As mentioned earlier, an observation about something that is similar. Relevancy isn't established simply based on something being said either as an attack on something or in defense of something.
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AT&T Again Raising Price of Grandfathered Unlimited Data Plans
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I switched to Consumer Cellular a few years ago. They lease lines from AT&T and TMobile I think. I actually have better coverage than my girlfriend who is on AT&T! Also my old AT&T GSM handsets were working fine with Consumer Cellular, except for my 4s, ... had to give up on that one.
If you don't count the costs associated with harassment, speed decreases, and general difficulty doing business with them. Those increases well outpaced inflation, so yeah, pretty undefendable.
Ummm....that is not the same as a fixed monthly fee for UNLIMITED electricity. Your estimated yearly usage is being divided equally in order to prevent large cost increases during times of high electricity use (summer and AC). If you go over or under the estimate for the year it will be adjusted in the following year's monthly bill. That is not unlimited.
It went from $20 for EDGE with the original iPhone to $30 for 3G with the iPhone 3G. Then it stayed at $30 and even upgraded to LTE with no increase until the $5 one earlier this year. So yeah, 2 hikes over 8.5 years for a total of $10. As much as it pains me to defend it, it really isn't that bad in the grand scheme of things. As others have said, they could have raised it $20 and killed subsidies like Verizon did years ago, but they kept it around with modest increases and just now killed subsidies.
That said, we will probably be leaving AT&T and our unlimited plans soon. Cricket is too compelling. Plus I can use my 6S that will still be locked to AT&T if I leave before September.
Look, in context your text is a defense of the practice. Your lack of clarity suggests backtracking without denial. Just say what you mean. Take an opinion and defend it. When someone else disagrees consider their point and let it change your opinion or re-explain what you mean clarifying your position. Plenty of people have made me reconsider my opinion on here.
Here: What does it matter in regards to ATT price gouging if VZW gouges too?
As I mentioned before, you can read what you want into it, but it doesn't mean that it's actually there. I've said simply what I said, and further repeated that it wasn't what you interpreted it to be (even if it can be interpreted that way). You believing that it's something else is certainly up to you, but it doesn't change that what I said was nothing beyond what was actually written.
Many of those services you mentioned use AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint towers and pay them for the usage. So in the end they get your money anyways.
Getting a permit for a new tower takes forever. In the middle of nowhere in Texas you might get it approved in 2 months but in places like CA it can take 2 years or more. There's simply no way T-Mobile and others could grow as they have without renting towers from others, which is what they do.
You are correct it's not really unlimited. It's functionally unlimited in the short term. Technically I could switch to a lower plan, use less, and then get a really low rate "unlimited" for one year. Then go back to per use. That would take a lot of work on my part to change the households behavior. But that's because electricity is a finite resource. It probably would have been a better reference if I restricted it to the flat rate I pay for parking, which includes recharging my car.
You are correct that they have every right to alter (or even eliminate) the unlimited data plan.
But, suggesting that there's benevolence being shown by our Telecom overlords because they're slowing cranking up the temperature of the water instead of dumping out the pot is just silly.
This stuff is going to be much worse under no regulations billionaire businessman Trump. I'm on T-Mobile but I feel it's only a matter of time before they get completely terrible about pricing as well.
I've always said ATT will have to pry my unlimited plan out of my hands. I avg about 4GB a month, but when I travel I can get up to 18GB by streaming Dish since wifi at places suck. I may have to jump to a 8-10GB plan. Atleast then I could tether legally...
I wouldn't say it is even functionally unlimited. If you use more electricity than is estimated (remember you are still being metered) - you will be charged for the excess. You won't get free electricity just because the up front estimate is inaccurate. Electric companies aren't in the business of giving away free electrons. You also said previously that data in a wire is infinite. I would disagree with that. The amount of 'data in a wire' is a function of both the amount of energy needed to create and transmit that data and the capacity of network equipment to deal with all that data. Both of those are finite. If you use more data it DOES cost the data provider more to provide it. You can argue over what the cost might be, but there is a cost.
They raised it in 2008, 2016, and now 2017. That's at least 3 times. If you've ever read my previous comments, which I don't expect you to have, you would see that I disagree with price hikes that don't clearly explain the reason the increase. It doesn't matter who did it. Not being that "bad" isn't a justification to me because they are using spectrum we as citizens loaned them. If the cost goes towards improving service, and they can show that they have no other way to do so without increasing rates, then fine. I expect to first see executive pay cuts though. It's harsh, but the alternative is to set up a way of allowing citizens to vote on whether ATT should be able to continue to use their spectrum, or if it should be given to another company that is more aggressive in implementing technology and providing services at a fair price. We can't evaluate wireless like we do coffee, or sweaters, or cars because entry into the market is limited to those who have government provided control over frequencies. With the number of competitors cut by more than half over the past ten years, it is even more important that we hold these companies accountable for their behavior.
From what i understand Cricket is owned by At&t now.... as their low end front.
And their unlimited data is restricted to GSM which is much slower than 4g ....
http://frugalcaller.com/cricket-wireless-reviews/
It's like At&t and Verizon are competing on who can screw their customers harder.
I'm a long-time AT&T customer who had the grandfathered unlimited data plan. I am also a very long time DirecTV subscriber since the early 90's. A few months ago, I switched from that antiquated unlimited data plan to the new one, which I had no trouble getting despite not being a new customer of either service. The new plan saved me a ton of money on the four phones we had in the family. Instead of paying about $250/month, I am now only paying about $180/month.
The new plan is better since it is simpler. It's unlimited phone, data, and texting, unlike the old plan, which was a voice plan with data and text tacked on. And with more phones, it's cheaper, too. AT&T has promised to grandfather this new plan if it ever goes away, a good selling point.
The price increase on the old plan is obvious. They want to get people off of that plan, plain and simple. Since I save money with the new plan, that became a no-brainer.
I'll have to evaluate my contract, because I don't think your interpretation matches my offer. I agree they are not in the business of providing free electrons, but I'm not exactly saving money by going with the plan I have. I do it more as a way to budget costs. I am fairly sure I pay more for my access to usage than what I would pay otherwise, which would explain why I wouldn't have overage fees. I could be wrong.
I'm not saying there is no max capacity of a wire, I am saying that there is no justification to block a user's transmission. If capacity is hit then transmission can be time delayed. I am assuming here that time is unlimited, and therefore since a component of data transmission is time there will eventually be space for the users request. Sure it might slow down, but only during congestion. This makes data caps seem oppressive. You would be very hard-pressed to convince me that the cost of operating at full capacity during peak hours is an unsustainable business model.
I think it's because of the original deals with apple. When Apple released the very first ipad back in 2010 it came with an unlimited data plan thru AT&T for $29 a month. And AT&T was the only provider. But after 3 months or so they stopped that promo. I don't think they anticipated the popularity of the iPad. As long as you didn't quit your plan, those that signed up originally could keep it forever with no price increases. I've since transferred it from the original iPad to 2 different iPad mini upgrades. I will never let it lapse. I think I used 60gigs one month. Because I commuted to work and my place of business didn't have wifi. So all day every day I'd be listening to music, watching videos and surfing the net. AT&T does throttle, but I work at a job with wifi now, so I only need the cellular when I commute or travel.
If you lease solar panels, they will give you a fixed price per wattage for ten or 20 years but, of course, your bill depends on how much you use.
You are correct.
"As a consolation to frustrated users, AT&T allows those unlimited data plans to continue their service as long as there is no break in payments."
http://appleinsider.com/articles/13...on-suit-over-revoked-att-unlimited-data-plans