this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2023
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I want the better camera and larger screen, but I do not want to pay full price. Verizon won’t subsidize it for me because I am still “paying off” the “free” iPhone 13 they gave me when I traded in my pretty new iPhone 11. The “free” consists of them billing me $22 a month, and them paying that charge themselves on the same bill. I’m sure there are explanations for how this benefits them, but I struggle to understand this Rube Goldberg billing strategy.
Telecos make minimal amounts on the hardware - its all in the batshit insane service costs. To give an (out of date ) example, back when ATT was getting rid of contracts I talked with some people who knew the ins and outs. On the contract model, the first 6 months paid for the device subsidy and the network, the last 18 months was pure profit. They where all super excited about the financial gains of no longer needing to do phone subsidies, but still have the customer locked in for 2+ years.
That’s a good point. Profit margins on my $90 a month phone plan must be insane. That said, my home 5G internet is only $35 a month, so I’m not doing that bad.
Correct. The profit margin on your $90 data plan. Is roughly $60-$80 depending on your actual usage.
Your 5g internet is closer to actual cost.
Having a fixed point device is cheaper to service.