But most people do not cancel their contract after one month; they just wait out the term because carrier quality rarely changes so quickly that it's worth eating hundreds of dollars in termination fees to switch.
> But most people do not cancel their contract after one
> month; they just wait out the term because carrier quality
> rarely changes so quickly that it's worth eating hundreds
> of dollars in termination fees to switch.
In other words, most people are gambling that they will save money over the course of a contract. They're gambling that:
That they don't break or lose their phone during the contract.
That they don't go overseas for a trip and end up paying expensive roaming charges or not using their fancy new phone.
That they can't save money by switching to another carrier (and this can be unexpected: see T-Mobile refarm).
That their home (or office or other place they care about coverage) doesn't move somewhere where their contracted carrier doesn't have acceptable coverage.
And that their definition of acceptable coverage doesn't change (e.g. being comfortable with HSPA coverage at the start of a contract, but later wanting LTE coverage for their new LTE phone).
That they don't end up in a committed relationship with someone on another carrier (preventing them from saving money by consolidating to a family plan).
And, and, and...
Do plenty of people win the gamble? Absolutely. Do plenty of people lose it too? Absolutely.
But you can't pretend that the gamble is cost-free. There are plenty of costs and strings attached.
But most people do not cancel their contract after one month; they just wait out the term because carrier quality rarely changes so quickly that it's worth eating hundreds of dollars in termination fees to switch.