A petition on Change.org that urges Verizon Wireless to do away with two-year contracts has notched nearly 100,000 signatures in less than two weeks.
Mike Beauchamp, a Verizon customer, wrote that he does not anticipate leaving the carrier but that he wants that choice for himself.
“Verizon’s CEO, Lowell McAdam, has already expressed his willingness to do away with them if consumers speak loud enough about it. So here’s your chance,” Beauchamp wrote in the description of his petition.
McAdam did in fact say to reporters earlier this month that it would be “pretty easy” for Verizon to switch to a no-contract model and that he would continue to monitor consumer response to T-Mobile’s recent move away from contracts.
At a press event last month, a fiery T-Mobile CEO John Legere decried the current carrier standard business model as he announced his company would do away with both contracts and phone subsidies. Instead, T-Mobile now offers Simple Choice plans that come with payment options for devices, often entailing a down payment followed by 24 monthly payments.
In addition to Verizon’s contract plans, Beauchamp has also expressed displeasure with the company’s recent move extending device upgrade cycles to a full 24 months for Verizon customers.
When reached for comment, Verizon provided the following statement, “Verizon Wireless has for years offered many different choices for customers, including contract plans or month-to-month plans that do not require a contract.”
