Sprint

Change of plans? Sprint might not be dropping two-year contracts at the end of the year

posted by Alan F. / Dec 23, 2015, 10:55 PM

Change of plans? Sprint might not be dropping two-year contracts at the end of the year

Back in August, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure commented that the carrier was going to end offering two-year contracts and subsidized phones to consumers by the end of the year. While not an official announcement, the fact that the comment came from Sprint's CEO gave it plenty of weight. You might recall that it was T-Mobile that was first to get off the contract merry-go-round in March 2013. Subsidized phone contracts have been replaced by equipment installment plans, which allow a phone buyer to pay $0 down (if qualified) and pay monthly for a set period of time for a new phone.

But a report published today says that Sprint no longer seems committed to doing away with subsidized phone sales. A Sprint spokesman was quoted as saying that customers still have various options when it comes to acquiring a phone, including purchasing a device at full retail, paying monthly through an installment contract, leasing the unit, or by signing a two-year pact.

Sprint has focused on leasing phones to develop certain plans such as its iPhone Forever offering. For $22 a month above the cost of his current plan, a Sprint subscriber can guarantee that he will always be rockin' the latest iPhone. But the trick is that the customer is only leasing the device. If it breaks, is lost or stolen, or if the consumer says buh bye to Sprint, the balance of the full retail price of the phone must be paid off immediately (if not sooner).

"The $199, that is a thing of the past. The industry has changed. Consumers used to pay $199 for a phone, but they used to pay a much higher monthly fee. So I think one of the great things about the industry is we have unbundled it."-Marcelo Claure, Sprint CEO in August

Considering that we are close to the end of the year, we should expect Sprint to announce its intentions in the days ahead. The carrier has been overtaken by T-Mobile, and is now the fourth largest mobile operator in the U.S.

source: FierceWireless

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10 Comments

1. Hexa-core

Posts: 2131; Member since: Aug 11, 2015

Hate the 2-year contract stuff! It's another form of extortion. I rather get my device contract-free!

posted on Dec 24, 2015, 8:12 AM 1

3. TheOriginal

Posts: 49; Member since: Oct 28, 2015

me too... no chains and I can use awesome phones that no one else has. right now i have a oneplus 2 but because of my short fingers ill be switching back to a z3 compact.

posted on Dec 24, 2015, 10:27 AM 0

2. true1984

Posts: 864; Member since: May 23, 2012

there may be something wrong with me but i actually like the 2 year plans

posted on Dec 24, 2015, 8:16 AM 2

4. TheOriginal

hey youre right, i work att customer service and it works out better for alot of people that are on a budget or only get a phone every so often.

posted on Dec 24, 2015, 10:28 AM 0

10. lp_522

Posts: 46; Member since: May 31, 2011

true1984, You sir, have good economic instincts. 2 year contracts and easy installments are the same spade, as in the same thing. Remaining Phone Balances are due when you cancel, just the same as an ETF waiting for you on contract. Phones that cost ~$600 would only cost you $199/$250, or even dirt cheaper at places like Best Buy/Amazon. Now they stopped doing that and passed the cost on to the consumers. And all they did was reduce monthly charges by a small fraction and kept the subsidy money they would've spent in their pocket.

posted on Jan 30, 2016, 2:58 AM 0

5. eman99

Posts: 409; Member since: Aug 03, 2010

Its a whole lot better yo buy 2yr contract rather spending on a monthly fee plus your plan service and if you have a family you add up each phone plus the monthly plan its way to much. Buy the phone up front and just pay your plan rate

posted on Dec 24, 2015, 11:25 AM 0

6. Hexa-core

That's what I meant. 2-year contract does more harm than good. Because you'll end up spending way more that when you buy the device upfront.

posted on Dec 25, 2015, 7:08 AM 0

7. lp_522

why would I lease a Galaxy 6 for 12 months at 18.00 a month ($216 after 24 months) when I could sign a contract and buy it for $49?? I can still sell the phone for a profit when my upgrade comes again. I need a phone, why would I break a contract? "Leasing" or "Easy Installments" is simply another way of fleecing customers. If you decide to stop paying you STILL have to pay the remaining installment amount!! They wont simply take the phone back.

posted on Dec 25, 2015, 8:17 AM 1

8. DnB925Art

Posts: 1167; Member since: May 23, 2013

Exactly this. Easy pay and leasing are just contracts in another form. In fact, in many cases buying under contract can be a lot cheaper. You can get plenty of flagship phones during sales and specials as low as $0. For example, I bought my Note 4 during a promo where it only costs me $50 for 2 year contract. If I decide to leave Sprint, I pay no more than $350 ETF (which goes down the closer you're near the end of the 2 year term). If I broke the contract after only a month in, I pay $400 total tops. Under installments, I would end up paying for the full price of the phone at $720 ($30 x 2 years at the time I bought it last year). Mind you this plan works best with FLAGSHIP phones ($600+ range) and not low/mid range phones which have MSRPs that are a lot lower.