..and why aren't phones automatically unlocked after the contract expires. You have paid off your commitment to them. You own the phone. But are required to continue to pay them to use it.
You're paying to use their network after that, but I'm sure you know that. Were you trying to say, "You own the phone, but are required to continue to pay the same rate to use it"?
2. AT&T (dunno about V) has a pro-rated ETF so it goes down by what $13 a month on a 2 year contract?
3. This is also pretty normal ETF for other counties too.
Meh... nothing to see here... and don't get me wrong, I'll be the first to dog-pile on AT&T or Verizon for just about any 'abusive issue' but this just isn't one of them.
Thanks for stating when need to be said. Oh, and I like the War Games quote.
You're paying to use their network after that, but I'm sure you know that. Were you trying to say, "You own the phone, but are required to continue to pay the same rate to use it"?
It made sense to me. If your phone is still locked to a network after your contract expires, you can only use it with that 1 carrier. In other words, your contract is forever.
It made sense to me. If your phone is still locked to a network after your contract expires, you can only use it with that 1 carrier. In other words, your contract is forever.
Well, if we're talking about the big two, then the phones aren't interchangeable anyway and whether it's locked or not makes no difference. In any case, most people upgrade their phones after the 2-year contract expires anyway (if not before) and that's what really makes your contract "forever".
It could also mean that the iPhone will be sold unlocked. Verizon took the same steps when they settled a class action suit and were required to unlock their phones after the customer fulfills his/her contract.
Well, if we're talking about the big two, then the phones aren't interchangeable anyway and whether it's locked or not makes no difference. In any case, most people upgrade their phones after the 2-year contract expires anyway (if not before) and that's what really makes your contract "forever".
I don't upgrade my phone every 2 years.
It is annoying that AT&T's keeping the iPhone carrier locked, because I can't use it when I am out of country.
God I loathe theses stories and hearing for the one millionth time that:
1. AT&T sucks.
2. Verizon is soo much better (for now)
3. When the iPhone comes to Verizon, I'm... I'm ... gonna dump AT&T and get my iPhone, darnit!
4. I jailbroke/hacked my iPhone and added all this geekware and I'm now I'm so cool, wild and free.
And a new one:
4. AT&T is a greedy, blood-sucking corporation for raising their ETF while Verizon did the same thing (Even for $50 more! and nobody bitches. Welcome to the good, ole capitalist US of A)
Yes, shame on them for trying to keep their customers from leaving their network for the competition (end sarcasm).
If AT&T is so worried about loosing their customers, perhaps they should fix their network. Then people could make phone calls with their $700 smartphones. End sarcasm.
If the ETFs are required for the company to recoup subsidy costs of your phone, then why does the cost of your contract not decrease after two years?
the ETF, by law, goes down each month. trouble is that the law doesn't require it to go down by 1/numberofmonthsincontract. even though the carrier claims that they spread that cost over the whole period. however by their claim with the current fee they recover $7.29 each month on the lowest monthly plan (possibly more with the higher plans which is why you get an upgrade after like 18 months). BUT they only drop $5 off. so if you made it 23 months and for some reason had to cancel, you could end up with a charge of like $55 and not $7.29. with the new fee even if they change it to $10 a month you could end up with a 23rd month charge of like $95. Ouch. something doesn't sound right there. And you can bet they will not offer to waive it out of the kindness of their hearts.
Quote:
Or if you buy an unsubsidized phone, why do you still need to pay that rate?
you don't. If they don't subsidize the phone they can't force you to pay any kind of ETF. I"m not sure they can make you sign a contract for any period either
Funny, customer that buy feature phones (and presumably have cheaper plans) get their ECF reduced. Customers with smart phones (and higher bills) get their ECF doubled.
So, if you are low revenue, we will make it easier for you to leave. If you are a better customer and pay us more, we are going to make it pain in your ass to leave.
nice.
It's called price subsidies, bozo. AT&T pays more to Apple for the iPhone, they offer it to contracted customers for a lower (subsidized) price as long as they fulfill their contract. If they leave early, they owe the ECF. Is that a little too simple for you?
If AT&T is so worried about loosing their customers, perhaps they should fix their network. Then people could make phone calls with their $700 smartphones. End sarcasm.
Weren't you the guy who had the lousy coverage in the Paramus area? Where'd you buy your iPhone? I only paid $199 for my mine.
Personally, I welcome Verizon to the family of iPhone carriers. It could only mean good things for the congestion on AT&T's network and perhaps benefit you as well.
