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

[Windlasher]

I can see why AT&T users don't go near their limit. If they were to go over AT&T would charge them $15 per GB. Same with Verizon, if you go over you get charged $15 per GB. T-mobile offers unlimited high speed data for $30.

We don't go near our limit because I don't use my iPad or phones for streaming and I don't let the kids do it either. They face timed each other constantly a few years back and our bill went to hell.

We keep the larger data plan because if we reduce the data plan, the phone plan goes up so its actually cheaper to keep the larger data plan. Its an ugly cycle designed by ATT so they can say, look at all the data we give away.

All hell would break lose if everyone actually used all of the data ATT "says" its giving us.

 

[C DM]

Doesn't Apple do the same with 16GB iPhones as an entry point?

Weren't customers asking for big screen phones for years and Apple only delivered recently?

Why no vitriol for Apple? Maybe all corporations follow the same formula?

Uh...there's so much vitriol for Apple in relation to all those things and many more all over these forums, and has been for years.

 

[Dmunjal]

Uh...there's so much vitriol for Apple in relation to all those things and many more all over these forums, and has been for years.

No doubt. I was directing my point to him where he singled out AT&T's behavior of offering 300MB as a entry data plan. Apple does the same thing with their 16GB entry point and offers 64GB for "only" $100 more. AT&T charges a small amount to jump to 5GB. Hey, even McDonald's charges 10 cents more for a larger drink size.

The point is everyone does it and to single out AT&T is unwarranted.

 

[compwiz1202]

I see AT&T rollover data starts 1/25. Our bill cycle containing Jan 25 ends Feb 8. Does anyone know if we will get rollover data starting Feb 9, or will it start Mar 9?

 

[01silver4]

Well the way I see it America is a capitalist culture, the main focus is to make as much profit as u can. This type of practice is carried out from small businesses to larger companies AT&T verizon, Apple, etc. so living in a culture like this I have to try and even out the playing field, by getting the best deals for my hard earned cash. To tell the truth I like what T-mobile is doing, because most peole who are like me. If a company like T-moble is willing to put great offers on the table, which I think they are doing. Even though there coverage is not the greatest according to some. I plan to go by T-mobile and get a test phone for a few days.

To be honest they got my attention with some of there offers, particularly the family plans. And not only that there willing to backup features like, we have the fastest LTE etc. here take a phone for a few days and test it for your self. We are not just talking we are being about it. And the CEO for T-moble in his interview he says one of his gold for the company is to be as transparent as they can be with there customers, no gimmicks etc.

And was calling out AT&T and Verizon to stop with the monopoly etc. could it be that T-moble is for real No Bull.... Etc? For me it wouldn't be a bad idea to give them a test run for a few days. The only thing though I have my 6plus on AT&T next 18 and would need to pay it off first, if I decided to make the switch. my wife have her 6 on a two year contract, but T-mobile would pay for early termination fee which is a win right there.

At the end every body is out to make a profit, but I can appreciate the one who is going to give me the best deal for my money. One of my mentor told me in busines u can't carry out the same practices forever. U got to come up with new ideas every once in a awhile, To stay original. And to me it looks like T-mobile is the new idea maybe? Who knows maybe in the next year so AT&T & Verizon may have a true game changer on there hands with T-moble. Because at the rate they are going, for example the CEO saying we are going to keep offering to buy out people's contract until AT&T & Verizon do away with contracts, wait what!!!? This doesn't sound good for the big guys at all, unless they come up with some mind blowing deals.

 

[MrXiro]

I actually have a similar issue with the Apple Watch... see other threads I post on.

The 16gb entry level at this point is BS for an iPad... but "doable" for an iPhone. There are people who just don't consume and thus don't need storage... ie 8gb iPhones users. But with iOS getting fatter and fatter 16gb is the new 8gb and 32gb should be the lowest point of entry for the iPhones. For the record I own 64gb models of Air 2 and iPhone 6.

I wouldn't be surprised if the 6S and the 6S Plus started at the 32gb mark.

