Before, customers who opted for Verizon's Edge plan had essentially been paying for their phones twice - through the installments and again as part of monthly service bills that include the costs of phone subsidies that Edge customers weren't taking advantage of. The discount doesn't fully cover the installments on high-end phones, but it helps.
AT&T Inc. has already offered $15-a-month discounts for people on its Next installment plan, while T-Mobile did away with subsidies and reduced all service charges last March.
In both cases, customers save if they buy their own device elsewhere and don't participate in the carrier's installment program. Verizon's discounts apply only to its installment customers.
