About a month ago Deutsche Telekom AG announced that T-Mobile USA would completely stop subsidising phones in 2013, and instead continue to offer what equates to interest free financing. The bright side for us as consumers is that the monthly bill gets cheaper because there is no equipment to pay for, and it makes it easy to bring your own device. Today the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Verizon Chief Executive Lowell McAdam is pretty interested in how all this will play out, and thinks it is "a great thing".
While he may like the idea of ending subsidies (what CEO wouldn't like to cut out a costly policy) he is not very sure that the customers will bite. AT&T Mobility Chief Ralph de la Vega also said that they are watching the T-Mobile strategy, and AT&T could make a similar move if it becomes popular.
As it stands now, neither of the big two US carriers think customers like the idea of paying for their own phone and saving money monthly. With good reason -- people hate change, and people hate spending hundreds of dollars in up front costs. But if Verizon (or AT&T) would cut back on the monthly fees like T-Mobile has done, we think this would be a great thing as well.
What say you? Holler in the comments.
Source: Wall Street Journal
