spyda
macrumors 6502a
Google Voice = FREE TEXT
Yet it's so expensive and complicated according to you, huh?
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AT&T Announces iPhone Tethering and New Smartphone Data Plans
- Thread starter ChazUK
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Google Voice = FREE TEXT
Yet it's so expensive and complicated according to you, huh?
millertime021
macrumors 6502a
None. 3G network licenses were auctioned by most of the European countries so it's the carriers that are doing the subsidizing.
calderone
Cancelled
So what can you deduce from this? Wait for it... Google is doing it in a different way that doesn't require the same infrastructure.
ariza910
macrumors regular
Sure 2GB is probably enough now but I am certain ATT is responding to some future announcements from Apple, namely iTunes streaming all your media (their purchase of Lala), tethering, and video calling.
A data cap will stifle innovation and seriously piss off ATT customers once they start paying overages from using iPhones with these features.
A data cap will stifle innovation and seriously piss off ATT customers once they start paying overages from using iPhones with these features.
you guys are whiny bunch. this change is definitely fair. if you use more, you pay more!
a friend of mine jailbroke his iphone and tether to it. if ppl like him use significantly more bandwidth and in term drive up the overhead and degrade quality for the rest of people who choose not to jailbreak, how is it fair that we have to foot their bills?
a friend of mine jailbroke his iphone and tether to it. if ppl like him use significantly more bandwidth and in term drive up the overhead and degrade quality for the rest of people who choose not to jailbreak, how is it fair that we have to foot their bills?
skellener
macrumors 68000
And you can simply turn off texting if you do NOT use it. I called AT&T and said I don't want texting. I don't use it and I don't want to be charged when others send me texts. Turn it off - and they did. I mean, it's an iPhone, I get email and IM. I have no use for texting.
thanks for the response Matt. Certainly it would seem like a logical thing to offer customers, but you never know...😛
with Multi Tasking being added....people will Pandora in the background while doing other things....and Pandora uses a lot of data
BornToMac
macrumors 6502a
Maybe flawed logic was not the correct phrase sense it is not a question of logic, but of possibility. If I stay with my unlimited data plan for $30 a month, it doesn't make sense for me to update to a datapro plan for an additional $15/month and have a usage limit imposed on my data usage. I am sure I am not the only one who will keep my existing plan. If ATT is going to start monitoring personal accounts based on who does or does not switch to a less desirable data plan, both I and they have bigger issues.
Also, to unlock, you need to be jailbroken as you know. I am technically capable of unlocking my phone if it needed to be done.
calderone
Cancelled
I am personally displeased with the cap on the lowest plan. AT&T constructed these to get the more people on the 2GB plan. 250MB or slightly more would have been a better option for most.
Diode
macrumors 68020
A guy from howard forums posted a internal AT&T document specifying that the $25 plan is compatible with FAN discounts. I'd call your rep to confirm but it seems likely.
You are joking right? If I sign up for something called "Unlimited Data", why am I limited to 5GB/month? And why are you upset that people use the data plan they PAID FOR?
It's like getting upset at people who order a buffet meal and when they enter the buffet, they only take some peas off the salad bar and a diet coke. If you don't use the services you paid for, that's your own game plan. I will use mine however I see fit because, yes, I am entitled to it. I paid for it! AT&T can go f*ck a goat for all I care because if they set these ridiculous options, they are screwing customers over. How do you expect a device such as the iPhone to be LIMITED???
Having a 200MB/$15 plan isn't that great either. It's like charging $20 for unlimited texting when it should be $5.
AT&T is one of the worst telecom companies in the world. 😡
Why not speed tiers?
While I never use more than 2GB, this is still annoying. What is up is charging for "amounts" of data? Bits aren't the thing that is limited, bandwidth is. Why not charge for bandwidth instead? Those of us who don't need "amazingly fast" data rates could pay less, and people who want faster speeds pay more. This is how home internet plans are rated. Does it really affect the network if someone is downloading data at 3AM? Controlling the actual bandwidth would benefit all of us. Cap bandwidth, not bits.
