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A Comparison of US iPhone Data Plans

I could have summed it up as:
Sucks
Sucks
Sucks


People should be given phone numbers for life at birth like Social Security numbers. Then it wouldn't matter if you wanted to switch carriers, go a few months without service, get a prepaid sim card with minutes that don't expire, and there would be a few great tethering apps.

Wouldn't capitalism be great if it worked the way it was supposed to?
 
penajmz said:
So happy to have been grandfathered into AT&T's unlimited data plan. Never letting that go.
Click to expand...

True that!

Except... been thinking that I need tethering more and more lately. I missed the tether app that was briefly on the App Store and I don't want to jailbreak my phone. Not a heavy data user, but with tethering I could see that increasing a lot.
 
wordoflife said:
Carriers should be working for their customers.
1GB = $20 would be acceptable.

In all seriousness though, this is just getting more and more expensive. This is ridiculous.
Click to expand...

In Australia you can get 1GB for ~$10.
We have much lower population density than the USA and any of the that data that comes from overseas travels in long undersea cables. So the cost of providing Data here could well be double the cost in USA.

I'm surprised you be happy to double what we pay.

edit: oh just to rub it in Tethering is included in most of our data plans.
 
I'm grandfathered into Verizon unlimited data from that old Droid phone I had. My only complaint is that it's still about $100.00 w voice and text. I'd consider a lesser carrier for cheaper.
So as soon Metropcs gets the Iphone I'm there.:D
 
The new data plans do suck. Especially now with data throttling by at&t for unlimited customers. People with a little over 2GBs of data usage are getting throttled. I wonder if they are forcing those people's hands by getting an extra gig of fast data for the same price of $30 that they are already paying.

I used to have the 3G, and never really went over 200 GB a month, the highest was not over 1GB in the 3 years I had the phone. But since getting the 4S I'm going over 1.5 GB every month. With phones and mobile devices getting better and better, data use will only grow more and more.
 
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What I really need is a family data plan, not more data. With family talk and text plans, why can't I have a family data plan? A common pool that all the phones on my account can draw from. If it was reasonable and meant saving money, I might even consider dropping one of my unlimited plans. But as many have mentioned regarding 1GB plans, it would mean less profit for the carriers, so it'll probably never happen.
 
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Ya'll be using the internet
 
Unlimited doesn't make sense

definitive said:
How is anything besides unlimited acceptable? This is 2012, not 1995 where Dial-Up used to cost ~$5/hour. Even regular broadband internet doesn't cost this much. If the cellular carriers weren't so greedy, they'd charge unlimited fees per speed, not amount of usage.
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That would be true if the incremental cost of more data was zero, which is close to true on wireline systems. But on wireless, adding capacity is costly, so it makes sense to me that they charge by usage.

That said, the fees are absurd. We are being totally ripped off by an unregulated semi-monopoly that is just going to squeeze us until we quit letting them. Just like any amoral greedy capitalist would. Between ATT and the TV companies, I'm done being squoze. Not another nickel.
 
MattInOz said:
In Australia you can get 1GB for ~$10.
We have much lower population density than the USA and any of the that data that comes from overseas travels in long undersea cables. So the cost of providing Data here could well be double the cost in USA.

I'm surprised you be happy to double what we pay.

edit: oh just to rub it in Tethering is included in most of our data plans.
Click to expand...

Indeed I'm thinking the same thing. The other strange thing I notice is the long contract requirements.
 
In Sweden I got a iPhone 4s, it cost about 60 dollars/month but I got 2GB/month (tether included) and I can call for the whole 60 dollars, plus I call for free to 2 different operators, text for free to the same to operators and call for free to home phones! I can also expand to 7GB /month and it would still cost 60 bucks but I would only be able to call for 40 dollars before I have to pay more then 60 dollars/month
 
McJaffaCakes said:
For example using giffgaff as a cheap example for £10 per month you not only get unlimited data but unlimited texts and something like 250 minutes.

