The idea of being able to buy yourself a brand new smartphone for a couple of hundred dollars is an appealing one. Of course this means you will have to sign up for a contract with a carrier, but then again if you need the line and the data, we guess it really makes no difference, right? Well it seems that come 2015, Sprint might start to do away with phone subsidies.
During an investor conference calls, Sprint’s CEO Marcelo Claure revealed that the carrier is thinking about doing away with phone subsidies in 2015. Instead of subsidies, the carrier could be looking to follow in the footsteps of T-Mobile and offer installment and leasing programs instead. As it stands, Sprint offers customers a leasing program for the iPhone which allows for annual upgrades.
However according to Sprint’s CFO Joe Euteneuer, the carrier’s decision to go ahead and do away with subsidies will depend on how the carrier’s leasing program fares, after which it will be up to Claure to decide if they want to go all in on it. Given that T-Mobile has seen tremendous growth after introducing their Uncarrier campaign, it doesn’t come as a surprise that carriers such as Sprint are looking to emulate their strategy.
AT&T and Verizon are also offering similar installment plans, although at the same time they have yet to make the full transition as both carriers still offer subsidies on their phones that requires their customers to sign two-year contracts. In any case what do you guys think of Sprint’s plan? Would you like to see them go full steam with an installment plan or leasing options instead of subsidies?
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