SUSPECTED POLICY CHANGE FROM AT&T

May 26 at 9:30 PM

New AT&T policy may restrict Apple Stores from selling iPhone with two-year contract, reports say By Mikey Campbell    

According to multiple unconfirmed reports, AT&T is on the verge of making a major change to its smartphone sales model that will prohibit third-party retailers, like the Apple Store, from selling handsets under two-year contract terms. Current options for purchasing an AT&T iPhone from the Apple Store.  AT&T is planning to restrict local dealer and national retail locations from offering two-year contracts for smartphones, leaving only the AT&T Next installment program as a sales option. The change only applies to non-company stores,  as AT&T will continue to offer contract sales in its own stores and online.  An internal Walmart document   purportedly confirms the plan, with the big-box retailer scheduled to stop on-contract AT&T smartphone sales on May 28.  The change in policy will indeed affect Apple Store options, meaning customers looking for an AT&T iPhone can sign up for an AT&T Next plan or pay full price. Apple added Next as a purchase option last August . An AT&T spokesman declined to comment on the matter. Unlike two-year contracts, which come with an up front fee for subsidized hardware, Next's installment program spreads the full unsubsidized cost over a term of 12, 18 or 24 months, at the end of which customers can trade in the device for a new one. Consumers get the benefit of not having a fixed service contract, but risk having to pay off the device cost in full if they leave prematurely. .