Last updated on January 18th, 2023 at 06:02 am
Last week was full of excitement and the wireless world had been shaken. The initiative was taken by T-Mobile which introduced Jump Program to upgrade your device, then Sprint ignited the wave by launching budget unlimited plans. AT&T also jumped onto the bandwagon
and introduced the “Next” program similar to T-Mobile’s Jump program. America’s largest wireless carrier, Verizon Wireless has also announced its Upgrade device plan called VeriZon Edge.
Even though all these plans seem similar and their details in the media may also appeal to different people but the real cost comes out with detailed analysis so Let us analyze all these four plans and see which one would be beneficial to a wireless customer.
For better understanding, let us do some math with an example of the latest smartphone Samsung Galaxy S4 which is priced in the open market at $ 650.
T-Mobile Jump: The cost of the Samsung Galaxy S4 comes here at $20 a month over 24 months plus an upfront cost of $150 for the Galaxy S4 plus $10 for the SIM card.
You can choose the lowest monthly plan that offers you unlimited talk, text, and data for just $70 per month and on top of all these, $10 is to be added for the device upgrade Jump program.
Hence the table shows that first month you just have to pay $230 and within 6 months you are going to pay $730 to be eligible to upgrade the device twice a year after joining the program. T-Mobile also covers insurance of the device against loss, theft, and damage with a deductible of $175.
AT&T Next: The Next program lets you upgrade your device once in a year after joining the program. AT&T offers the Galaxy S4 for an extra cost of $32 a month spread over 20 months payment plan. The beauty of the Next program is that you are not supposed to pay a down payment for your favorite device Samsung Galaxy S4.
The most economical plan with AT&T is its Mobile Share plan which offers unlimited talk, text, and 1GB of data for just $85 per month so the first month and every subsequent month you are required to pay $117 only. If you want to cover your device under insurance then AT&T charges $7 a month with a deductible of $200.
Verizon Edge: Verizon has also announced its upcoming device upgrade plan named VZ Edge starting from 25 Aug. In this program the total cost of Galaxy S4 is spread over 24 months so its monthly payment comes to $27.08. For convenience, we consider here $27 only. For service, we can choose the lowest plan of Shae everything plan of $90 which offers unlimited talk, text, and 1GB data so your first-month payment would be $117 and in the subsequent month, you have to pay the same payment of $117.
Verizon is also not asking down payment for the device but at the time of upgrading your device, which you can do every six months, you have to pay 50% of the total cost of your device. In this example you pay $27 multiplied by 6 comes $162 for the device within six months so you have to pay the balance of $325-$162=$163 at the time of upgrading your device after the first six months.
The comparison table:
| T-Mobile's Jump | AT&T's Next | Verizon Edge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Device upgrade Program fee | $10 per month (includes insurance) | $0 | $0 |
| Device down payment | $160 (including SIM starter kit) | $0 | $0 |
| Monthly device payment | $20 | $32 | $27 |
| Monthly voice, text and data plans | $70 (Unlimited voice, text and data) | $85 (Unlimited voice and text, 1GB data) | $90 (Unlimited voice and text, 1GB of data) |
| First month total payment | $230 | $117 | $117 |
| Subsquent monthly payment | $100 | $117 | $117 |
| Total payment after six month | $730 | $702 | $702 |
| Additional payment if you upgrade your device | Down payment of new device | $0 | $163 (balance of 50%) |
| Total payment in One year | $1330 | $1408 | $1408 |
Which Program appeals to you most?
T-Mobile’ Jump is the cheapest option and AT&T’ Next is a slightly more expensive option if you upgrade your device once a year. The upcoming Verizon edge would also be expensive as compared to T-Mobile after six months of service.
T-Mobile not only allows you to upgrade your device at a cheaper price of $10 but also insurance your device. T-Mobile has the cheapest monthly of $70 which offers you unlimited talk, text, and data usage.
But the real patch with T-Mobile is the down payment of the device at the time of upgrade which may add another $150-$200 to your annual cost. AT&T and Verizon don’t require a down payment for their devices at the time of upgrade.
If you don’t require to upgrade your device then Sprint has the best plan for your device, it offers unlimited talk, text, and data for $80 only. T-Mobile offers the same plan for $70.
Note: The carriers will consider the total cost of the device while calculating monthly payments but you may get the same device at a discounted price. In this example, all carriers will take $650 for the Galaxy S4 but it may be purchased at amazon.com for as low as $577.
