Josh OngVerizon officials told SmartMoney Wednesday that the "New Every Two" program will come to an end on Jan. 16. Though customers currently enrolled in the program will still be able to redeem their credits, current customers won't be re-enrolled for the program after their next upgrade, and new customers who sign up after Jan. 16 will be unable to sign up for the program.
The "New Every Two" FAQ on its Verizon website currently gives no indication that the promotion is ending.
The nation's largest wireless carrier is also tightening its early upgrade policy. "Customers who were previously eligible for discounted phones as early as 13 months into a two-year contract will now have to wait 20 months to get a new phone at the promotional new-customer price," the report noted.
A Verizon representative contacted by AppleInsider Wednesday confirmed that the earliest a customer can upgrade to a new phone is 20 months into a 24 month contract. However, some AppleInsider readers report being eligible for an iPhone upgrade on Verizon before the stated 20 month requirement.
In its iPhone FAQ , the carrier clearly states that "Verizon Wireless is not offering any early upgrade promotion at this time."
Apple and Verizon revealed Tuesday that a CDMA iPhone 4 will be coming to Verizon on Feb. 10, with preorders beginning "on or around" Feb. 3. Verizon President Lowell McAdam said in an interview that technical planning for the CDMA iPhone took "six to nine months," while the commercial side took just one day.
Wireless carriers have found themselves caught between customers clamoring for more frequent smartphone upgrades and the need to recoup losses from subsidized handsets. According to Morningstar analyst Michael Hodel, after AT&T offered early upgrades to existing iPhone customers last year when the iPhone 4 was released, the company's profit margins "shrunk considerably."
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40 Comments
Well thats dumb of them to do.
I know they have always historically differed from AT&T on this policy, but its not going to look good for them when all the AT&T subscribers (at least the ones who pay over $100 a month) can upgrade after a year to the latest iPhone, while VZW customers have to wait 20 months.
Hmm...kinda sucks. I like early upgrades, but I realize that it eats into carrier profits. I hope AT&T will keep offering early upgrades. Might give some an incentive to stay.
Well thats dumb of them to do.
I know they have always historically differed from AT&T on this policy, but its not going to look good for them when all the AT&T subscribers (at least the ones who pay over $100 a month) can upgrade after a year to the latest iPhone, while VZW customers have to wait 20 months.
AT&T only did that last year. It was the first sign that AT&T was going to lose their exclusivity with a year as the move locked people into new 2 year contracts, and with higher ETFs. They took a smaller loss then to prevent a larger loss this year. I don?t think they?ll be doing it again.
In a way it's a bit ridiculous that we should NEED a new phone every year. I had my Treo 650 from 2005 until 2009 and it held up well. Do we really need to be able to upgrade our handsets that often?
My iPhone 4 is awesome and I can't see myself having an intense need to upgrade it when the next one comes out. However, in two years I can see upgrading.
I'd say there's a pretty good chance it's related. AT&T pays a large subsidy to Apple for every iPhone sold and Verison will undoubtedly do the same. Apple releases new iPhone every year and people flock to it. That combined with Verizon's early upgrade policy would produce lots of people getting a new iPhone every year and Verizon paying more subsidies more frequently to Apple. Attractive to Apple, not so much to Verizon.
I'm OK with this. Obviously they are investing tons of money into LTE/4G right now and I'd rather them be investing in that instead of paying Apple subsidies hand over fist. 4G will benefit everyone on Verizon, including iPhone users.