AT&T Confirmed End of Two Year Plan

AT&T recently confirmed that it will end the two-year contract to the consumer on January 8. The carrier said at the beginning of this week both new as well as the existing customers should either buy a new phone at retail price or through AT&T Next, its equipment installed plan (EIP). This move had already been disclosed last week in an internal document which was sent to employees and accessed by Engadget.

 

AT&T’s decision comes as no surprise. Only one of five customers chose a contract plan when they signed up with AT&T and upgraded their phones. T-Mobile completely broke away from the contracts nearly three years ago, and Verizon suddenly stopped offering contracts to its new customers in August. Sprint has also constantly been weighing the option to drop contracts completely.

Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure stated in the Associated Press in September that discounted, contract phones- including his company’s - amount to a gimmick, a trick. You make people happy by saying I’m going to give you a free cell phone, but the customer is actually paying for a more expensive service plan. 

Moreover, AT&T’s statement confirmed the move and notes that its customers are overwhelmingly choosing AT&T Next rather than signing the contract for other subsidized phones. AT&T’s new contract policy not only applies to cell phones but also to various feature phones. However, it doesn’t apply to business customers under a qualified wireless service agreement, the carrier confirmed in a prepared statement. In addition, AT&T will continue to sell tablets, IoT devices and some other devices on contract. 

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