[Evolved]

subsidy noun sub·si·dy \ˈsəb-sə-dē, -zə-\

: money that is paid usually by a government to keep the price of a product or service low or to help a business or organization to continue to function

: a grant or gift of money: as a : a sum of money formerly granted by the British Parliament to the crown and raised by special taxation b : money granted by one state to another c : a grant by a government to a private person or company to assist an enterprise deemed advantageous to the public

Remember the fee they waive if you do AT&T Next? That's the part that pays for the phone. What about before AT&T Next? I think what you're missing is the contract price doesn't magically drop after you "pay off" the phone if it is subsidized. Therefore if it doesn't drop then it was never really increased seeing as the plan prices are the same whether you buy a phone or not (at least they are/were every time I've upgraded). That is the subsidized part that I'm talking about.

In closing, the subsidized cost of my phone was not paid back by me to AT&T as evidenced by the fact that my bill is the same whether I signed a 2 year agreement and bought a phone or not.

This whole time, you've been hiding this beef behind the AT&T Next Plan. Your actual issue is that they don't offer unlimited Data anymore -- fair enough, but that's not what we're talking about here. I haven't been hiding any beef with AT&T about unlimited data since they still grandfather both of my unlimited data lines. My beef is with them trying to hustle me into a worse plan at a higher cost. Why would I care if they offer unlimited data any more if I already have it? Unlimited data or any amount of data for that matter, Next still, in the most literal sense, costs me more money.