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AT&T 3G Availability Map, 3G Data Plan Only Option

Why reward poor service?

The last thing I would do is give AT&T more money per month for their horrible service. I live in downtown Miami, and whether I am at home or in the office 20 miles away, I have about 25% of my calls end when signal is lost. Many times I need to turn off the phone to get it back.

Perhaps someone can tell me if 3G service connectivity/coverage should be any different. When 3G service is "rolled out" what exactly is being done? Are additional towers added or anything done that would make one expect that dropped calls would be reduced.

Not to beat a dead horse, but AT&T is the worst partner Apple could have chosen.
 
Txt Msgs

What I want to know is if the $30/month includes 1500 txt msgs, or the standard, piddly 200. Has anyone read/heard from anyone/anywhere? I think AT&T would be smart to include 1500 txts with that price (that's what I'm currently paying for 2G + 1500 txts). Then it won't necessarily be a difference for many, but for the others that only have 200 txt msgs, AT&T will still be making money off of them. If you want unlimited txt, then it should be another $10 for a grand total of $40 on top of your voice plan. The MAX anyone should pay is $75 including taxes for the following:
3G + 1500 txts + 400 anytime minutes + 5000 night/weekends + rollover + unlimited free M2M.

- my 2 cents
 
GreenFreaK said:
What I want to know is if the $30/month includes 1500 txt msgs, or the standard, piddly 200. Has anyone read/heard from anyone/anywhere? I think AT&T would be smart to include 1500 txts with that price (that's what I'm currently paying for 2G + 1500 txts). Then it won't necessarily be a difference for many, but for the others that only have 200 txt msgs, AT&T will still be making money off of them. If you want unlimited txt, then it should be another $10 for a grand total of $40 on top of your voice plan. The MAX anyone should pay is $75 including taxes for the following:
3G + 1500 txts + 400 anytime minutes + 5000 night/weekends + rollover + unlimited free M2M.

- my 2 cents
Click to expand...

Neither. $30 for data and $5 additional for 200 SMS (this has been covered elsewhere). The new minimum iPhone plan is $75 (including 200 SMS) for the 3G iPhone whereas for current iPhones it is $60.
 
GreenFreaK said:
What I want to know is if the $30/month includes 1500 txt msgs, or the standard, piddly 200. Has anyone read/heard from anyone/anywhere? I think AT&T would be smart to include 1500 txts with that price (that's what I'm currently paying for 2G + 1500 txts). Then it won't necessarily be a difference for many, but for the others that only have 200 txt msgs, AT&T will still be making money off of them. If you want unlimited txt, then it should be another $10 for a grand total of $40 on top of your voice plan. The MAX anyone should pay is $75 including taxes for the following:
3G + 1500 txts + 400 anytime minutes + 5000 night/weekends + rollover + unlimited free M2M.

- my 2 cents
Click to expand...
From what I've read there will be no text messages included in the $30 data plan, which really sucks. But one of the AT&T folks also said pricing will be available closer to launch, although I don't know if that will differ from what we've read in the internal e-mails.

Gah, I'll be going from a $35 unlimited talk/text plan to a $90 one. But it IS the iPhone... :rolleyes:
 
Wow so the new iphone really isn't cheaper than the 1st gen. An extra 10 bucks per month times 2 years is more than spending 400 dollars and having 10 dollars less per month.
 
The U.S. cell phone market has little competition, onerous contracts, incompatible network standards, poor customer service, and lackluster technology upgrades. The AT&T 3G coverage map is a reflection of that - even if you unlock a 3G iPhone, where are you going to take it to? Verizon? Sprint? T-Mobile? (T-Mobile uses SIM cards, at least, but their voice coverage is supposedly even worse than AT&T, if you can believe it.)

I wouldn't be surprised if in five years, Verizon and AT&T will be the only major players in the U.S. markets. It'll might end up like the broadband market, where you're lucky if you can choose between cable and whatever the phone company's peddling.
 
