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AT&T CEO Confirms Cheaper iPhone Rate Plans Considered
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Mattie Num Nums
macrumors 68030
I have used 45 minutes this month, 15 last month, and 12 the month before.
All I want is text messaging and unlimited tethering. I have 4500 roll over minutes for lords sake!
KindredMAC
macrumors 6502a
I guess I wouldn't mind a tiered pricing for certain caps....
Here is what my iPhone USAGE window reads:
Sent 113MB
Received 1.0GB
... and this has been since I bought my iPhone in September 2007.
What I DO want is the price to come down on the Texting or at least get back to the package deal there was for my iPhone when it first came out.
Here is what my iPhone USAGE window reads:
Sent 113MB
Received 1.0GB
... and this has been since I bought my iPhone in September 2007.
What I DO want is the price to come down on the Texting or at least get back to the package deal there was for my iPhone when it first came out.
Your data usage, per month, can be found on the AT&T website. This may be a more accurate indication.
AT&T's free myWireless app is pretty cool for this info on the fly, btw.
AT&T's free myWireless app is pretty cool for this info on the fly, btw.
everyone keeps tossing around the "<5Gb" limit on the unlimited plan.
"The new unlimited data plans are said to include a 5GB soft cap in order to discourage excessive use - users will not be billed overages but people with constant overages will be contacted to try to reassess the users needs.
that doesn't sound like much of a limit. actually, it doesn't sound like a limit at all. have any of you naysayers actually had any problem with this "limit?" anyone ever go over and have a problem?
i've read several posts where people go over and nothing happens.
so... before all the "unlimited is limited" bitching... says who? and to what effect?
"The new unlimited data plans are said to include a 5GB soft cap in order to discourage excessive use - users will not be billed overages but people with constant overages will be contacted to try to reassess the users needs.
that doesn't sound like much of a limit. actually, it doesn't sound like a limit at all. have any of you naysayers actually had any problem with this "limit?" anyone ever go over and have a problem?
i've read several posts where people go over and nothing happens.
so... before all the "unlimited is limited" bitching... says who? and to what effect?
It's been approximately 20 years now since the USSR fell, get over it! What do you think they did during those years, they evolved, just like us...
Rot'nApple
macrumors 65816
is that 40.3MB & 537MB for just one month or for the seven months you'vd had your phone?
Blue Fox
macrumors 6502a
Another whiny thread about AT&T's rates & plans?
EVERYONE knew about the rates and plans BEFORE they got the iPhone and signed the contract. If you didn't like the rates & plans beforehand, why would you sign the contract then complain about it later? 😕
We should be pleased that AT&T is actually entertaining the possibility of offering limited Data plans, it's good news, especially for those who don't use 5GB (which is a HUGE amount of data to be used per month on a phone).....I would like to see a 1GB or even a 500MB plan.
Sarcastic moral of the story: How DARE a company actually charge money for services they provide. 😀
EVERYONE knew about the rates and plans BEFORE they got the iPhone and signed the contract. If you didn't like the rates & plans beforehand, why would you sign the contract then complain about it later? 😕
We should be pleased that AT&T is actually entertaining the possibility of offering limited Data plans, it's good news, especially for those who don't use 5GB (which is a HUGE amount of data to be used per month on a phone).....I would like to see a 1GB or even a 500MB plan.
Sarcastic moral of the story: How DARE a company actually charge money for services they provide. 😀
You may want to read. Most of the posts here are much like the latter part of yours, skip.
..."entertaining the possibility of offering limited Data plans".
Rot'nApple
macrumors 65816
Not my posts... Not an iPhone owner YET!, but am still interested to know when a poster lists 40.3MB Received and 75.8MB Sent, what all would that include? How many web page views, you tube videos, e-mails with photo attachments, etc. I'm not a heavy user at home so I doubt I would be on the phone but I would still be interested in a "typical" month of an iPhone user when it comes to data usage.
Anyone care to divulge their typical month?
NightFox
macrumors 68040
Sorry, but I think the all too common "if you don't like it, don't do it and don't complain" is lame. I think most people realise that AT&T are a company who's aim it is to make a profit - but there is a difference between making a profit and exploiting a monopolistic position.
One of the big differences between business models in the US and Europe is that the American model (read Harvard) is to aggressively destroy the competition, to maximise profit, whereas the EU model is based on competition. That's why so many big US companies get hit with massive fines when they try to operate in the EU without adjusting their business models.
I think people are aggrieved to be paying AT&T so much money when they feel they're being taken advantage of because they want an iPhone and there's no alternative - especially when they see the better rates that people in other countries are paying for a better contract.
inkswamp
macrumors 68030
AT&T needs to think outside the box. It's so typical of these telecom companies to want to find the magic business model that lasts into eternity so they can sit back and let the cash roll in.
Instead of whining about how lowering costs across the board will hurt them (which I doubt because it will bring in more customers) they need to figure out high-end offerings that less price-conscious customers will go for. There are a lot of business users out there whose employers foot the bill and those folks generally want the best they can get without regard to cost. They could cater to that source with premium packages and high-end features and give the average users a break.