That being said, I think this is another indication that Verizon is getting the iPhone.
hardly. It's just an indication that ATT has seen that Verizon didn't get into legal trouble for raising their ETF so now they are going for more money
Verizon is CDMA and doesn't have any LTE network. so there's no support for the phone. Plus there's no proof that there was a change in the 5 year contract with ATT. or that the exclusivity was just for GSM phones.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tulkas
..and why aren't phones automatically unlocked after the contract expires. You have paid off your commitment to them. You own the phone. But are required to continue to pay them to use it.
the law doesn't require unlocking. All the law says is after you finish your contract, if you are still using the same phone you can quit any time with no cancellation fees etc.
For different people/purposes, I have phones from both T-Mobile and Verizon, and I happen to use AT&T for my own personal phone. You could say I have a finger testing the water in every pot, so to speak.
And my conclusion: why am I not starting one of these companies myself? Every one of them is a racket, IMHumO, and they all gouge your money out of ya! (Whoever said "take an arm and a leg" was obviously talking about the telecom industry.)
The grass isn't greener on ANY side of the fence in this issue. In fact, you can only determine which lawn is browner.
And when one company gets an idea (good or bad, from the consumer's perspective), the others quickly follow suit and play "tit for tat" till the cows come home. (The cows would eat all of the green grass anyway. )
...AT&T are beginning to look more and more evil every day. (as if we didn't already know they were)...
Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer and Adolf Hitler were evil, AT&T on the other hand, no way. They aren't doing anything that any other (large) corporation isn't doing, trying to protect their business and their profits. Does that make them greedy? Perhaps. Does that make them evil? Not by a long shot.
Weren't you the guy who had the lousy coverage in the Paramus area? Where'd you buy your iPhone? I only paid $199 for my mine.
Personally, I welcome Verizon to the family of iPhone carriers. It could only mean good things for the congestion on AT&T's network and perhaps benefit you as well.
Yes indeed that is me. I would have answered sooner but I'm in Fairlawn and had no signal. I paid $299 for mine plus whatever portion of my monthly payments go towards the subsidy. I believe the 16 gig 3G model cost about $700 when the dust was all settled.
My contract is up this July and I have to jump ship. If apple is going to partner with verizon they had better hurry. Or else I will see you in two years when my new contract expires.
Comments
..and why aren't phones automatically unlocked after the contract expires. You have paid off your commitment to them. You own the phone. But are required to continue to pay them to use it.
You're paying to use their network after that, but I'm sure you know that. Were you trying to say, "You own the phone, but are required to continue to pay the same rate to use it"?
As others have said, this is really a non-issue.
1. Verizon is already at this price level
2. AT&T (dunno about V) has a pro-rated ETF so it goes down by what $13 a month on a 2 year contract?
3. This is also pretty normal ETF for other counties too.
Meh... nothing to see here... and don't get me wrong, I'll be the first to dog-pile on AT&T or Verizon for just about any 'abusive issue' but this just isn't one of them.
Thanks for stating when need to be said. Oh, and I like the War Games quote.
You're paying to use their network after that, but I'm sure you know that. Were you trying to say, "You own the phone, but are required to continue to pay the same rate to use it"?
It made sense to me. If your phone is still locked to a network after your contract expires, you can only use it with that 1 carrier. In other words, your contract is forever.
Verizon prorates their ETF. Though they start a bit higher at $350.
So does AT&T.
Worthless greedy pigs! They know Verizon is coming and they want to soak you for bailing out come this fall.
Yes, shame on them for trying to keep their customers from leaving their network for the competition (end sarcasm).
It made sense to me. If your phone is still locked to a network after your contract expires, you can only use it with that 1 carrier. In other words, your contract is forever.
Well, if we're talking about the big two, then the phones aren't interchangeable anyway and whether it's locked or not makes no difference. In any case, most people upgrade their phones after the 2-year contract expires anyway (if not before) and that's what really makes your contract "forever".
Well, if we're talking about the big two, then the phones aren't interchangeable anyway and whether it's locked or not makes no difference. In any case, most people upgrade their phones after the 2-year contract expires anyway (if not before) and that's what really makes your contract "forever".
I don't upgrade my phone every 2 years.
It is annoying that AT&T's keeping the iPhone carrier locked, because I can't use it when I am out of country.
1. AT&T sucks.
2. Verizon is soo much better (for now)
3. When the iPhone comes to Verizon, I'm... I'm ... gonna dump AT&T and get my iPhone, darnit!
4. I jailbroke/hacked my iPhone and added all this geekware and I'm now I'm so cool, wild and free.
And a new one:
4. AT&T is a greedy, blood-sucking corporation for raising their ETF while Verizon did the same thing (Even for $50 more! and nobody bitches. Welcome to the good, ole capitalist US of A)
Yes, shame on them for trying to keep their customers from leaving their network for the competition (end sarcasm).
