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Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: Verizon will drop phone contracts, end discounted phones Yahoo... NEW YORK (AP) — 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). Poster Comment: ibinaround2... I finally broke free of the 2 year contract game. I had a phone I liked well enough, an HTC One x, and went with Cricket. I pay $35 a month for 2.5 gigs, unlimited voice and text. That's it. Cricket is ATT's low cost subsidiary and has the same coverage area and speed. They also have cheap family plans. I save $450 a year over what I was paying ATT . For that I can buy a new OnePlus two. Once you break free, you'll never go back..93-3 Bosu... The price of phones now are ridiculous. I know you pay the price and don't complain as it is not necessarily a necessity, However, should the price of a family plan be the same as buying a compact car? NO. Once I am finished with paying for these phones, no more. I plan to buy one of those plans on tv with a flip phone and 15 dollars a month and tell my college kids to get a job or a Dixie cup with two strings. If we stop paying the price for these smart phones, these companies will come down on the pricing. The consumer drives the market! 202-3 Michael ... Their network is great, but their rates are off the hook. Screw them and their price increase, corporate greed is getting out of order. Notice how the product size keeps shrinking as the price keeps increasing. Items from coffee to paper towels. Even a dozen eggs are selling for $3.50. It's one fist frock after another. Consumer boycotts are the answer, just stop buying the product or find a substitute of equal value. As for eggs just don't buy them, they have a limited shelf life, when the producers get stuck with them the price will come back down to earth. The law of supply and demand always works. 87-1 Kathryn Our most recent visit to a Verizon store was a shocker. We were told that not only would we have to pay the monthly installments for the new phone, which we figured out over the cost of the contract was full price, but that we would have to surrender our old phone, for which we paid cash for and that at the end of contract, even though we would have totally paid for the phone, we would have to surrender that one too to get new phone! We have a 10 gig plan that they didn't want to honor as well. The sales person tried to convince us what a great deal it all was. When we disagreed, she said "you are not hearing me." We heard. What she was saying is that Verizon didn't really want us for a customer. 67 D Don I just laugh at all the people who have to have the Newest Phone and Internet access 24/7. Cell Phone use has become a sickness in this country. I pay $28 a month with a Jitterbug Flip Phone and I'm not missing a thing! Oh, I miss out on someone's latest post on Facebook (A photo of their dinner) or someone has posted the 50th picture of their kid burping... Not to mention all the idiots texting and yacking on their phones while driving. Here's a tip, Shut up and drive, a car is not a Telephone Booth! 51-1 Cobra After retiring I was never so happy as to get rid of my cell phone. I use a Magic Jack on my computer to make calls if I need to but at $35 a year that beats the heck out of my previous cell phone plan. I don't have to worry about forgetting my phone somewhere or losing it. I only had one for my business, so now I don't need it. I never was a "phone person" because I always preferred to speak to someone face to face. That way if they have something derogatory to say to me I could punch them in the nose. 15 Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
Thank you very much, Tatar. Hope folks here will commentate. I'm on a Verizon plan where I have all the time I need on smartphone for about $70/mo probly way too much. I read a slew of good and bad reviews of Magic Jack and tried it. The main number I got to use it with, my folks', simply would not go through -- even after literally 2 or 3 hours on the helpline with them instructing me how to try different fixes.
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