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Oh I left them already... and happily. And I was with them for over decade.
With your mentality I bet you enjoy paying your $150 for cable, essentially a dumb pipeline for TV channels. It's ass backwards acceptance because "that's just how it is" that puts progression in technology at a standstill. This is why other countries have WAY better mobile and home internet structures than the US does.

I do complement At&t's Customer Service... which both of you and Unplug ignored.

Thankfully people like John Legere exist to progress things and you don't run companies.

Want more evidence that At&t is a dishonest company?

http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/10/atandt-ftc-motion-to-dismiss/#continued

Defend THAT!

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I have to side with unplugme71 and also note that you might want to save your pennies for a clue. In a competitive market, why should any company give away the store if they don't need to? No one was offering rollover data 3 years ago, so why should they? T-mobile only offers it because they are #3 (or #4) and are trying anything they can to capture more customers. They don't really ever have a chance of moving into #2 position.

I suggest you take all your pent up frustrations about ATT and either change carriers or throw your phone in the trash and move to a deserted island. Or, just get over it.

Oh yeah... it must be ME and there is no evidence that At&t isn't a backhanded company with shady tactics.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/10/atandt-ftc-motion-to-dismiss/#continued

 

[Dmunjal]

Want more evidence that At&t is a dishonest company?

http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/10/atandt-ftc-motion-to-dismiss/#continued

Defend THAT!

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Oh yeah... it must be ME and there is no evidence that At&t isn't a backhanded company with shady tactics.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/10/atandt-ftc-motion-to-dismiss/#continued

There's nothing to defend. I go into the market knowing full well that every company will do what they have to (legally or not) to get my dollar. I make a decision based on value and benefit I get for my purchase. Whether it's AT&T, TMobile, or even Apple. They have all done things that stretch the legal boundaries to make a buck.

The sooner you realize this, the better.

 

[MrXiro]

There's nothing to defend. I go into the market knowing full well that every company will do what they have to (legally or not) to get my dollar. I make a decision based on value and benefit I get for my purchase. Whether it's AT&T, TMobile, or even Apple. They have all done things that stretch the legal boundaries to make a buck.

The sooner you realize this, the better.

I don't need you to tell me that businesses are around to make money.

There are transparent ones and then shifty ones. At&t is shady and that is the point of my posts that I am being attacked on.

You also ignored my other post that answered your query whether or not I think Apple is doing business the same way.

 

[ZCT]

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.

Well we must agree to differ.

I am not saying that the practice is illegal, like actually stealing. We have after all signed a contract which details that they will take bandwidth that we don't use. And of course it is a contract of adhesion, so we can't go negotiating the agreement, we have to take it or leave it.

And while it would be nice if there were dozens of phone providers to choose from and fierce competition kept prices down, that's far from the reality in the US. Essentially there are two massive dominating companies, and a couple of smaller ones. The former offer better coverage, but crappy expensive plans. The latter have better plans, but less coverage.

Whether you choose to believe me or not (feel free to look it up), we here in America do not get very good value from our mobile phone companies. In many other developed nations they have far better pricing.

As for your opinion on the morality of this, I think that if we pay for 10Gb of bandwidth, there is no reasonable reason as to why the phone company has to confiscate it if we fail to use it within a month. The only motivation for this and the use of overage charges is to make money. It's like when the banks arbitrarily fine you if you overdraw your account. Sure, they want people to not spend more than they have, but the $38 billion dollars a year they make in extra revenue probably feels pretty good too.

In 2013 the major players including Verizon started pushing data sharing plans, but it turns out they secretly changed the math to make data even more expensive, despite the reality that the cost of bandwidth to them is and has been falling.

And just look at the lengths they went to to force people off the old unlimited data plans. Turning off WiFi hotspots, disabling various other features, and generally doing anything they could to get us to buy more expensive plans than ever before.

 

[Dmunjal]

I don't need you to tell me that businesses are around to make money.

There are transparent ones and then shifty ones. At&t is shady and that is the point of my posts that I am being attacked on.

You also ignored my other post that answered your query whether or not I think Apple is doing business the same way.

You may be right that they are shady. They may even be doing something illegal. I'm sure they've been sued and lost cases and paid fines. So has Apple, BTW.

