T-Mobile customers might be able to keep their rate plans even if AT&T acquires the company, but even a new clause doesn’t make the reality much better. Soon after AT&T announced its bid to buy T-Mobile, it eased T-Mobile customer concerns by saying they could keep their current rate plans. Of course, that all figured to change once a customer’s contract expired. Earlier this week TmoNews.com reported that T-Mobile employees got an update on that front. Not only will T-Mobile customers keep their current rate plans, but they can keep them “even when their term ends and the service continues on a month-to-month basis.” (Emphasis mine.)That’s all fine and good, but it doesn’t help people who intend to upgrade. Upgrading has become a regular part of the cell phone industry. It’s the payoff after two years spent with a wireless carrier. You pledge your loyalty for another two years, and they give you a hefty discount on a handset. From the sounds of the T-Mobile employee FAQ, that’s when things will start to migrate towards AT&T. Since there is no mention of what happens when a customer wants a new phone, we can presume that they’ll have to pick something from the AT&T side. This affects no customers greater than those with smartphones. As you can see detailed on the myriad tech blogs, new handsets hit the market every week. There’s always a shiny new toy for smartphone users, and the business model of the US wireless industry makes it possible for users to upgrade every two years for a reasonable fee. But if a T-Mobile customer wants to upgrade her smartphone to the latest model, she’ll soon have to pick a new, more restrictive plan with AT&T. The changeover, of course, is well within AT&T’s rights. It’s also expected. There is little sense in acquiring a company and then not assimilating it — for reference, see Sprint’s acquisition of Nextel. The easing of the terms is a simple play by AT&T to gain more support for the transaction. It’ll work, for sure. But it shouldn’t. Not much changes at all. If you want a new smartphone, you’ll have to sign up with AT&T.
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You are assuming that people are going to keep propagating the 2/yr contract + discounted phone model.
I purposefully have the tmo monthly family plan and buy phones for my girlfriend and myself out of pocket. Sure you have to cough up some cash for the phone, but the monthly family plan is so much cheaper than any contract plan that I save money in the end.
Awesome. The reason I left Att was because of their greed…now it seems like they’re getting me back…