Dude I just showed you exactly what they do, with a screenshots from their billing, I know how this stuff works. Whatever let, let me break it down for you.

They USED to subsidize the cost of the phone because they knew you would be locked into a 2 year contract and if you cancelled service you were charged a $350 cancellation fee, now you pay an installment and if you cancel you have to pay off the rest of the remaining balance on the phone, which could be $600+ depending on when you cancel.

I just got off the phone with At&t to verify pricing, the legacy At&t Family 900 plan was 79.99 for the first two lines and then 29.99 for unlimited family texting, and $20 per line for 2GB of data. For two lines that comes out to. ~$164 per month after taxes. When you upgraded, you paid the $200 fee and that was it, nothing more per month.

WITH 2 At&t next plans, my current monthly bill is $183 after taxes and will be for the next 30 months, so I'm paying ~$20 more per month with the installment plan. I also have discounts on my account, If I didn't have them (which the average person probably doesn't), I would be paying ~$213, so give or take $50 more than what I used to pay.

24 Month Period:
Old billing amount $164 * 24mo + $400 (for upgrading two lines): ~$4,340.
New Billing with 2 At&t installment plans $213 * 24mo: ~$5112 Difference: $770 more with the next plan.

30 Month Period: Old: $164 * 30mo + $400 = $5320 New: $213 * 30mo = $6390 Difference: $1070 more with the next plan.

Hell, let's go even further beyond. Let's say you upgrade 3 times in a 10 year period. Old: $164 * 120mo + (400 * 3 upgrades) = $20,880 over 10 years. New: $213 * 120mo = $25,560 Difference: $4,680 more over the course of 10 years.

I don't know how you can argue that the Next(installments) are cheaper or the same. The current upgrade model cost consumers more over time than the old upgrade model, they just pay less upfront costs. You can keep lying to yourself, but the numbers don't lie.