While I never use more than 2GB, this is still annoying. What is up is charging for "amounts" of data? Bits aren't the thing that is limited, bandwidth is. Why not charge for bandwidth instead? Those of us who don't need "amazingly fast" data rates could pay less, and people who want faster speeds pay more. This is how home internet plans are rated. Does it really affect the network if someone is downloading data at 3AM? Controlling the actual bandwidth would benefit all of us. Cap bandwidth, not bits.
calderone
Cancelled
If AT&T decides to monitor you for sticking with the plan, then they will. However, as I said, you will most likely just be called a few times a year and be pitched a different plan.
And how is the Data Pro $15 more a month than the unlimited? Are you including the price you would pay for tethering?
The point was that a jailbreak alone does not give you an unlock. And even if you are, it is dependent on what phone, OS version and baseband. I, for example, have a jailbroken 3Gs but cannot unlock right now.
MacBOS
macrumors 6502
You do know I was being sarcastic (although I hear sprint is good in town).
Oh, and I miscounted, it was 10 killed over the weekend. 😱
... or at least charge per MB!
If it really is that difficult to charge for actual bandwidth ("speed") instead of bits, why not just charge $0.01 per MB then? Then I'm not being charged $10 if I go 1 MB over the cap. It isn't about limiting data usage though, its about hitting you with overage charges whenever they can.
If it really is that difficult to charge for actual bandwidth ("speed") instead of bits, why not just charge $0.01 per MB then? Then I'm not being charged $10 if I go 1 MB over the cap. It isn't about limiting data usage though, its about hitting you with overage charges whenever they can.
Nobody is mad at your for using a lot of data now under the unlimited plan. You certainly have the right. Nobody is saying you can't use more than 2GB on your unlimited plan. Some of us are just happy they are imposing NEW tiered plans now. This is more fair for everyone. If I use 500 MB and you use 4 GB why should we both be paying $30/mo for unlimited? Now I pay less and you pay more. Sounds fair to me....
I think I'm AT&T hates me.
I looked up my usage on my account, and if it really is for the last billing cycle, then in the last month I used 10135.62 MB of data. So perhaps I'm one of those 2% that use more than 2GB of data each month. I guess I'll be sticking to my unlimited plan 😀
I looked up my usage on my account, and if it really is for the last billing cycle, then in the last month I used 10135.62 MB of data. So perhaps I'm one of those 2% that use more than 2GB of data each month. I guess I'll be sticking to my unlimited plan 😀
He's talking texting as a cell network does it, you are talking google texting (which the first thing you do is set up sms as email) which uses the data plan. Apples and oranges.
I really can't believe people are defending AT&T regarding this move.
Let's put this into perspective.
The iPad firmware download is nearly 500MB. With AT&T's new data plan pricing, and the way it rolls over, someone who accidentally downloads that much data on the $15 plan will end up paying $45 to download that file. Is 500MB worth of data really worth $45?
And look at the 2GB plan now. A "high definition" rental from iTunes is around 4GB, give or take. Is 4GB worth of data really worth $50? Absolutely not.
These new plans are all about profit. Plain and simple.
If AT&T truly wanted to make things cheaper for people, they would come out with reasonably priced plans. 200MB? Realistically speaking, that shouldn't cost anything. It costs not even a penny to deliver a gigabyte of bandwidth to that cell tower. But If AT&T wants to charge, for $5, you should get 1GB of data and unlimited texting. $20 a month should get you unlimited data and unlimited texting.
As I said in an earlier post, AT&T pulled in $2.5b in profits last quarter and their operating costs are down. They're making more than enough money. These new plans are simply about profit and restricting peoples use rather than taking the current insane profits and building out their network to handle the load.
What also amazes me is that both AT&T and Verizon have made comments about how consumption based billing is the future for wireless data. Why? Sprint is moving towards true unlimited with their 4G technology. T-Mobile is still sticking with unlimited in their handsets and has removed the 5GB cap on their other data plans. But they're also offering "unlimited everything" plans far cheaper than AT&T or Verizon. MetroPCS is gaining in popularity, offering unlimited data, voice, and texting for $40. Straight Talk is getting hugely popular, offering unlimited everything for $45. Boost is gaining ground with unlimited everything for $50. Even Virgin Mobile is offering unlimited data and text for $25 with 300 voice minutes.