How can they make you pay for a service they aren't providing?

For all of those non-blue areas, I assume you'd HAVE to be able to talk to them and make them take off the 3G data plan.

A mechanic can't charge you for an oil change he never gave you, why can AT&T charge you for a service they don't offer in your area?
 
I'm pleasantly surprised that it's available here. I live in Utah which is rather unpopulated. (and in a rural area of Utah on top of that)
 
jshbckr said:
How can they make you pay for a service they aren't providing?

For all of those non-blue areas, I assume you'd HAVE to be able to talk to them and make them take off the 3G data plan.

A mechanic can't charge you for an oil change he never gave you, why can AT&T charge you for a service they don't offer in your area?
Click to expand...

Easy. You don't have to buy an iPhone. It's more like the auto dealer charging you for a sunroof -- even if you never use it because you live in Barrow, Alaska, or something, there's still a chance that you could use it somewhere else. If you don't want to pay for it, you can get a different phone. Since AT&T has a monopoly on phone service for iPhones, they can do whatever they want. It's annoying, but that's the state of cell phone service in the States, and it's unlikely to change anytime soon.
 
I don't think people understand that there is millions and millions of people in the US. and probably a few mill actually know what 3G is and what the capibilites are and how it improves the iPhone. A lot of people are dumb in this field, they will just buy to have it and not know how to use the device except for talking and texting and randomly browse. Just like steve said, the major users who know what the service and the iPhone is all about, already adopted the iPhone, or are soon to come. But for all the people that just want it because it's the next big thing...or its "cheap" aren't going to know what the hell their coverage is, or even give a damn.


Face it. AT&T knows what they are doing, they know their coverage isn't perfect, but for the ordinary normal person, it doesn't matter. They won't know what to expect in the first place.

But for us, the ones who can't live without it, we know we are being jerked around. 3G is only useful if you live in a high industrial city, other than that, your screwed. But the deal is. regardless of you paying 3G or just 2.5G you are using one of the greatest phones. Who knows really how much profit Apple gains from AT&T, the 10 extra bucks is probably BS so AT&T can give to Apple since the phone is so subsized in the first place.

Regardless it is the best phone the market, I can't complain, i am willing to pay extra for supreme service.


And just my last remarks. Apple always has something up their sleeves, we have almost roughly a month left till the iPhone 3G comes out, and i guarantee they will get the service plans a nice little revamp and probably sneak an extra feature into the iPhone just like they did for Youtube.

Be patient, you can't buy the plan right now anyways, so wait it out and see what develops. :D
 
*sigh*
everyone that was complaining that the iPhone wasnt 3G is now finding out that they dont even offer 3G in their area!

Shocker... :rolleyes:

if only people would do some research before they ran their mouth!
 
jshbckr said:
How can they make you pay for a service they aren't providing?

For all of those non-blue areas, I assume you'd HAVE to be able to talk to them and make them take off the 3G data plan.

A mechanic can't charge you for an oil change he never gave you, why can AT&T charge you for a service they don't offer in your area?
Click to expand...

I don't think that this is something that merits vociferous complaining - clearly, all the money that was cut from the initial purchase price of the iPhone will be made up for in the higher data price plan.

Besides simplifying plan choices for the average consumer, this also means that Apple doesn't have to make a second iPhone model with no 3G access (either by removing the 3G antenna or via software).

So if you have an iPhone now and don't have 3G coverage, upgrading obviously isn't a great idea - keep your $20 data plan and SMS allocation and be happy.
 
stagi said:
Thats a bummer you have to pay the new price if you live in an area without 3g.
Click to expand...

Well, the thing is, most people work and/or have their home within those small spotty places. I know, it's far from perfect - not even close to what we have here in denmark (which isn't perfect, but rather good) - it will become better for you guys in a couple of years or four. Any way, my point is that it looks worse than it is - at least for the statistical mr. and mrs. average, if you know what I mean.
 
