AT&T Announces New Limited Data Rollover Feature for Mobile Share Value Customers

[mnsportsgeek]

Out of curiosity, what would they use on a "colloquial" type of online discussion forum, or basically public comments on a news article? And how is that better (aside from perhaps simply being more "proper")?

Italics
Boldface (last resort)
Scare quotes
Exclamation points

 

[C DM]

And the time you're given a gift is the time to bitch, moan and complain about it? It's like getting a bonus at work and instead of thanking the boss, you complain about how small the bonus is, how your salary is too low, and the boss is an ass. Same thing, right?

If you believe that the whole bonus system at your work isn't right and you are not getting the bonus you actually should be (and many others aren't) perhaps because more money is just going to someone else or on some other irrelevant expenses, then why wouldn't that be a time to bring that up, along with pretty much any other time something related to that topic comes up?

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Italics
Boldface (last resort)
Scare quotes
Exclamation points

So basically no meaningful difference for places like this aside from sticking to some "formality".

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

If you believe that the whole bonus system at your work isn't right and you are not getting the bonus you actually should be (and many others aren't) perhaps because more money is just going to someone else or on some other irrelevant expenses, then why wouldn't that be a time to bring that up, along with pretty much any other time something related to that topic comes up?

You've pretty much taken what I wrote and turned it upside down into a whole different scenario. Are you a writer or a lawyer?

 

[Steve121178]

When are the phone companies going to stop stealing from us?

I buy 10Gb of data in a month, at a price that is far higher than in many other countries. If I use only 7Gb, they simply steal the data I paid for.

The next month I use 11Gb, and they hit me with an overage charge. Even if I only used 1Gb a month for a year, and they have stolen 108Gb from me, they will still charge me extra if I go even a Kb over on the 13th month.

It is a disgusting practice, and this move by AT&T is one step ahead of literally the least they could do.

So how about they announce they are not going to steal anymore? A fair price for a decent service, and if I pay for it, I get to keep it until I use it.

To be fair, they are not stealing from you. Your monthly cost guarantees you a certain data quota each month. If you don't use it all, they are not stealing what you chose not to use.

I agree with you in principle, but it's simply not theft.

 

[QCassidy352]

When are the phone companies going to stop stealing from us?

I buy 10Gb of data in a month, at a price that is far higher than in many other countries. If I use only 7Gb, they simply steal the data I paid for.

I disagree with your characterization of this practice as "stealing." Your argument takes for granted that it's legally impossible to sell something with the proviso that it must be used within a certain amount of time.

But you're simply wrong about that, legally speaking. The contract you signed does not say that what you're buying is some permanently enduring allotment of 10 GB of data per month. It says that what you're buying is the right to use up to 10 GB of data in a single month. There's nothing illegal or even, IMO, immoral about a sale with the proviso that the good purchased must be used within a certain amount of time. If you don't like it, don't buy that good/service.

 

[Natzoo]

yeahh.....Noo.......

Too bad that i don't have the mobile share plan

 

[McDaddio]

Adults don't use capitals for emphasis.

Do you mean "capitalized words" or did you actually mean "capitals" (as in Washington D.C. or Paris)? Adults use words correctly.

Besides since when is capitalizing words for emphasis not done by adults? Adults are educated enough to know that it is an acceptable use (as long as it is not overused). In this case, it was used selectively, not throughout the text (which is discouraged).
Here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/609/01/

 

[wadam1230]

The doubling my 15 gig to 30 felt good. This really feels like "thanks for nothing". Not pulling data from the rollover pool first seems to me as if their true intention is to train users to get accustomed to consuming more data.

Month 2 maybe i rollover 10 gig and see a whopping 40 gig total so i dig in so i dont lose it. Month 3 comes along and ive grown use to more gluttonous data usage and now im going over my limit.

 

[C DM]

You've pretty much taken what I wrote and turned it upside down into a whole different scenario. Are you a writer or a lawyer?

If that's the case, the main thing that really shows is that it wasn't a good analogy to begin with (and on that note this thread is certainly littered with quite a few of those in general).