The point is we have the choice to do business with whomever we want. The fact that AT&T (and Apple) are still in business with millions of customers that are satisfied enough to not leave to TMobile or Verizon says they are doing something right. I'm not defending their behavior but please don't make such a big deal about it either.

 

[unplugme71]

So you bash Netflix with a hypothetical situation where they cut you off but praise At&t for throttling their customers... you've got a twisted sense of fair business.

because nothing unlimited is truly unlimited in the business world except taxes.

 

[Apple Trees]

LOL, You drank the Red KoolAid and watched too much Verizon propaganda. I travel extensively and AT&T coverage is significantly better and extremely fast. The iPhone on Verizon's network is sketchy at best, especially in the south.

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At T-Mobiles speeds and coverage nationwide, I guess they need to offer it for $30. AT&T's network is significantly more advanced and the coverage is no comparison.

Nope. Try traveling through the Appalachians or especially across the plains states. Verizon usually has LTE while AT&T is 'No Service' or "4G" at best. Then take a look at rootmetrics and notice that Verizon is the top network in almost every state, especially here in the South. The XLTE rollout pretty much eliminated any speed advantage that AT&T and T-Mobile had over them in most markets. AT&T has come a long way and is definitely better than TMO and Sprint, but they still have some work to do to close the gap with Verizon.

 

[lederermc]

Nope. Try traveling through the Appalachians or especially across the plains states. Verizon usually has LTE while AT&T is 'No Service' or "4G" at best. Then take a look at rootmetrics and notice that Verizon is the top network in almost every state, especially here in the South. The XLTE rollout pretty much eliminated any speed advantage that AT&T and T-Mobile had over them in most markets. AT&T has come a long way and is definitely better than TMO and Sprint, but they still have some work to do to close the gap with Verizon.

I've been to the Appalachian... no thanks. I wonder is they now have indoor plumbing now?

 

[Macboy Pro]

Nope. Try traveling through the Appalachians or especially across the plains states. Verizon usually has LTE while AT&T is 'No Service' or "4G" at best. Then take a look at rootmetrics and notice that Verizon is the top network in almost every state, especially here in the South. The XLTE rollout pretty much eliminated any speed advantage that AT&T and T-Mobile had over them in most markets. AT&T has come a long way and is definitely better than TMO and Sprint, but they still have some work to do to close the gap with Verizon.

Still got the kool-aid. I have had both carrier and I have associates and Family on Verizon and their speeds SUCK and the coverage is the same as AT&T they simply market it better. There are many times when I can get faster speeds on my AT&T iPhone than I can on Verizon FIOS. Bottom line. I can put my iPhone 5s (or now my iPhone 6) side by side with a Verizon iPhone and results are never good for Verizon.

 

[ChazSch]

They added the credit discount to encourage people to not upgrade so the carrier didn't have to eat their part of the hardware subsidy.

So yes, if you have a subsidized phone then the cost now does get thrown back into your lap... Unless you have a grandfathered unlimited plan. They don't discount that one once out of contract.

if you bitch enough, they will remove some of the charges. I effectively got $20 of the 30 removed by threatening to switch. I really would not have upgraded both phone lines had I known....they do NOT tell you outright. Its buried in the agreement you sign. Plus, if you get it at say, Walmart...at 6am on a door buster...they do NOT tell you anything

 

[macwh0re]

if you bitch enough, they will remove some of the charges. I effectively got $20 of the 30 removed by threatening to switch. I really would not have upgraded both phone lines had I known....they do NOT tell you outright. Its buried in the agreement you sign. Plus, if you get it at say, Walmart...at 6am on a door buster...they do NOT tell you anything

It's not buried in their agreement that you sign.. You can clearly see their plans in their brochure. You can also see it right on their website in big bold letters under wireless plans and features. You pick the amount of data you want, then select one of the following: smartphone on at&t next or no contract, phones on 2 year contract and basic phones, with the appropriate monthly charge right next to it. It looks pretty straight forward to me. I also wouldn't trust some minimum wage employee from Walmart to explain my at&t plan to me as they are just extending your contract and giving you a discount on your phone.