In a sign of the changing times, Sprint has just announced that they will be putting an end to their two-year contracts and replacing that system with better options that do not require customers to be committed to a binding contract. This makes Sprint the third of the four major mobile phone networks (Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile) to do away with the outdated system.
The Last Survivor
Earlier this month, Verizon announced that it was getting rid of its two-year contracts and replacing them with more user-friendly month-to-month payment plan options. T-Mobile did away with its two-year contracts over two years ago, leading the charge against the unfriendly and often frustrating system.
Sprint’s announcement that it, too, is getting rid of contracts means that AT&T is now the sole major mobile phone network to still have two-year contract plans for their phones. However, the sole survivor has shown signs that it, too, could eventually be getting rid of the outdated system eventually. Many AT&T users are now opting to buy their phones outright in a payment system rather than be locked down by the two-year contract process.
Two-Year Contracts Face Extinction
With Sprint bidding farewell to the two-year contract process of phone ownership, and AT&T customers preferring to pay for their phone directly instead of going the contract route, one has to wonder just how much longer two-year contracts will still be around. Someday, the notion of the two-year contract system will become just another thing that separates the generations, as parents will have to tell their phone-seeking kids something along the lines of, “When I was your age and I wanted a new phone, we had to sign a contract that bound us to that carrier for two whole years!”
What is Replacing Sprint’s Two-Year Contracts?
Instead of having to sign a contract, Sprint customers will now have to buy their phone at full price on the spot, set up a payment plan that spans two years, or lease their phone from the company. This makes it easier for customers to know exactly how much they are paying every month for their phone and for their service. Abandoning contracts enables customers to compare prices across the networks much easier, making the whole experience of shopping around for a new phone a much less complicated process.
In light of this growing trend of abandoning two-year contracts, carriers are now trying to outdo each other on the deals they offer to potential customers. For instance, Sprint currently offers the cheapest plan for iPhones out of the top four mobile phone networks, and it has offered to cut customers’ bills in half if they switch to Sprint from AT&T or Verizon. When the new iPhone comes out, Sprint has said that customers will be able to grab one with unlimited data for just $75 a month after they trade in an old smartphone.
With this latest announcement from Sprint, it’s only a matter of time before AT&T also does away with two-year contracts altogether and the outdated system goes the way of the dinosaur.