 

[iosuser]

Not pulling data from the rollover pool first seems to me as if their true intention is to train users to get accustomed to consuming more data.

Month 2 maybe i rollover 10 gig and see a whopping 40 gig total so i dig in so i dont lose it. Month 3 comes along and ive grown use to more gluttonous data usage and now im going over my limit.

Wow is that how it works? I didn't read all the details but if it's the case, it's pretty lame.

I just switched to TMo two weeks ago. I had no problem with ATTs service (customer service is actually excellent), or even their pricing when taking into account my sweet two fully subsidized upgrades per year doing cross upgrades from the dumb phone lines.

What I had problem with is their practice. I put data block on my sons line and gave him an iPhone, to ease looking things up on the Internet in class using the schools wifi. A month later they added a $30/mo data plan on his line, even though data is blocked on it. I called and politely raised hell lol. Their best option for me was, keep the same monthly bill, give up my two unlimited lines, and switch to a lousy 6GB share plan I didn't even bother to threaten them with switching. I just did it right after. I couldn't be happier with what I'm getting with TMo. Speed around my area is vastly superior to ATT. No more dropped calls in the house.

PS my son chewed up his 2.5GB in a week ATT would've been racking up those overage charges on me with their generous 6GB shared offering

Good riddance. But I will miss my twice yearly phone upgrades

 

[MacBH928]

How about instead of paying PR and paying for marketing, invest that money in telecommunication infrastructure allowing huge data limits for everyone

 

[rpt777]

I must say this.. thank GOD for Tmobile. They are FINALLY doing what AT&T/Verizon/Sprint should have been doing for years... COMPETE and INNOVATE! And thank god the AT&T Tmobile deal fell through.


I would switch in a new york minute if it wasn't for little to no signal at my house, work, and everywhere between. I did the test drive and was extremely disappointed.[/QUOTE

Well,you could say that ATT is forcing T mobile to offer something as ATT offers superior coverage and better service ...which they use to compete. T mobile is unable to make the finanical comitment to offer better covarage so they use other means, like lower pricing......which is why they can not afford better coverage. I have tried nearly every carrier, and ATT does in fact have a competitive product otherwise they could not sell it. T mobile did not work well, Sprint did not work well, and Verison locked you to their devices which were outdated. Straight Talk did not even have data other than very basic service. ATT does offer nationwide coverage and most of it on 4G or better. And that is why people use them......so to say you they are not competive is innacurate. To say they have a monoply is innacurate....as other service is available, it is just that the other like t mobile is inferrior service.....so naturally they have to offer something.

 

[Terrin]

That's why T-Mobile can do what they're doing. They don't have to upkeep full network speeds covering all of the country. So they pass that savings on to the small footprint they can service. But don't pretend like T-Mobile is any different. If they ever grow as big as ATT, they will behave the same in order to pay for their network infrastructure. It's the cost of the wireless business in the US at this moment and not an evil corporation vs. a not-so-evil one.

BS. The profits AT&T and Verizon make are astronomical. If they were paying as much as you suggest on network maintenance, that wouldn't be the case. Further, the more customers T-Mobile acquires, the more it can invest in its network. This is what AT&T did when it first got the iPhone. It used to trail way behind Verizon and people used to complain like crazy about its network.

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I must say this.. thank GOD for Tmobile. They are FINALLY doing what AT&T/Verizon/Sprint should have been doing for years... COMPETE and INNOVATE! And thank god the AT&T Tmobile deal fell through.


I would switch in a new york minute if it wasn't for little to no signal at my house, work, and everywhere between. I did the test drive and was extremely disappointed.[/QUOTE

Well,you could say that ATT is forcing T mobile to offer something as ATT offers superior coverage and better service ...which they use to compete. T mobile is unable to make the finanical comitment to offer better covarage so they use other means, like lower pricing......which is why they can not afford better coverage. I have tried nearly every carrier, and ATT does in fact have a competitive product otherwise they could not sell it. T mobile did not work well, Sprint did not work well, and Verison locked you to their devices which were outdated. Straight Talk did not even have data other than very basic service. ATT does offer nationwide coverage and most of it on 4G or better. And that is why people use them......so to say you they are not competive is innacurate. To say they have a monoply is innacurate....as other service is available, it is just that the other like t mobile is inferrior service.....so naturally they have to offer something.

