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AT&T CEO's "Only Regret" is Offering Unlimited Data Packages

Tinmania said:
That's great for the 10% who use a lot. What about the 90% who don't? You are basically wanting them to subsidize you. Lovely.




Michael
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Exactly what they want you to think. Using large amounts of data where the problem is. They need to build more towers, more backend, etc. A "greedy user" just isn't where the slowdowns come. When a tower has too many users, even if they're just talking on the phone, that slows things down.

AT&T is a billing system, no more.

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mantan said:
People here are so brainwashed it's amazing.

Apple forced AT&T to offer unlimited as part of being an exclusive carrier. It was back at a time when data was 2G and a heavy user used 20MB a month. People who signed up felt they were entitled to lifetime unlimited data at fast speeds for that date...even though the speed/use of data has grown exponentially. And how dare AT&T not build infrastructure off that same $30 to pay for ever increasing data needs.

Every rational person who owned a business would think the exact same way. The 'all you can eat' model for data consumption doesn't work in the cellular world which has a much more restricted 'pipeline' that other internet service options.

Of course a lot of the vitriol is because it's AT&T. If Apple ran a cellular service and Steve Jobs said this last year, people would be fawning over how profound it was.
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Uh, no, they wouldn't. Because he'd be a jerk if he said what this idiot did.
 
Oh poor AT&T missing out on text message money... I enjoy paying almost $100 a month for awfull dial-up speed Edge network data. I feel soooo bad for their loss in revenue over text messages being free through wi-fi in iOS. I'm sure that they are doing just fine financially.
 
So are text messages only free on WI-Fi to other iPhones or they are always free when txt IPhones
 
SirHaakon said:
If it's on Wikipedia, it must be true! :rolleyes:

Read what I wrote again, it's the access to the bandwidth that is limited. We can't "run out" of data because we've used too much of it.
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What the network needs is capacity, which can be multiplied by technical improvement. With 3G, the towers yield x. With LTE, far more. Difference? The protocol, technical development and more capital investment, either private... or public. Increase to X number of users using one technology and there is a limit. Increase the limit by multiplexing, or some other kind of protocol improvement. A data unit could be one size when you've got the tower all to yourself, and split up in smaller units when there's a lot of people. The government could also have been smarter. Allocating ownership of x bandwidth to AT&T, y bandwidth to the other? Dumb. Not transparent. How's this: the network has to deliver x speed at the tower. If they can't, the signal goes to the nearby Verizon one, or vice-versa, and the tower that takes the signal gets a payment from the company with the crowded tower. Result: a powerful incentive to get a new, better tower in that position.

Government could help by increasing the common capacity, the fiber they all use at the back end.

Even the old phone lines could only carry one conversation at a time, at crappy resolution, until they could carry radio station audio with a different protocol.

What everyone wants is free or cheap connectivity, and there's simply no good reason we don't have it.
 
What a self possessed, greedy bastard.
All you can eat? Oh I'm sorry, did you event the internet?
I am so effing pissed that these companies have initiated download caps. How draconian can one be?
 
cmwade77 said:
Huh? What world do you live in?
AT&T offers no unlimited data, their plans are sky high, etc.

T-Mobile offers unlimited everything starting at $35 per line (two line minimum), yes they have throttling, but you can pay a little extra to get more high speed bandwidth. That being said, even when throttle my wife's Android phone has a faster data connection on T-Mobile than mine does when not throttled on AT&T.

Sprint has lower priced plans than AT&T, so does Verizon.

Of course, then you look at the prepaid market like Straight Talk and you can get even cheaper (and have all taxes included).

I still maintain that a nationwide Wi-Max (or some equivalent) network and phones that can connect to it could be a viable and inexpensive alternative though.
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I wouldn't consider T-Mobile a "major" phone company.

Comparing Verizon and AT&T now though, Verizon is still more expensive and still "nickel and dimes" just as much as AT&T. I'm not saying AT&T is as cheap as the second-tier providers, but compared to Verizon they're cheaper. They were when they had unlimited data too. And Sprint has such horrible coverage where I'm at I wouldn't consider them even if I was saving more than the $5/month over AT&T.

I just don't understand this "AT&T is stingy so I'm switching to Verizon" thing. Verizon is just as guilty.
 
I have no problem with not offering unlimited data. But, if it's really a variable cost model then they should charge a variable cost model instead of today's overpriced-then-screw-you-over-and-you-better-use-it-in-30-days model.

If it costs AT&T $x per GB to maintain their network I'd be happy to pay $x per GB.
 
Fuchal said:
I have no problem with not offering unlimited data. But, if it's really a variable cost model then they should charge a variable cost model instead of today's overpriced-then-screw-you-over model.

If it costs AT&T $x per GB to maintain their network I'd be happy to pay $x per GB.
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Then how would AT&T make money?
 
My Only Regret? Having no choice but AT&T for all the early iPhone years, and then reading this POS complain about his loyal customers. I think it's time to start looking at the other carriers...
 
rgravell said:
while thats a great idea, youre not accounting for the fact that the average small business couldnt afford to break into the mobile business because of the high cost of startup. kind of a moot point because of that.
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So how would you go about encouraging people with enough money to get into the mobile carrier business? (and thus provide you great service at a low cost...)

Perhaps by allowing them the opportunity for some possible profits (e.g. hopefully something better than leaving their cash in the bank, or under a mattress) in exchange for their risking and possibly losing their investment? (as well as their life savings or retirement savings...)