If AT&T is so worried about loosing their customers, perhaps they should fix their network. Then people could make phone calls with their $700 smartphones. End sarcasm.
If the ETFs are required for the company to recoup subsidy costs of your phone, then why does the cost of your contract not decrease after two years?
the ETF, by law, goes down each month. trouble is that the law doesn't require it to go down by 1/numberofmonthsincontract. even though the carrier claims that they spread that cost over the whole period. however by their claim with the current fee they recover $7.29 each month on the lowest monthly plan (possibly more with the higher plans which is why you get an upgrade after like 18 months). BUT they only drop $5 off. so if you made it 23 months and for some reason had to cancel, you could end up with a charge of like $55 and not $7.29. with the new fee even if they change it to $10 a month you could end up with a 23rd month charge of like $95. Ouch. something doesn't sound right there. And you can bet they will not offer to waive it out of the kindness of their hearts.
Or if you buy an unsubsidized phone, why do you still need to pay that rate?
you don't. If they don't subsidize the phone they can't force you to pay any kind of ETF. I"m not sure they can make you sign a contract for any period either
I don't upgrade my phone every 2 years.
Well, I did say most, not all.
It is annoying that AT&T's keeping the iPhone carrier locked, because I can't use it when I am out of country.
Well, you could, but you'd have to pay the international roaming rates (but I know what you meant).
AT&T open letter
Funny, customer that buy feature phones (and presumably have cheaper plans) get their ECF reduced. Customers with smart phones (and higher bills) get their ECF doubled.
So, if you are low revenue, we will make it easier for you to leave. If you are a better customer and pay us more, we are going to make it pain in your ass to leave.
nice.
It's called price subsidies, bozo. AT&T pays more to Apple for the iPhone, they offer it to contracted customers for a lower (subsidized) price as long as they fulfill their contract. If they leave early, they owe the ECF. Is that a little too simple for you?
If AT&T is so worried about loosing their customers, perhaps they should fix their network. Then people could make phone calls with their $700 smartphones. End sarcasm.
Weren't you the guy who had the lousy coverage in the Paramus area? Where'd you buy your iPhone? I only paid $199 for my mine.
Personally, I welcome Verizon to the family of iPhone carriers. It could only mean good things for the congestion on AT&T's network and perhaps benefit you as well.
That being said, I think this is another indication that Verizon is getting the iPhone.
hardly. It's just an indication that ATT has seen that Verizon didn't get into legal trouble for raising their ETF so now they are going for more money
Verizon is CDMA and doesn't have any LTE network. so there's no support for the phone. Plus there's no proof that there was a change in the 5 year contract with ATT. or that the exclusivity was just for GSM phones.
..and why aren't phones automatically unlocked after the contract expires. You have paid off your commitment to them. You own the phone. But are required to continue to pay them to use it.
the law doesn't require unlocking. All the law says is after you finish your contract, if you are still using the same phone you can quit any time with no cancellation fees etc.
This sure seems like an indication that the exclusivity is done next month, and that the iPhone might be on Verizon and others.
Hardly. There are way too many variables for this to be any sort of reliable indicator of what you say.
AT&T are beginning to look more and more evil every day. (as if we didn't already know they were)
They're as evil as anybody. Well, maybe not as evil as Verizon, which started charging $350 ETF about a year ago.
And my conclusion: why am I not starting one of these companies myself? Every one of them is a racket, IMHumO, and they all gouge your money out of ya! (Whoever said "take an arm and a leg" was obviously talking about the telecom industry.)
The grass isn't greener on ANY side of the fence in this issue. In fact, you can only determine which lawn is browner.
And when one company gets an idea (good or bad, from the consumer's perspective), the others quickly follow suit and play "tit for tat" till the cows come home. (The cows would eat all of the green grass anyway.
...AT&T are beginning to look more and more evil every day. (as if we didn't already know they were)...
Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer and Adolf Hitler were evil, AT&T on the other hand, no way. They aren't doing anything that any other (large) corporation isn't doing, trying to protect their business and their profits. Does that make them greedy? Perhaps. Does that make them evil? Not by a long shot.
Weren't you the guy who had the lousy coverage in the Paramus area? Where'd you buy your iPhone? I only paid $199 for my mine.
Personally, I welcome Verizon to the family of iPhone carriers. It could only mean good things for the congestion on AT&T's network and perhaps benefit you as well.
Yes indeed that is me. I would have answered sooner but I'm in Fairlawn and had no signal. I paid $299 for mine plus whatever portion of my monthly payments go towards the subsidy. I believe the 16 gig 3G model cost about $700 when the dust was all settled.
My contract is up this July and I have to jump ship. If apple is going to partner with verizon they had better hurry. Or else I will see you in two years when my new contract expires.