My employer pays for my iPhone but I would never own one myself. It's not just people who agreed to a plan who want lower prices, but rather those of us who would love to own an iPhone if the data/voice plans were not prohibitively expensive.
Instead of whining about how lowering costs across the board will hurt them (which I doubt because it will bring in more customers) they need to figure out high-end offerings that less price-conscious customers will go for. There are a lot of business users out there whose employers foot the bill and those folks generally want the best they can get without regard to cost. They could cater to that source with premium packages and high-end features and give the average users a break.
My employer pays for my iPhone but I would never own one myself. It's not just people who agreed to a plan who want lower prices, but rather those of us who would love to own an iPhone if the data/voice plans were not prohibitively expensive.
Well.. as I suggested, I'm referencing the info I get from AT&T and not the phone. This makes more sense to me. After all, that's what counts here.
My usage is 174MB with 10 days left in my cycle. I check email often, but manually;push and fetch are off. I use Mobile Safari just about every day. Say, 10-20 minutes per day, on average. Send a few photo attachments per week. The occasional YouTube video or other streaming; not much. Use to use SimplifyMedia, but not very often. Checking sports scores, account balances via apps, etc. I'm online as often as needed and without caution of the data I use.
That's about all I can think of. I guess I'm the average user.
Hope that helps.
mciarlo
macrumors 6502
The $30 unlimited data plan is not a service, it's an obligation that I do not want or need with my iPhone. Give me a few GB a month plan for a reasonable price and make that an option - then maybe I'll hate you less AT&T.
EDIT: Don't even get me started about the 450 minutes a month when I only use ~50.
EDIT: Don't even get me started about the 450 minutes a month when I only use ~50.
I would be slightly more inclined to pay $70/month if included unlimited everything (i.e., text messaging).
Rot'nApple
macrumors 65816
Yes it does help. I think I wouldn't even do that much. So I guess I'm below average. User that is, below average user 🙄
Thank you very much. I may join the ranks of the iPhone revolution.
richard4339
macrumors 6502a
We have 3G where I live, and to just really test, I tried to avoid wifi altogether for a month, did as much streaming through Pandora as I could the last week or two of the month, I streamed some TV through Orb, plus did regular usage. I didn't even hit 1gb of transfer for the month (according to AT&T's summary of data used).
Based on this alone, if given the choice to pay $30 for 5gb or, say, $20 for 2gb, I'd drop to the $20 plan. Now, if the $20 only gave me 500mb, for example, I'd probably stick with the $30.
Based on this alone, if given the choice to pay $30 for 5gb or, say, $20 for 2gb, I'd drop to the $20 plan. Now, if the $20 only gave me 500mb, for example, I'd probably stick with the $30.
Chase R
macrumors 65816
I'd consider getting an iPhone this summer if they offered cheaper, limited data plans, and didn't charge fawking $20 for unlimited text... $10-$15 would seem reasonable. And if the iPhone didn't get such crappy service... My BlackBerry will out-do my friends iPhone any day when it comes to service (both using AT&T).
Jan: 67,068 kB
Feb: 95,372 kB
Mar: 97,915 kB
Apr: 30,230 kB
AVG ~ 72,646 kB or just under 71 MB
It feels like I'm on my iPhone constantly, although there is WiFi at my school and home. I don't get reception of any kind inside the building at work.
I'd definitely downgrade if they offered the option. I'd actually prefer to be billed a fixed rate per kB; I don't think it's likely that option would cost more than I paid for data in my heaviest month this year @ $0.31/MB. Then again, they're happy to charge me an absurd $0.05 to transmit a plaintext message...
Is this just anytime minutes, or including night & weekend and mobile-to-mobile?
I considered switching to a prepaid phone when my last contract was up because of my incredibly low anytime minute usage, but when I added in the other things I went from about 200 minutes a month to consistently over 800.
all I want
Is texting and data to be a package for 30 dollars
Christ sake! My sidekick lx gets unlimited EVERYTHING (except minutes) for 20 dollars.
20 dollars!
That's what's holding me back from getting an iphone right now
90 bucks a month? Plus tax. Come on
Is texting and data to be a package for 30 dollars
Christ sake! My sidekick lx gets unlimited EVERYTHING (except minutes) for 20 dollars.
20 dollars!
That's what's holding me back from getting an iphone right now
90 bucks a month? Plus tax. Come on
all I want
Is texting and data to be a package for 30 dollars
Christ sake! My sidekick lx gets unlimited EVERYTHING (except minutes) for 20 dollars.
20 dollars!
That's what's holding me back from getting an iphone right now
90 bucks a month? Plus tax. Come on.
Is texting and data to be a package for 30 dollars
Christ sake! My sidekick lx gets unlimited EVERYTHING (except minutes) for 20 dollars.
20 dollars!
That's what's holding me back from getting an iphone right now
90 bucks a month? Plus tax. Come on.