The iPhone Is Not an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet

[MacBytes]

Category: Opinion/Interviews
Link: The iPhone Is Not an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet
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Posted on MacBytes.com
Approved by Mudbug

[tempusfugit]

I anticipate when they lose exclusivity in the U.S. that competitors will start offering cheaper set data plans.

Honestly, I've used less than 4 gigs in 6 months of incoming data.

[ntrigue]

4GB is a lot for 6 months! You are exactly the power-user the article is about.

I liked the cheaper plan aspect as I have WiFi access 90% of the time.

I liked the cap of $10 more than current data costs for virtually unlimited.

It would encourage me to use the network if I had a $20-30 reduction per line.

How would they handle notifications? Would you get a warning if data was nearing the next tier?

Can't wait to cancel my contract without ETF when they implement the data caps, thats a violation of terms.

[GeekOFComedy]

Really bad idea. People also need to remember that AT&T Modems could also be hogging the 850MHz network, People in the U.S have an advantage of unlimited usage. What happens when people also use it as their main source of internet? Do you say screw the 1,500 or more people. What about the economic crysis. People can cancel their bills for telephone and internet because they can do all that with their phones?

[sgntscrawn]

I really can't believe that they thought having an unlimited plan and only an unlimited plan was a good idea!

We've got a range of caps here in Australia - mind you, we've got three carriers offering the iphone (not counting subsidiary companies), so there's competition.

The take-up of the iphone would be much higher with cheaper plans, too. I'm sure a lot of people can't afford or justify spending so much on a phone plan with unlimited downloads when all they generally do is check emails, news and listen to music (like myself)

[Eraserhead]

Sounds like a good idea actually, especially if it brought the price down to sensible levels. $10/month bands and $40/month if you use lots of data doesn't seem unreasonable.

Its also worth pointing out that both London and Singapore's congestion charging runs all day - in Singapore it might increase at peak times, I can't remember.

[Gav2k]

Originally Posted by Eraserhead

Sounds like a good idea actually, especially if it brought the price down to sensible levels. $10/month bands and $40/month if you use lots of data doesn't seem unreasonable.

Its also worth pointing out that both London and Singapore's congestion charging runs all day - in Singapore it might increase at peak times, I can't remember.

London has no such thing! iPhones come with unlimited data on o2 from the cheapest contact level up. On pay as you go it's free for the first year then free if you top up a certain amount each month.

[Cougarcat]

If AT&T had a plan like this, my touch and Razr would be on eBay in a second.

90% of the time I have wifi, either at home or at school. $30/month for a data plan is ridiculous for me.

I'm uncertain, however, that this would solve AT&T's network problem. While people would be using less data, there would be more people (attracted by the lower price) to make up for it.

[Demosthenes X]

A tiered pricing plan is a good idea, but $10/100MB is too high. In Canada, if you call and complain to Rogers (that is, they don't advertise it, but they do offer it), you can get 150MB for $5/month. If they simply sold data in "buckets" of 150MB for $5 each, that would be a great solution for normal users.

[aslucher]

This article is wrong.

You say the iPhone is not an "all you can eat buffet" however when At&t and Apple both push for the Buffet style you cant take it out on the people taking advantage of said "Unlimited" data plans. If they slow the network down it's At&t's fault!

[nateo200]

How would my plan work? I propose charging $10 a month for each 100 MB you upload or download on your phone, with a maximum of $40 per month. In other words, people who use 400 MB or more per month will pay $40 for their plan, or $10 more than they pay now.* Everybody else will pay their current rate—or less, as little as $10 a month. To summarize: If you don't use your iPhone very much, your current monthly rates will go down; if you use it a lot, your rates will increase. (Of course, only your usage of AT&T's cellular network would count toward your plan; what you do on Wi-Fi wouldn't matter.)

LOL. Because that wouldn't fail or anything....That has got to be the dumbest idea in the world. How about this lets keep it simple like every other damn GSM carrier in the world except AT&T:
500MB: $10
1000MB: $15
1500MB: $20
And MAYBE Unlimited for 35-40 USD.

[Compile 'em all]

This article is stupid.

Go to Japan and China to see so how networks SHOULD be and how do they handle scalability properly.

The solution is not to LIMIT what people can do, it is to, you know, have a decent network. It is 2009 for crying out loud. geez

[nateo200]

Originally Posted by Compile 'em all

This article is stupid.

Go to Japan and China to see so how networks SHOULD be and how do they handle scalability properly.

The solution is not to LIMIT what people can do, it is to, you know, have a decent network. It is 2009 for crying out loud. geez

Agreed. Japan has had UMTS networks running for almost 10 years now. They never had GSM...In my opion that is how networks should run, buy the damn phone you want without it being locked the carrier and have fun with blazing speeds. But something tells me the US will NEVER amount to those types of networks ever.

[Mal]

A lot of people forget that these wonderful networks in Japan cover a landmass the size of California. The US is a much bigger area to cover, and trying to get the density to keep up with demand is virtually impossible. Could they be doing it better? Probably. Will the US ever have Japan-like coverage and speed? Probably not (until some game-changer comes along).

jW