Hello all, here's a question, since it was announced that AT&T will no longer share revenue with Apple does this now mean that owners of the unsubsidized 1st generation iphone will be able to get out of their 2 year contracts early without a Early Termination Fee?
iMac 20",
Mac OS X (10.5.3),
iPhone user, Airport Extreme
An ETF applies when you terminate your contract to move to another provider or discontinue service with your current provider. It doesn't apply if you're getting a new contract with the same provider.
The first generation iPhone was not subsidized in the traditional way, as the iPhone 3G will be subsidized.
at&t did not provide a subsidy or a discount to you on the sales price of the first generation iPhone.
I became an at&t subscriber 3-4 months prior to the iPhone being available. I selected a phone that was subsidized by at&t agreeing to a new two year contract. I activated my iPhone as an existing subscriber agreeing to a new two year contract on my iPhone's activation date. I was not charged an early contract termination fee or any penalty when doing so, and I still have my original phone that was subsidized by at&t which I've used with my iPhone's SIM card on occasion.
The same should apply when purchasing the iPhone 3G, which will require agreeing to a new two year contract beginning on the activation date for the 3G iPhone with no early contract termination fee penalty for the existing iPhone - which was not subsidized in the traditional way as the iPhone 3G will be subsidized.
There is no early termination fee in this situation.
The ETF applies when leaving a cellular provider for a different provider while still under contract with a phone that was subsidized by the provider in the traditional way.
I guess AT&T will have the final answer on this, cant see how they would justify an ETF for an unsubsidized phone with no revenue sharing agreement. Thank you for your replies.