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ian1ian1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 12, 2012
12
6
I thought that I'd post my recent success with the AT&T unlimited iPad data plan. We recently bought a summer home that has no access to cable internet. Satellite or LTE are the only options. Satellite is the worst with slow speeds and caps at 5gb.

I bought a Cradlepoint router and have the iPad SIM card in the router giving LTE wifi access to the whole house.

We got here about half way through the monthly plan so the usage you see is only for the last 15 days of the billing cycle.

We put through 348 gigs of data during that 15 days. Before anyone freaks asking how anyone can use that much data in a short amount of time... Here's how. We are photographers and upload jobs to the cloud. Our home is also our home office and when we got this summer place we still needed to be able to upload all of our work to our cloud storage. Each job can easily be well over 100 gigs.

I can honestly tell you that the plan is obviously not throttled and AT&T renewed the plan no problem at the end of the billing cycle. In fact, I'm only two days into the new cycle and have already put through 60 gigs.

Here's the Cradlepoint router screenshot so you can see the exact amount of data we used. FYI - in order to set up the data monitoring with the Cradlepoint router I had to put an arbitrary limit so it can track usage. I chose 500gb for the month. And you'll see at the bottom it says the dates from 7-6 to 7-21 on the LTE network.

Hope this info helps.
 

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Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Aug 25, 2012
3,587
835
AT&T Unlimited iPad - 348gb in 15 days

I'm glad you're enjoying your plan. I've done over 100 gigs on my rmini before. I try to tell people when my friend and I sell them how great these plans are and how much money you save.
 
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ian1ian1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 12, 2012
12
6
I'm using the Cradlepoint MBR1400 with embedded AT&T modem. It's really a great router giving wifi to all areas of a 3500 sq ft home.

It's an amazing solution for whole home internet when cable is not an option. By far the best I've found.

----------

Truefan31 - how do you guys get all of these unlimited plans? I bought one from your partner and it seems like you guys have an endless supply on eBay.
 

Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Aug 25, 2012
3,587
835
I'm using the Cradlepoint MBR1400 with embedded AT&T modem. It's really a great router giving wifi to all areas of a 3500 sq ft home.



It's an amazing solution for whole home internet when cable is not an option. By far the best I've found.

----------

Truefan31 - how do you guys get all of these unlimited plans? I bought one from your partner and it seems like you guys have an endless supply on eBay.


That's awesome. For 29.99 a month not a bad deal lol! On the new att plans 500 gigs you'd pay what about 500 a month lol.

It's not an endless supply.
 

Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Aug 25, 2012
3,587
835
People like OP are exactly why we can't have nice things.



Using it as your primary internet source is why we lost unlimited to begin with.


I think if u were the op you'd do the same thing. His options were limited and he paid a small price IMO for having broadband internet for what he ends it for.

And trust me att would've done away with unlimited either way.
 

ian1ian1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 12, 2012
12
6
People like OP are exactly why we can't have nice things.

Using it as your primary internet source is why we lost unlimited to begin with.


With our business, and the lack of cable internet in the remote areas there were no other options. If this solution wasn't available we would not have bought the house and the kids wouldn't have the amazing summertime memories out in nature.
 

Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Aug 25, 2012
3,587
835
With our business, and the lack of cable internet in the remote areas there were no other options. If this solution wasn't available we would not have bought the house and the kids wouldn't have the amazing summertime memories out in nature.


Exactly. Rest assured att/Verizon were doing away with unlimited regardless of usage. I think people get jealous cuz they don't have it.
 
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ian1ian1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 12, 2012
12
6
$29.99 per month? :eek:

Where can I signup for that? I only consume about 50GB p/m

All in - these were my upfront costs:

$1,100 for the data plan (purchased on ebay)
$770 for the LTE signal booster and antenna (mounted on roof) (Wilson AG Pro Quint).
$300 for install of booster and antenna.
$700 for the Cradlepoint MBR1400-LP-AT router.

So all in - I'm at about $2900 plus the $29.99 a month. To put it in perspective, the cable company wanted about 30K to run cable to the house and I wouldn't be getting the speeds I get from the LTE - plus they have data caps.

It can be done for cheaper if you have a great LTE signal but you still need to purchase the card and some sort of router or hotspot.
 

Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Aug 25, 2012
3,587
835
AT&T Unlimited iPad - 348gb in 15 days

All in - these were my upfront costs:



$1,100 for the data plan (purchased on ebay)

$770 for the LTE signal booster and antenna (mounted on roof) (Wilson AG Pro Quint).

$300 for install of booster and antenna.

$700 for the Cradlepoint MBR1400-LP-AT router.



So all in - I'm at about $2900 plus the $29.99 a month. To put it in perspective, the cable company wanted about 30K to run cable to the house and I wouldn't be getting the speeds I get from the LTE - plus they have data caps.



It can be done for cheaper if you have a great LTE signal but you still need to purchase the card and some sort of router or hotspot.


Wow I guess comparatively it's a lot cheaper. Usually people have them in iPads or att mifi for hotspot. I have mine in a rmini jb with tetherme.
 
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Rockadile

macrumors 6502a
Jun 11, 2012
500
210
We put through 348 gigs of data during that 15 days. Before anyone freaks asking how anyone can use that much data in a short amount of time... Here's how. We are photographers and upload jobs to the cloud. Our home is also our home office and when we got this summer place we still needed to be able to upload all of our work to our cloud storage. Each job can easily be well over 100 gigs.
Are you doing RAW back ups to the cloud?


