Verizon today confirmed that it’s making some changes to its Edge program that will bring down monthly device payments but also increase the time between upgrades.
First reported on Droid Life, Verizon is spreading payments out across 24 months, instead of 20 months. The carrier will also require that customers pay for 75 percent of their device before upgrading, which is more than the current rate of 60 percent.
That means customers will now have to wait 18 months for their first upgrade, whereas they used to be able to upgrade every 12 months.
Verizon will now offer a $15 discount to all plans within 500MB to 8GB plans, when the subscriber is enrolled in Edge. That’s up from $10 previously. All plans 8GB and above plans still receive the $25 discount so long as they’re enrolled in Edge.
Verizon’s plan is close to what AT&T offers. AT&T currently offers Next 12 and Next 18. Next 12 divides the regular price of the smartphone into 20 monthly installments and users can then trade in their smartphone for an upgrade after 12 installments. Meanwhile, Next 18 divides the regular price of the smartphone into 24 monthly installments and users can then trade in their smartphone to upgrade after 18 installments.
Along with the changes to Edge, Verizon also tweaked its More Evertyhing plans. The carrier will now offer a $20 500 MB plan, with unlimited talk and text, which carries a $15 overage fee for ever 250 MB a user goes above their cap.
Filed Under: Carriers