The new AT&T plan is absolutley ridiculous. AT&T doesn't charge 'other' customers anymore for 3G than they do for EDGE.

But, most likely, this has changed due to the $199 price. AT&T is now out $200 - $300 per phone (someone check my crazy theory) plus at least $2per month due to revenue sharing, hence the minimum $10 per month increase. And everyone will want text messaging, so plus another minimum $5 per month. So AT&T will get at least $120 per month, and this leads me to believe why AT&T said it would be a year or two before they were profitable.

But what about us without 3G? AT&T will not be able to tell if you have 3G or EDGE service, so we get stuck with the new plan. That leaves us with a $10 per month GPS. Woo! :rolleyes: That will keep me and maybe others from getting a iPhone 3G.

/rant
 
wakka092 said:
The new AT&T plan is absolutley ridiculous. AT&T doesn't charge 'other' customers anymore for 3G than they do for EDGE.
Click to expand...

Except that AT&T charges the $30 PDA plan to all PDA phones --- even if the PDA phone is 2G.
 
Shut up already people!

This is why I rarely read these comments. So many complainers and whiners. I can't stand it. Look, if you don't like it then buy some crappy cell phone and be done with it. Ten years ago something like an iPhone would sound ludicrous to have. The phone is now only 200 bucks people. The 200 dollars you're saving up front is made up by the extra 10 bucks in the data plan over the course of 20 months out of the 24 in the contract. Just do the math, it's almost the same amount of money after 2 years are up. If you can't figure that out and you're still crying about it then you're a moron. Plain and simple. On top of that, it's not even the same plan, it's better. You get 3G if, like most Americans, you live in populated areas. If you don't, or leave a 3G area, then you're "stuck" with EDGE. It works either way and you have a shiny new iPhone regardless. I just hope they decide to throw the 200 texts back in before the release date.
 
wakka092 said:
That leaves us with a $10 per month GPS. Woo! :rolleyes: That will keep me and maybe others from getting a iPhone 3G.

/rant
Click to expand...

precisely...there's no denying the iphone is a great phone and apple puts out a better than average product, but the hype is over the top. fact is the big winners w the iphone2 are apple and at&t, not the customer...and the fury w the keynote is that we we're told to believe otherwise, by a company that we have supported. shame...so close, yet so far.
 
oksurya said:
This is why I rarely read these comments. So many complainers and whiners. I can't stand it. Look, if you don't like it then buy some crappy cell phone and be done with it. Ten years ago something like an iPhone would sound ludicrous to have. The phone is now only 200 bucks people. The 200 dollars you're saving up front is made up by the extra 10 bucks in the data plan over the course of 20 months out of the 24 in the contract. Just do the math, it's almost the same amount of money after 2 years are up. If you can't figure that out and you're still crying about it then you're a moron. Plain and simple. On top of that, it's not even the same plan, it's better. You get 3G if, like most Americans, you live in populated areas. If you don't, or leave a 3G area, then you're "stuck" with EDGE. It works either way and you have a shiny new iPhone regardless. I just hope they decide to throw the 200 texts back in before the release date.
Click to expand...

Well aren't you happy on your high-horse? Jesus, you think everyone can just live in populated metro areas? And if they don't, you say "shame on them"?! And then you tell them to pay the $30 even though they won't get the service that the $30 is priced for? Holy meatballs, you have some nerve.

I live in a 3G area and even that doesn't mean I get 3G all the time. Sometimes it gets the signal, sometimes it doesn't. My BlackJack II would switch between 3G and EDGE constantly, I actually forced the BJ2 to EDGE to save battery. So, there's no way I'm giving up my EDGE iPhone for that.

It should be like DSL. You sign up for the speed that you are available for. You don't go purchasing the $35/month 6mbps down speed when your max is 1.5mbps. And the argument of having a nice, new shiny phone capable of GPS all this other crap is worthless if you can't get the 3G. The phone itself doesn't bring anything new.
 
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