Over the past several weeks, much ink has been spilled over the possibility that AT&T (T 0.19%) was offering significant trade-in value for older smartphones that could reduce the price of the Apple (AAPL -0.81%) iPhone 5. Recently, a TV commercial went live that seems to answer any questions as to pricing, availability, and the very accuracy of these stories. With AT&T slightly beating out Verizon (VZ 0.03%) for iPhone activations last quarter, the move is not insignificant.

In the following video, Fool.com contributor Doug Ehrman discusses the discount and how it may position these two carriers heading into the summer and next fall's releases from Apple.