Or do you have any better idea?
 
Tones2 said:
Love you fanboy guys. Apple making huge profit margin = GREAT. ATT&T making small profit margin = EVIL. :rolleyes:
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But Apple doesn't rip us off every chance they get. Cellphone carriers in the United States are the absolute worst. These companies actually are the greedy evil ones. Apple is loveable. Google is loveable (well until that whole selling our data thing). Microsoft is l... err nvm that last one but the point here is that companies like Apple think about the consumer. They make great products and sell them to us for cheap. At&T doesn't offer a great service and charges us huge amounts.
 
My regret is believing that Unlimited Service meant Unlimited service.
 
Yeah, and every month I regret the fact that I continue to pay $20 for unlimited text messaging, even though Apple's iMessages does the same thing for free.
 
khovland92 said:
But Apple doesn't rip us off every chance they get. Cellphone carriers in the United States are the absolute worst. These companies actually are the greedy evil ones. Apple is loveable. Google is loveable (well until that whole selling our data thing). Microsoft is l... err nvm that last one but the point here is that companies like Apple think about the consumer. They make great products and sell them to us for cheap. At&T doesn't offer a great service and charges us huge amounts.
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Apples profit margins seem to be fairly large. The term "rip off" can be debated. The fact that Apple makes a killing on nearly every major product that they sell cannot be debated.
 
The whole issue is that Stephenson is torn between maximising profit for the stockholders, paying out bonuses to himself and the other execs, and investing the money in infrastructure, while still competing for market-shares. Why not be a man about his own decisions and stop blaming the market already!

There is no reason to regret offering unlimited data packages (should we call this "seller's remorse"?). But AT&T could initially have set the price to a more sustainable level, as $30 is really cheap. In my country, unlimited data cost no less than $100 per month at the time (it's cheaper now, though). Yes, it was pricey, but at least the customers got what they paid for.
 
AT&T is a fat old skool dinosaur telecom company that will never innovate until it has to. Instead of lying awake worrying about iMessage, why does he not figure out how to get EVERY customer 100MB up and down over wireless? Damn, I bet he'd get a lot more customers that way. Instead, he wants more money from the existing base.

Regardless if a text message requires tons of resources or not, the amount of info sent over the network is minuscule in comparison to me loading this web page. A text message is a 15-20 year old antiquated system. Jesus!! Reinvent it why don't ya? I absolutely love iMessage because it WORKS on wifi and my crappy AT&T signal at my house is typically 1 bar or none. Heck, iMessage is actually SAVING his company money because it doesn't have to use his antiquated system's precious resources!

Maybe AT&T ought to figure out making coverage better. One city I go to I have zero coverage. None. Nadda. Yet my gf on Verizon has 5 solid bars, same with my house.

How about getting a NASCAR app on your network AT&T? How about getting uverse to my house?

Start innovating again. That's why I am happy to give Apple my money and why AT&T can suck it.
 
Macboy Pro said:
and.... the iPhone rode the AT&T network to success. AT&T investing tens of billions growing a network that kept up with the iPhone explosion. It is truly incredible how many people post complete nonsense.
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The AT&T network is infamous for its inability to keep up with the iPhone explosion.

I will give them kudos for being the only wireless network that has an app to report connection issues, AND they're unionized.. plus I like them as a company more than I like verizon, even despite their horrible billing department. You could lose a semi in that billing department, it's insane!
 
"You lie awake at night worrying about what is that which will disrupt your business model," he said. "Apple iMessage is a classic example. If you're using iMessage, you're not using one of our messaging services, right? That's disruptive to our messaging revenue stream."
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Oh no, you are losing a revenue stream that you have extorted from your customers for years because of innovation in the market...now what?

Simple, sell only unlimited text plans, otherwise charge 10 cents per text! Brilliant.

SMS is just an outdated tech, that essentially costs wireless carriers nothing to run. Texts are sent in update packets that are already being sent to towers to identify a phones location. Add some storage and bam you have SMS. Meaning carriers gain nearly 100% profit from every text package. Twitter does more but they do it for free. If anything iMessage helps them now, as people have to pay $20 a month and assuming half of a persons friends have an iPhone, they now use 50% less texts! But he complains because texts don't cost them anything, and data does.

Sorry but if a CEO is crying over their own lack of innovation or unwillingness to adapt I have no sympathy for them.
 
He is an idiot. Not all of my friends have iPhones so I still have messaging for them also, I like the fact that with the unlimited text plan you get free mobile to any mobile calling, so yes, I still have a text plan. The rest of the world gives you more for less cost so US companies need to step up their game.
 
khovland92 said:
But Apple doesn't rip us off every chance they get. Cellphone carriers in the United States are the absolute worst. These companies actually are the greedy evil ones. Apple is loveable. Google is loveable (well until that whole selling our data thing). Microsoft is l... err nvm that last one but the point here is that companies like Apple think about the consumer. They make great products and sell them to us for cheap. At&T doesn't offer a great service and charges us huge amounts.
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What are you talking about? Pretty much any time you buy one of their products you're being ripped off. You think a company has billions of dollars in the bank because they are offering their products at reasonable prices? Of course there are millions of us not caring about being ripped off (including me) but that's another thread.

As far as at&t not offering us a product, I'm very happy with the product they offer me. If it wasn't I would certainly do something about it by switching my provider.... Not by coming into a forum and posting whining comments on a thread clearly made to bash at&t.

All of you crying about at&t do something about it! Move to another carrier.
 
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