I hope you don't mean customer service. AT&T has the worst customer service second only to Comcast.

 

[goobot]

Huh? So getting to roll over gbs of data from month to month is a bad thing? And only worth 50 cents? The ATT hate is strong here. T-Mobile can do this because the coverage sucks!! I don't care if they give it away if I can't use it reliably.

Learn to read, I never said it was worth 50 cents.

 

[Identity Fraud]

Stealing? Really?

If you go to a store and buy a gallon of milk with an expiration date in two weeks, and only drink half of it before it expires, do you accuse the grocery store of stealing from you? No, you would toss it away, and say "Whoops, maybe next time I should buy a half gallon instead so I don't waste any."

You're buying X gigs of data knowing it expires in 30 days. If you consistently have more data than you use, maybe you need to switch to a smaller data plan.

Right? Then, next month when you (some how) drink 1.5 gal of milk (out of a 1 gal jug) the supermarket charges you 300% the value of the overage milk, which magically appeared in the empty jug. Which is nothing like the concept of paying for data on a cellular plan.

 

[AppleFanatic10]

Guess Verizon will be up next?

 

[blakefromat&t]

I wish some people knew exactly how incorrect and misinformed you actually are. you just start bitching and complaining about something you know nothing about!! lmao. AT&T is enhancing your service for free and some of you are whining about it??? Jesus ****ing Christ. shut up and be happy or go to t mobile. NO ONE CARES

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es

I was saying the same thing, at least try to do a longer rollover period if u are trying to be competitive with T-Mobile. A month of rollover is not competitive at all compared to T-Mobile rollover plan.

t mobile is not competition to at&t. T-Mobiles network is literal **** lol

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I just changed my plan on ATT to the Data share. I have two lines and its 130.00 a month with 6 gigs to share with unlimited talk and message. I was paying around 200 a month before with unlimited everything but the graph on my profile showed I wasn't even using 5 gigs a month with both phones so this was a no brainer. So with the roll over hopefully I can hoard the left over data every OTHER month hahaha what a joke.

maybe you should have just kept paying a ridiculous rate for the unlimited plan.

 

[blakefromat&t]

The subsidy is clearly defined on contract as $450.00. So $18.80 is roughly the cost of $450 divided by 24 months contract length.

Minutes are 700 I think...I never ever worry about them as I basically have maxed out my minute rollover. Texts are 200/mo which I've not gone over since the advent of iMessage and that is on the old $5/mo plan which I included in the "plan" price.

Data I need? I'd say 3gb, but I did reach 5gb and get throttled about 9 out of the last 12 months. This is mainly due to wants like streaming Netflix or Pandora at the gym or watching NBA League Pass on the go. I watched two quarters of a basketball game this weekend on the go and it used 1.3gb of data. So, AT&T is giving me "unlimited" because when I get throttled, my data is only good enough to check emails basically!

consider mobile share value. there's no data throttling and its most likely a lot cheaper. also, you can actually use your phone as a wifi hotspot with mobile share. that feature isn't available with grandfathered plans.

 

[lordofthereef]

When are the phone companies going to stop stealing from us?

I buy 10Gb of data in a month, at a price that is far higher than in many other countries. If I use only 7Gb, they simply steal the data I paid for.

The next month I use 11Gb, and they hit me with an overage charge. Even if I only used 1Gb a month for a year, and they have stolen 108Gb from me, they will still charge me extra if I go even a Kb over on the 13th month.

It is a disgusting practice, and this move by AT&T is one step ahead of literally the least they could do.

So how about they announce they are not going to steal anymore? A fair price for a decent service, and if I pay for it, I get to keep it until I use it.

I agree with you to an extent, but what you're paying for is a monthly plan. There are options (none on contract) that have you pay for what you use. It is our choice if we want to go with those as well.

