[jobu]

The problem is with a new 2-year contract on an AT&T Family Plan you end up paying $15 - $25 more each month for the contract.

So for an iPhone 5S on a 2-year contract with a 10GB plan you pay $199 up front and then $25/mo for two years with a grand total of $799 over two years.

AT&T's new pricing structure is a mess

[achompas]

Yeah, I think they've done this to encourage customers to use AT&T Next instead of signing a 2-year contract. Purchasing a phone with AT&T Next, then foregoing the upgrade, is exactly the same as the old-school 2-year contract.