Verizon would consider eliminating contracts, but not unless consumers demanded it

T-Mobile (Uncarrier 001)

As T-Mobile this morning started accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 5, its ‘Uncarrier’ initiative is about to be put to the real test. Will consumer prefer paying $20 in monthly installments for their iPhone 5 (with $99 downpayment) in exchange for a more affordable and simpler wireless service plan?

Or, would they rather continue dropping a hundred bucks or more each month for their overpriced wireless service, with no easy way to cancel their long-term commitment without incurring hefty penalties and hidden fees?

We should know in the coming days and weeks as the Deutsche Telekom-owned telco starts selling the popular smartphone beginning next Friday, April 12.

When T-Mobile announced earlier this year it would kill subsidies and offer Apple’s handset on monthly installments, cowardly AT&T and Verizon employed waiting tactics, opting to instead sit on the sidelines and monitor how the situation unfolds rather than improve their own dealings with customers.

When asked to comment on T-Mobile’s new Uncarrier business strategy, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam Wednesday rather ambiguously responded that his company isn’t really ready to kill subsidies right off the bat…

Needles to say, Verizon is so customer-oriented that it’d at least be willing to reconsider its stance – but not unless its customers first demand such a U-turn.

CNET has the full quote:

McAdam said it was “pretty easy” to change up the model to eliminate contracts, and added that he would watch the consumer response that T-Mobile gets from its recent decision to drop contracts and phone subsidies altogether.

He indicated a willingness to follow suit if consumers start asking for it.

So go ahead and start “asking for it” in the hope that Verizon would abandon its exorbitant pricing schemes.

He, of course, is very “happy when I see something different tried.”

And yes, Verizon can react “quickly to consumers’ shifting needs.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpUfKnKmQhk

He gave a similar lame comment back in January, telling Reuters that T-Mobile USA’s new strategy was “very intriguing,” but wondered if consumers are ready to pay full price.

Our little non-scientific poll reveals that about half the respondents are willing to drop their carrier and go with T-Mobile’s Uncarrier.

Verizon Wireless has the best 4G coverage and ranks highest in terms of voice and data service quality, according to both Consumer Reports and Rootmetrics.

What’s your stance on Verizon ignoring what looks to be a new and modern wireless industry business model in the making?