away with them 2 years ago.

So, what do you guys think? Will AT&T ditch contracts like the rest of the carriers in the US? Will this mean better competition and lower prices in the near future? What's your take?

Update: AT&T is also ditching the contracts. See this post for more.

 

[realwarder]

I think people will look at the price of phones more. Which means Android market share will grow

 

[rdubmu]

Or Windows phone market share will grow...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Laura Knotek]

I think people will look at the price of phones more. Which means Android market share will grow

Or Windows phone market share will grow...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It depends on the features offered at a specific price point.

Full retail pricing might hurt sales of iPhones and Samsung Galaxy S/Note lines. It also might hurt sales of the Lumia 950/950XL, if those really are more expensive than iPhones.

It should help sales of Moto, OnePlus, ASUS Android devices as well as lower end Windows Phones.

 

[RumoredNow]

mvno action is squeezing the big guys. Look for more value added rather than price reductions.

I see high speed data allowance wars coming... mvnos are already leading the way there as well.

 

[rhapdog]

I see high speed data allowance wars coming... mvnos are already leading the way there as well.

Oh, yes! I am SO ready for that. I'm waiting on the data allowance wars to bring 10x the LTE data allowance for the same price. May not happen soon, but I can dream, right? Oh, and I want ALL data plans to go to throttled once the LTE limit is reached, and allow unlimited at throttled instead of charging for extra GB of data at exorbitant rates. I'd love my 15GB Data plan to allow me to go throttled after the first 15GB, unless I have rollover from the previous month of course, then throttle after my allowance+rollover. I'd so quit worrying about data caps then.

 

[RumoredNow]

Oh, yes! I am SO ready for that. I'm waiting on the data allowance wars to bring 10x the LTE data allowance for the same price. May not happen soon, but I can dream, right? Oh, and I want ALL data plans to go to throttled once the LTE limit is reached, and allow unlimited at throttled instead of charging for extra GB of data at exorbitant rates. I'd love my 15GB Data plan to allow me to go throttled after the first 15GB, unless I have rollover from the previous month of course, then throttle after my allowance+rollover. I'd so quit worrying about data caps then.

You might want to look at a Data only plan and a MiFi box from T-Mo for your house. They do have Data Stash and they give you 10GB in your stash on sign up.

 

[rhapdog]

You might want to look at a Data only plan and a MiFi box from T-Mo for your house. They do have Data Stash and they give you 10GB in your stash on sign up.

Dude! You know I live way out in the sticks! There's only 1 Walmart within a 30 minute drive for crying out loud. I'm too far out for T-Mo. No coverage whatsoever. No Sprint here either, unless I drive 5 miles toward town. That's the closest Sprint signal, and it's weak and there's only 3G Sprint in the area when I do get it. Verizon and AT&T both have full LTE here, but Verizon is spotty in my particular location while AT&T is strong.

It's either AT&T or an AT&T MVNO for me on that one. The shared data plan is cheaper for us than getting a separate data plan. We're getting 2 lines, unlimited calling/texting, and 15GB of LTE with rollover data for $108/month. That's with all the taxes. If we change plans, we lose our grandfathered plan and the prices.

We generally don't have more than .75GB of rollover. We have to keep a close eye on it, and manage it closely.

Yeah, I'm just waiting for them to come up with a better deal.

 

[tgp]

Dude! You know I live way out in the sticks! There's only 1 Walmart within a 30 minute drive for crying out loud. I'm too far out for T-Mo. No coverage whatsoever. No Sprint here either, unless I drive 5 miles toward town. That's the closest Sprint signal, and it's weak and there's only 3G Sprint in the area when I do get it. Verizon and AT&T both have full LTE here, but Verizon is spotty in my particular location while AT&T is strong.

Your signal situation is somewhat similar to mine, except I don't live "way out in the sticks", at all! I do live in a rural community, but it is very heavily populated. I actually used T-Mobile for awhile on their $30/5GB plan, but the weak signal around here negated the (otherwise excellent) value. Sprint is also weak here. Verizon and AT&T are both very good, with Verizon possibly having the edge between the two.

Outside of a city, this seems to be a common situation across the country. I suppose Verizon & AT&T's superior networks are the reason they can charge more for their services.

Are you on Cricket? You might have mentioned in an earlier post that I missed which carrier you're using. Right now Cricket is one of the hottest MVNOs, at least around here. However, even the major carriers are dropping prices and/or adding data. Verizon's reshuffling of plans last week is a good sign. I wouldn't be surprised if you get your wish for more perks someday!

 

[aximtreo]

Lower priced and more data added plans sound good but isn't it tied to buying a new phone from the carrier and paying monthly payments. I'm looking for Verizon to offer me the 10 GB plus $ per month for a phone I already own. Keep in mind, you pay a monthly fee for the phone at MSRP. What does the carrier pay for the phone; 50% of that MSRP? So, in the end, you are still paying as much as you pay now. Want to trade phones, sure, we offer you 25 cents on the dollar for your phone and charge you MSRP for a new phone. Drats, screwed again. Let md do business using a BYOP competitive plan.

 

[rhapdog]

Let md do business using a BYOP competitive plan.

Exactly. Agreed. I haven't bought direct from the carrier in years.

Are you on Cricket?

No. I'm on AT&T. Cricket charges an extra $10/month per phone for mobile hotspot, which makes it cost more than my current plan with AT&T. Without the mobile hotspot access, I have zero internet at home, so that's not an option for me.

I like the idea of an AT&T MVNO, though. If they included the hotspot, I'd probably look further into it. Cricket will disable it on your account and prevent you from using the phone's built-in feature.

That added with it costing $9.99 per SIM plus up to $25 per line activation, it's a bit expensive to get started with them, considering the SIM is free at AT&T, and AT&T, when they begin charging, will only charge $15 for activation.

I think with the carriers all "simplifying their service" by eliminating contracts, it will help them to reduce the cost of their services and hopefully the prices as well. Hopefully AT&T will be Next[SUP]SM[/SUP] (pun intended.)

 

[rhapdog]

Breaking News:

Okay, it may not be an "Official" source, but I just got off the phone with an AT&T customer service rep, and she stated that AT&T is discontinuing 2 year contracts as well. Currently, they have already discontinued contracts in select "test" markets to get customer reactions, and are expanding the "no-contract" zones gradually.

There you have it. Contracts for Carriers in the US are soon to be a thing of the past.

The representative also stated that you can save money if you have DirecTV and other AT&T services by bundling. Yeah, I don't have DirecTV. We just don't watch much TV, so no cable, no satellite. Don't want it.

Still, perhaps this will be a good thing in the long term.

In other breaking news, AT&T is currently offering the 15GB of Data for the price of 10GB of data on the family shared plans again, if anyone is needing it.

 

[realwarder]

Why would anyone bundle anyway. Doesn't save money and locks you into at&t.