Cell phone plans are finally getting cheaper for no-contract customers. AT&T announced on Thursday that it is giving customers a break by switching around various elements in its mobile share plans.
The savings for no-contract customers will only apply to those who pay the full price for their cell phone, have a compatible phone for their network, and join the monthly AT&T Next plan.
AT&T received a lot of stick for not tweeking their prices for no-contract plans. Competitors T-Mobile and Sprint each have far more attractive cell phone plans by offering a discount for not using a subsidized phone.
Both T-Mobile and Sprint have seen increases in revenues in the last quarter from their no-contract deals, and most commentators think it’s about time that AT&T followed suit.
However, AT&T denies that their new AT&T Next plans have anything to do with the competition they are facing: “We see competitors on our left and on our right. We’re really focused straight ahead on what our customers are asking for,” said Mark Siegel from AT&T .
The real savings for customers come with the charge per device where the charge used to be between $30 and $50. Under the new tariff, using a no-contract smartphone, the fee is a flat $25 per month for the phone and $55 for the data.
Unfortunately, the new AT&T cell phone plans seem to be too little too late. Even though they are cheaper than AT&T’s previous plans, they still aren’t as cheap as parallel plans offered by Sprint and T-Mobile.
Whichever cell phone plan you decide to go with. there is no question that AT&T are finally addressing the no-contract issue with their customers as they try to compete in an ever increasingly competitive market.