AT&T and Verizon basically want to take us back to 10 years ago when you paid ridiculous prices for data. While everyone else in both the US and the world is moving towards unlimited.
The worst part is that the wireless industry is a "monkey see monkey do" affair. Now that AT&T has done this its only a matter of time before Verizon does. Though they already kind of have, with their $10 25MB data plan.
I really honestly don't have a problem with consumption based billing. As long as its done in a fair way. Not these outrageous $15 for 200MB or $25 for 2GB ways. As I said earlier, the fact that AT&T is giving you 10x the data for $10 really shows just how little it costs them to deliver this data. But if wireless companies and wired ISPs want consumption based billing, it needs to be done in a fair manner. It costs you half a cent to deliver a text message? Okay, charge me a penny. It costs you 4 cents to deliver a gigabyte to me? Okay, charge me 8 cents. Charge me a significantly lower monthly service fee and then charge me near market cost (for you) for the bandwidth I'm consuming.
If AT&T and Verizon's business models are so bad that they depend on these little ways of ripping consumers off to stay profitable, then both companies deserve to fail. But this sort of consumer abuse has to stop.
Let's put this into perspective.
The iPad firmware download is nearly 500MB. With AT&T's new data plan pricing, and the way it rolls over, someone who accidentally downloads that much data on the $15 plan will end up paying $45 to download that file. Is 500MB worth of data really worth $45?
And look at the 2GB plan now. A "high definition" rental from iTunes is around 4GB, give or take. Is 4GB worth of data really worth $50? Absolutely not.
These new plans are all about profit. Plain and simple.
If AT&T truly wanted to make things cheaper for people, they would come out with reasonably priced plans. 200MB? Realistically speaking, that shouldn't cost anything. It costs not even a penny to deliver a gigabyte of bandwidth to that cell tower. But If AT&T wants to charge, for $5, you should get 1GB of data and unlimited texting. $20 a month should get you unlimited data and unlimited texting.
As I said in an earlier post, AT&T pulled in $2.5b in profits last quarter and their operating costs are down. They're making more than enough money. These new plans are simply about profit and restricting peoples use rather than taking the current insane profits and building out their network to handle the load.
What also amazes me is that both AT&T and Verizon have made comments about how consumption based billing is the future for wireless data. Why? Sprint is moving towards true unlimited with their 4G technology. T-Mobile is still sticking with unlimited in their handsets and has removed the 5GB cap on their other data plans. But they're also offering "unlimited everything" plans far cheaper than AT&T or Verizon. MetroPCS is gaining in popularity, offering unlimited data, voice, and texting for $40. Straight Talk is getting hugely popular, offering unlimited everything for $45. Boost is gaining ground with unlimited everything for $50. Even Virgin Mobile is offering unlimited data and text for $25 with 300 voice minutes.
AT&T and Verizon basically want to take us back to 10 years ago when you paid ridiculous prices for data. While everyone else in both the US and the world is moving towards unlimited.
The worst part is that the wireless industry is a "monkey see monkey do" affair. Now that AT&T has done this its only a matter of time before Verizon does. Though they already kind of have, with their $10 25MB data plan.
I really honestly don't have a problem with consumption based billing. As long as its done in a fair way. Not these outrageous $15 for 200MB or $25 for 2GB ways. As I said earlier, the fact that AT&T is giving you 10x the data for $10 really shows just how little it costs them to deliver this data. But if wireless companies and wired ISPs want consumption based billing, it needs to be done in a fair manner. It costs you half a cent to deliver a text message? Okay, charge me a penny. It costs you 4 cents to deliver a gigabyte to me? Okay, charge me 8 cents. Charge me a significantly lower monthly service fee and then charge me near market cost (for you) for the bandwidth I'm consuming.
If AT&T and Verizon's business models are so bad that they depend on these little ways of ripping consumers off to stay profitable, then both companies deserve to fail. But this sort of consumer abuse has to stop.