People like OP are exactly why we can't have nice things.

Using it as your primary internet source is why we lost unlimited to begin with.
OP is just taking advantage of what carriers shouldn't have put out in the first place.
 

jetjaguar

macrumors 68040
Apr 6, 2009
3,553
2,319
somewhere
i love my unlimited data with att .. i streams 2-3 hd episodes a day and I'm in the 20-30gb range .. i really hope they don't begin throttling like verizon just announced with phone plans because it makes my daily commute so pleasant
 

2298754

Cancelled
Jun 21, 2010
4,890
941
People like OP are exactly why we can't have nice things.

Using it as your primary internet source is why we lost unlimited to begin with.

Bingo. Unlimited plans on Top tier carriers (VZW/AT&T) have been ruined for the rest of us by people like OP.

348gb in 15 days? Are you freaking serious? I don't care how much money you paid to buy the plan off ebay. That is just beyond ridiculous. All I want to be able to do is use 10gb/month unthrottled on my unlimited plan, and here we have abusers going at the rate of ~700 gb a month.
 
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iZollo

macrumors regular
Mar 20, 2012
187
64
Bingo. Unlimited plans on Top tier carriers (VZW/AT&T) have been ruined for the rest of us by people like OP.

348gb in 15 days? Are you freaking serious? I don't care how much money you paid to buy the plan off ebay. That is just beyond ridiculous. All I want to be able to do is use 10gb/month unthrottled on my unlimited plan, and here we have abusers going at the rate of ~700 gb a month.

I agree because of people like OP I am sure AT&T will start to throttle all of us iPad unlimited data users. I do understand why OP is using that much data it's just unfortunate that we will all pay for it at some point when AT&T starts to throttle us.
 
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Rodster

macrumors 68040
May 15, 2007
3,177
6
I agree because of people like OP I am sure AT&T will start to throttle all of us iPad unlimited data users. I do understand why OP is using that much data it's just unfortunate that we will all pay for it at some point when AT&T starts to throttle us.

MacRumors just posted a story that starting Oct 1st, Verizon Wireless will start to throttle all it's grandfathered unlimited plans for those that it deems are using way too much data per month.
 

baypharm

macrumors 68000
Nov 15, 2007
1,951
973
MacRumors just posted a story that starting Oct 1st, Verizon Wireless will start to throttle all it's grandfathered unlimited plans for those that it deems are using way too much data per month.

Im sure Verizon will lose a good many of their customers - if this happens. A contract is a contract - mine says nothing about throttling or optimization of network protocol. So maybe I and others will have to consult with our counsels and think seriously about launching a class action suit aimed right between Verizon's eyes. We know a few good attorneys who would love to make $40 million outta this. Perhaps Verizon is naive enough to think we will just lay down and pick up the scraps they throw to us. Not by a long shot...
 

hansonjohn590

macrumors 6502
Sep 14, 2013
353
4
I think if u were the op you'd do the same thing. His options were limited and he paid a small price IMO for having broadband internet for what he ends it for.

And trust me att would've done away with unlimited either way.

No. If I was the OP, I would have made a better decision and bought a house that had internet.
 
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burgman

macrumors 68030
Sep 24, 2013
2,697
2,286
With our business, and the lack of cable internet in the remote areas there were no other options. If this solution wasn't available we would not have bought the house and the kids wouldn't have the amazing summertime memories out in nature.
The irony of "needing unlimited data" and discussing good times in nature.

----------

Im sure Verizon will lose a good many of their customers - if this happens. A contract is a contract - mine says nothing about throttling or optimization of network protocol. So maybe I and others will have to consult with our counsels and think seriously about launching a class action suit aimed right between Verizon's eyes. We know a few good attorneys who would love to make $40 million outta this. Perhaps Verizon is naive enough to think we will just lay down and pick up the scraps they throw to us. Not by a long shot...
Dream on... Read the T&C
 
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baypharm

macrumors 68000
Nov 15, 2007
1,951
973
People like OP are exactly why we can't have nice things.

Using it as your primary internet source is why we lost unlimited to begin with.

Whoa dude slow down and take a deep breath. Not everyone lives six feet away from their neighbor. I for one live on 1250 acres and there is no other option available for internet other than 4G. I am lucky enough to get strong signals from T Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. There isn't a cable company within almost two hours from me. So please play nice and respect everyone's contribution here on the forums.
 

ian1ian1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 12, 2012
12
6
Are you doing RAW back ups to the cloud?



OP is just taking advantage of what carriers shouldn't have put out in the first place.

You would think it'd be RAW with the kinds of data we use - but it's actually large JPEG backup. We do weddings and shoot anywhere from 10-20,000 photos per job.

----------

Whoa dude slow down and take a deep breath. Not everyone lives six feet away from their neighbor. I for one live on 1250 acres and there is no other option available for internet other than 4G. I am lucky enough to get strong signals from T Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. There isn't a cable company within almost two hours from me. So please play nice and respect everyone's contribution here on the forums.

Exactly - the challenge was that we wanted a summer home with acreage away from everything but didn't want business to grind to a halt. I don't think there is anyone on here that wouldn't have done the same thing under the circumstances. If we bought a place that had cable internet we wouldn't have the outdoor lifestyle that we have here.
 

Rodster

macrumors 68040
May 15, 2007
3,177
6
Engadget also posted an article and said starting Oct 1st the high data LTE users will get their speeds throttled once they hit 4.7GB during a monthly cycle.
 
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