Verizon Shortens Edge Upgrade Waiting Period To 30 Days

After T-Mobile's rather biting offer, almost a bribe, for subscribers from other carriers to switch sides, it was only a matter of time before those carriers bit back. Now Verizon is announcing a revised Edge plan, shortening the 6-month wait to 30 days, to keep their customers from jumping ship.

At CES 2014, T-Mobile announced that it will be basically paying for those evil Early Termination Fees (ETF) that practically keep subscribers locked into their current network carriers. Switchers will then be able to move over to T-Mobile's more family-friendly Simple Choice Plan, but will also have to surrender their carrier-given device.

Suffice it to say, this overt attempt to poach customers didn't sit well with T-Mobile's competitors. Verizon is fighting back by cutting down the waiting period for its customers to upgrade to another device under their Verizon Edge offering.

Launched in July last year, Verizon Edge allowed subscribers to change to a new device after 6 months if at least 50 percent of the device's value has already been paid. Today, Verizon announced that customers will be able to make the upgrade in just 30 days. There are, however, a few caveats. First, they still need to have paid off at least 50 percent of the phone's price. New customers must also pass credit checks before they can become eligible for this new offer.

This new Verizon Edge setup is not available even to existing prepaid customers. It is also just a promotion, meaning Verizon can choose at any time to revert to the old 6-month period. For now, though, the company has not said when that end date will be.

VIA: CNET