- AT&T may offer users ad-supported cell phone plans.
- These plans would reduce the cost of phone bills in exchange for targeted advertising on devices.
- The company is considering rolling out such plans as early as 2021.
According to a report by AT&T could introduce advertising subsidized cellular plans as early as next year Reuters.
According to the report, the company is considering a more serious foray into the advertising game to grow its revenue. At the same time, it is believed that this development will give users some respite from their monthly phone bills.
John Stankey, AT&T CEO, said Reuters He believes consumers would “take a lot of advertising for a $ 5 or $ 10 reduction on their monthly premium”. Stankey also stated that the company’s ad-supported offerings could be launched within “a year or two.”
The key to AT & T’s plans is to develop a targeted advertising system that can identify individual customers and serve specific and relevant ads for each.
More ads, lower bills: yes or no?
In particular, this proposed step is not a new concept. In 2016, Boost Mobile gave users the option to download a Deals app for a discount of $ 5 off their monthly bill. It didn’t catch on.
Companies like Xiaomi have used ads on their devices to keep the cost of their devices down while improving the bottom line. Amazon is doing a similar thing with its cheaper Kindle, which displays unobtrusive lock screen ads for a slight drop in the base price. In cooperation with several brands, the online retailer also offered similarly equipped phones on its website.
There is a fine line, however, between annoying customers and complacent advertisers. It is not clear how the company will integrate and monitor the plans (especially on existing devices). If we make a guess, users might be asked to install an app in order to take advantage of these plans, or consumer devices might need to use certain APN settings.
Even so, it will be interesting to see how and if AT&T can fix the wrongs of previous ad-supported cellular plans.
Are AT & T’s ad-supported offerings something that would appeal to you? Would you drink ads if it meant lower cell phone rewards? Let us know in the poll above.
connected: The best AT&T deals currently available