Trump Endorses Japan’s Sanae Takaichi Ahead of Crucial Election Amid Market and China Tensions 
SpaceX Pushes for Early Stock Index Inclusion Ahead of Potential Record-Breaking IPO 
South Korea’s Weak Won Struggles as Retail Investors Pour Money Into U.S. Stocks 
Japan Economy Poised for Q4 2025 Growth as Investment and Consumption Hold Firm 
Hims & Hers Halts Compounded Semaglutide Pill After FDA Warning 
Tencent Shares Slide After WeChat Restricts YuanBao AI Promotional Links 
Asian Stocks Slip as Tech Rout Deepens, Japan Steadies Ahead of Election 
Weight-Loss Drug Ads Take Over the Super Bowl as Pharma Embraces Direct-to-Consumer Marketing 
India–U.S. Interim Trade Pact Cuts Auto Tariffs but Leaves Tesla Out 
Bank of Japan Signals Readiness for Near-Term Rate Hike as Inflation Nears Target 
Oil Prices Slide on US-Iran Talks, Dollar Strength and Profit-Taking Pressure 
American Airlines CEO to Meet Pilots Union Amid Storm Response and Financial Concerns 
Nvidia, ByteDance, and the U.S.-China AI Chip Standoff Over H200 Exports 
Gold Prices Slide Below $5,000 as Strong Dollar and Central Bank Outlook Weigh on Metals 
Rio Tinto Shares Hit Record High After Ending Glencore Merger Talks 
Alphabet’s Massive AI Spending Surge Signals Confidence in Google’s Growth Engine 
South Korea Assures U.S. on Trade Deal Commitments Amid Tariff Concerns 
Verizon and AT&T are expanding their offerings to loyal customers as part of a strategy for people to continue with their monthly plans. In part, this could also be a way to attract more subscribers since they can get something for free.
Verizon and AT&T are the leading telecom companies in the U.S. For years, these mobile carriers have been giving the most discounts and giveaways, and now they are back to offering hard to resist incentives to customers who will keep their mobile service plans with the company for a long time.
The free phone perk for long-term customers
Most commonly, Verizon, AT&T, along with T-Mobile give big discounts, but to avail this, they must sign up for long-term plans. With such plans, the subscribers will be paying service dues every month, and this provides the telecom companies a kind of stability they need to reassure investors since the firms are spending more on upgrading their networks and services.
As per The Wall Street Journal, AT&T started the trend of offering high-caliber mobile phones as part of the perks for customers. In addition to discounts, the Dallas-headquartered telecom company launches the free iPhone 12, and this can also be had through a trade-in for eligible devices.
After AT&T, Verizon followed suit and launched its own trade-in credits of $700, which is equivalent to the price of new iPhones. There are also $800 credits for other high-end Android phones. These are offered to make customers stay with their plans for a specific time.
"It's essentially a contract," Wave7 Research’s head of telecom research, Jeff Moore, said. "We're seeing carriers locking in the customer base that they have as opposed to encouraging switchers."
Strategy to win over customers for 5G service
Verizon Communications will give away free iPhones and high-end Android units for people who will avail of any of its 5G unlimited plans, The Seattle Times reported. It was mentioned that starting this month, Verizon new subscribers who will go for a premium 5G unlimited plan can get as much as $1,000 in credit for a free iPhone or $1,100 for a free Samsung Galaxy S21.
Existing customers are eligible for $700 credits for an Apple phone or $800 for Android if they upgrade to the unlimited plan. In any case, this move comes after the New York-headquartered mobile carrier lost around 178,000 customers in the first quarter of this year.