Ethically I am with you though. I'm not costing the company any more buy going over one month when I've not gone over the previous five months before. This exact scenario has happened to me twice. Hopping on ATT chat, they've always taken care of me by crediting the account. I've had so many credits applied to my count for this and that that I don't really have a right to complain. Of course they didn't HAVE to do anything for me in either case, but it's nice to know they've been reasonable. I suppose it helps to pay your bills on time and be a generally desirable customer who asks for very little, in the grand scheme of things.

 

[sshambles]

Are Australian carriers as bad as American ones? (I'm American, genuinely curious)

The big ones are. I won't touch them. But they generally aren't as innovative as I can see T-Mobile being/doing. Would sign up with them in a second if so.

 

[lordofthereef]

I hope you don't mean customer service. AT&T has the worst customer service second only to Comcast.

I'm only speaking for my own experiences, but AT&T has been wonderful over the years, and we've tried Sorint, Verizon, and tmobile too. Tmobile customer service was great. Actual reception, not so much.

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The doubling my 15 gig to 30 felt good. This really feels like "thanks for nothing". Not pulling data from the rollover pool first seems to me as if their true intention is to train users to get accustomed to consuming more data.

Month 2 maybe i rollover 10 gig and see a whopping 40 gig total so i dig in so i dont lose it. Month 3 comes along and ive grown use to more gluttonous data usage and now im going over my limit.

All it takes to train a customer to use 40gb of data instead of 5 is a single month? I think that's a bit of a reach.

I do agree that it sucks, but I don't see the average user habits changing a as a result of this. What I do see is people not getting slapped in the face if they go over their plan by a couple gigs one month while on vacation or something.

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Yes. I think it has something to do with her work not offering free wifi to its employees. She probably gets the prompt in iOS to join a secure network, or something like that. A few times now, she's gone over her 4GB data plan as a result. (Or so she claims. Hmmmmm…..)

You can turn off the auto join unknown networks feature and just keep wifi on. This will still automatically hop on known wifi networks. You simply have to search and select for new ones (which from there in out will be considered "known")

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Why can you NOT switch to NEXT? Next is a pricing plan for the PHONE. Nothing to do with service.

But, for most people, mobile share is not good for a single line.

I think "can't" is "won't" because a next device on a non mobile share plan adds a service charge on top of the device payment.

 

[i-John]

To be fair, they are not stealing from you. Your monthly cost guarantees you a certain data quota each month. If you don't use it all, they are not stealing what you chose not to use.

I agree with you in principle, but it's simply not theft.

Yeah, but the tmobile ad says that, so it must be true

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

I'm hoping my unlimited data rolls over, so I can shut it off next month...

 

[kazmac]

Goodness willing, when I can switch carriers some time from now, T-Mobile will still be offering things like this unlimited data rollover and their cheaper rates. They sound like a great carrier and I hope by the time I am ready to jump, they'll have excellent service in my area.

AT&T's move does not surprise me.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

All it takes to train a customer to use 40gb of data instead of 5 is a single month? I think that's a bit of a reach.

I do agree that it sucks, but I don't see the average user habits changing a as a result of this. What I do see is people not getting slapped in the face if they go over their plan by a couple gigs one month while on vacation or something.

Exactly! People here can't think far ahead enough to realize there isn't really a purpose for giving you a years worth of rollover. It's like rollover minutes. When I had it with ATT, I had like 3000+ minutes...a ridiculous amount that is nice to brag about, but in reality I would never use.

Same with Data. I have a plan that gives me the data I need and a good value. I have the 10GB (now 15GB for free, thank you AT&T) and use about 5GB shared. For me, that's 10GB unused per month, so now my plan is more like a 25GB plan (15GB paid + 10GB unused rollover from previous month). Will I ever use 25GB in a month? I never have and it's unlikely I will, but it's free and if my kids go crazy one month, I'm covered. Do I need 120GB of rollover data at the end of the year? What the heck would I do with it?

Most people already have the plan that fits their need and have no purpose for ridiculously high amounts of rollover data.