TracFone Smartphone Project | Supplement | Second Supplement | Third Supplement | Final Report | Project Data
The TracFone project studied the effects of varying subsidy amounts and discounted hardware through mobile smartphone service plans --- all of which included unlimited voice/text and 2GB of data. The price per month for the service plans offered to TracFone’s existing Lifeline customers differed depending on the amount of the discount applicable to the monthly service and the price charged for the smartphone. In this way, TracFone’s pilot addresses the effect of both recurring monthly discounts and one-time upfront discounts on hardware. Tracfone divided five states (FL, MD, TX, WA, WI) each into five regions and then randomly assigned each region in a state to one of five treatments. The treatments varied in the monthly recurring cost and one-time upfront cost to the consumer.