Subsidies, contracts and how the upgrade plans of T-Mobile JUMP!, AT&T Next and Verizon Edge add up

Just last week, we fired up the Cray supercomputers and crunched the numbers of T-Mobile’s new upgrade program called JUMP! Since then, AT&T made its announcement about a similar equipment upgrade plan called AT&T Next. Shortly thereafter, we learned about Verizon working on yet another upgrade program called Verizon Edge.

We should provide you with a caveat, there is some disagreement even amongst us, your humble writers, as to the role that equipment subsidies play in the business model and rate plans, so we have gone to great lengths to compare a number of scenarios.

The issue of subsidies and their role in rate plans will be discussed in the conclusion of this article. For these comparisons, we contrast the upgrade plans as they have been presented by the carriers. Then, we will even the markers up and look at costs if you upgrade equipment at the same interval. We also examine how things line up when you add carrier service plans to the picture. As usual, we are not incorporating taxes because they vary by location.

Unlike the variety in our initial numbers crunch with T-Mobile’s JUMP!, we are only going to address the “preferred” pricing model (that is, what is on their web-site, sans contingencies for bad credit) from T-Mobile. We will also compare costs of two models, the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Apple iPhone with 64GB of storage, two flagship devices with distinctly different price points, plus we picked a lower-priced smart device that might retail in the $400 range (like a Nexus 4). Since lower end devices are not as pervasive across all carriers, the examples will not be a price-point match, but will be relevant to those that are thinking about those devices.

We are also going to look at what it costs if you cancel service with these plans versus being on a regular two-year contract (if applicable). It should make for a very interesting comparison.  Let's turn the page and see what happens.