Over a 24 month period you'll save money paying full price for the phone and using giffgaff compared to the subsidised cost of a contract. If you can get a 0% credit card deal you can use that to spread the cost.
Click to expand...

giffgaff user here and very happy. No FUP either, only rule is do not tether. I also love the fact that giffgaff have guides on how to jailbreak your iPhone on their web site.
 
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When i bought my first iphone from o2 uk on pay as you go i got unlimited FREE browsing. No contract. And if u buy online from some companies you can choose free gifts. In just over a couple of years we got 2free ps3's, an ipod touch and one contract we got £120 cheque every 3 months on a contract that was £40/month so = free contract :) I miss the UK for stuff like that!
 
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These prices are RIDICLOUS.

When is Comcast gonna come out with cellphone service?
 
USA additional charges and taxes

Not to forget that plans in the USA also get hit with the following charges, of $20:00 and up per month:mad::
Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge
Federal Universal Service Charge
State Gross Receipts Surcharge
911 Service Fee
State Telecom Tax
 
Here in Taiwan, we're always complaining about how high our rates are. NT$1749 (approx. US$58) per month only gets you 311 minutes, 200 SMSs, 400 MMSs, unlimited data, free WiFi at tens of thousands of places, and free localized turn-by-turn navigation software, plus a free 16G 4s.
 
piatigorsky said:
Here in Taiwan, we're always complaining about how high our rates are. NT$1749 (approx. US$58) per month only gets you 311 minutes, 200 SMSs, 400 MMSs, unlimited data, free WiFi at tens of thousands of places, and free localized turn-by-turn navigation software, plus a free 16G 4s.
Click to expand...

:eek:

tumblr_lxv8n1RZq91r4hk20o2_500.jpg
 
stevemiller said:
If anything by charging greedily, you'd think it'd just motivate people to push their limit just to get their "money's worth"
Click to expand...

Exactly. If I had to be on one of these ripoff plans if it got to the end of the month and I was way under the 3 gigs or whatever I'd probably put on Netflix or something similar just to use that last bit of data.
 
Two things I'd like to see happen: Shared data for family plans. And rollover data like rollover minutes.
You want me to pay for data that I end up not using all of, let me roll it over to next month.
 
dhechols said:
Every single one of the big 3 carrier's plans are giant greedy things that demand your money and beat it out of your with a bloody club.
...
Click to expand...

Dear T-Mobile promoter:

- Buying unlocked means paying $450 more (plus tax). That equals to 2 years of about $20 per month extra. Or about $26 per month higher cost if you update your phone every 18 months.
- T-Mobile US only offers EDGE speed for standard GSM devices
- T-Mobile has much weaker coverage than AT&T / Verizon
- 30MB of data

So you are paying $50 per month for voice with 30MB of data at EDGE speed. What a joke.
 
$15 = 200MB

or

$20 = 300MB

Why the hell they don't do $15 = 300!!!!

$5 more is still $5 more, or $60/year.


I find if I turn off 3G data, I can keep usage reasonable (<200MB), need to see long run.

----------
Consultant said:
Dear T-Mobile promoter:

- Buying unlocked means paying $450 more (plus tax). That equals to 2 years of about $20 per month extra. Or about $26 per month higher cost if you update your phone every 18 months.
- T-Mobile US only offers EDGE speed for standard GSM devices
- T-Mobile has much weaker coverage than AT&T / Verizon
- 30MB of data

So you are paying $50 per month for voice with 30MB of data at EDGE speed. What a joke.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is why I dropped T-Mo. not worth it.
 
It will end soon.

penajmz said:
So happy to have been grandfathered into AT&T's unlimited data plan. Never letting that go.
Click to expand...

There will come a time in the not too distant future where you will have to leave the unlimited plan if you wish to upgrade to a new handset; mark my words. I predict that when the first truly 4G iphone hits AT&T's shelves they will label the 4G network as a different plan/tier and use that to muscle longtime unlimited plan customers out. So effectively you will not have a choice if you want the new hardware.
 
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