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AT&T Next to offer yearly upgrades as part of new monthly installment plan
Could it be that T-Mobile's efforts aren't going unnoticed in the wireless community after all? Less than a week after John Legere unveiled Jump -- and just hours after we heard rumors about Verizon's forthcoming upgrade program -- AT&T has taken the wraps off of AT&T Next, an upgrade program that begins on July 26th. Next takes some elements of Jump and the UnCarrier's monthly installment model and adds its own spice to it. So here's how it works: instead of paying for a subsidized phone or tablet and agreeing to a two-year contract, the retail price of the device gets split up into twenty separate monthly payments that get added to your standard bill (so yes, it's still technically a financial commitment -- just done in a different manner). You can pay off the phone faster, if you prefer, or just stick out the 20-month period. As an example, the Samsung Galaxy S 4 will cost you $32 a month on top of your standard wireless plan. While that doesn't sound like a bedazzling option, AT&T is hoping to sweeten the deal by letting Next customers trade in their current handset or slab after the first year of use and swap it out for a fresh model. This won't cost you anything up front, but it resets your monthly payment plan back to month zero. We asked AT&T if these plans will come with any other hidden restrictions or if certain features will be shunned in favor of the traditional contract, and we were assured that they would remain the same across the board; we even confirmed that grandfathered unlimited data plans are still allowed on Next. As for other matters of fine print, all tablets and phones (including the iPhone) are available through the program, and you won't have to worry about upgrade or activation fees, though the standard credit check applies. Small business customers won't be able to take advantage of Next at the time of launch, but AT&T tells us that it's coming and we'll have it by the end of the year. It also appears likely that this isn't meant to be an eventual replacement to the existing two-year contract option. Your move, Verizon.
Sprint reportedly cancelling its early upgrade program June 1st (update)
Like dominoes, Sprint's consumer-friendly policies continue to fall one at a time. Citing "high costs," the Now Network will begin discontinuing its practice of allowing customers to upgrade their phone 10-14 days prior to the official date of eligibility. According to the memo leaked by TechnoBuffalo, the program will cease to exist as of June 1st. It sounds like this policy change is an unfortunate consequence of the company's large investments in iPhones and its still-dormant LTE network. It may not be enough to convince many Sprint customers to jump ship, but this isn't the first cost-cutting measure put forth by Dan Hesse's team -- and we have a hard time believing it will be the last. We've reached out to Sprint for official comment and will update you as soon as we have word. Update: Sprint sent us a statement about the matter, which you can read below. Apparently, no actual changes to the policy are taking place -- rather, a "reason code" used by customer care representatives to justify early upgrades was removed. Here's Sprint's statement on the policy: We are not making any policy change regarding our phone upgrades. In fact, the 14-day upgrade window was never a program or a policy to our customers - so there is nothing to cancel. We are removing a 'reason code' that made it possible for care reps to sometimes offer an early upgrade - but that code in the system was redundant with the early upgrade benefit we already offer customers. The reality is we already provide customers an early upgrade benefit when they sign up for service by rolling their upgrade eligibility back to the first day of the month. So, if you purchase a phone on the 31st of the month - your upgrade eligibility is rolled to the first of the month (after 20 months). So, that is a 30 day early upgrade advantage. If you bought your phone on the 18th of the month - you would have an 18 day early upgrade advantage, etc. And, if customers have an issue with an inoperable or broken phone before the upgrade date, there are several options they can check into - depending on if they have insurance, they can work with our Service & Repair, or they can buy a refurbished phone, or, in some cases, we can buy back the customer's phone.
AT&T iPhone "rebate" clarification
Yesterday, Twitter was abuzz with incorrect rumors that current iPhone owners would have to trade-in their 2G phones in order to upgrade to the iPhone 3G. I spoke with AT&T's mobility media contact yesterday and confirmed that the rumors were bogus, but after the original source posted a clarification and retraction, we didn't think it was necessary to post, fearing it might just confuse readers further.However, today we received a tip from a reader linking to a FinancialWire story that mentions an exchange/rebate option for AT&T customers, but does not properly explain the procedure and the eligibility. Because I spoke with AT&T yesterday, I would like to set the record straight.As Mark Siegel from AT&T explained to me yesterday, "AT&T wants to be as fair as possible to customers who very recently purchased an iPhone." Thus, if you purchased an iPhone from an AT&T store AFTER May 27, 2008, you have the option of returning the phone to an AT&T store between July 11, 2008 and August 1, 2008 for the new iPhone 3G. Those customers will also be refunded the difference between the price paid for the 2G iPhone and the iPhone 3G.I commend AT&T on taking such a proactive and consumer-friendly approach.Just to reiterate: if you bought a 2G iPhone BEFORE May 27, 2008 and you want to upgrade to the new iPhone 3G, you can do so at the subsidized price ($199 or $299), as long as you sign and new two-year contract and add-on the 3G data plan (this plan will replace any data plan you currently have for the iPhone). You do NOT need to trade-in your old phone.Thanks Mark!
