AT&T Doubling Data on Mobile Share Value Plans in Limited Time Promotion

[v3rlon]

WRONG! When a guy is using nearly terabytes of his data, it's going to affect my usage. FACT. Enough now.

NO. It's not a fact. It's a MYTH. The guy driving 100,000 miles a year is not responsible for rush hour traffic. He is certainly not more responsible for it than 10,000 guys driving 2 million miles a year but happen to do it in more expensive cars.

How is 5GB more contesting than 100? Or even 10? When selling these caps, AT&T points out that well in excels of 99% of users do not exceed 5gb.

There aren't enough of these power users to cause the congestion you are worried about. It's just a play for money.

 

[franpincho]

I also have the Unlimited data plan and am thinking of giving it up for the 30gb of data (I have 2 users on this plan). I also love tethering and have jailbroken to use it. I never use more than 5-6 gb of data a month and this plan makes it look like I'll have plenty of data AND I can tether "legally!"

I now have my iPhone 6+ and the 2nd user is always hitting his 3gb data limit for the month...so tempting.

Anyone else pondering giving up their unlimited data plans for one of these gems?

I'd be paying more, so, no.

It is quite tempting though, just not $30 extra per month.

 

[rgraf77]

I also have the Unlimited data plan and am thinking of giving it up for the 30gb of data (I have 2 users on this plan). I also love tethering and have jailbroken to use it. I never use more than 5-6 gb of data a month and this plan makes it look like I'll have plenty of data AND I can tether "legally!"

I now have my iPhone 6+ and the 2nd user is always hitting his 3gb data limit for the month...so tempting.

Anyone else pondering giving up their unlimited data plans for one of these gems?

I recently switched from unlimited data and haven't looked back. They were throttling me after 2gb anyway. Plus its cool to legally tether. I think i'm going to upgrade to the 30gb plan.

 

[technopimp]

AT&T doesn't require you to be on any NEXT/JUMP plan either. It's just their Family Share plan.

Per the graphic in tihs article, it's $15/line IF you're on their NEXT plan, otherwise with a 2 year commitment it's $40 per line.

So, I guess they're not requiring it, they'll just charge you a lot more if you don't.

If I had an unlocked phone (or just kept the phone I have now), I don't see how I could NOT be on the NEXT plan (unless I wanted to pay a lot more).

 

[v3rlon]

New York City has 28,000 people per sq mile (highest in USA).
97% of people use cell phones.
So 27,440 in that square mile..
46% are smart phones so about 13,000
AT&T has 34% market share, so about 4,300 users in that square mile using ma bell.

99% of individual users using less 5gb a month.

So when your network is congested, is it 4257 users on there to check Facebook, or the 43 watching Netflix that is more of a problem?

And that is the most crowded place I can find in the US and rounding off to favor the congestion argument.

 

[hashholly]

Yeah, I just checked AT&T's site and they mention your exact scenario:

"*** For plans 10GB or higher, AT&T customers with smartphones on 2-year wireless agreements prior to 2/2/14 are eligible for the $15/mo. access charge. For plans 2GB to 6GB, AT&T customers with smartphones on 2-yr wireless agreements prior to 3/9/14 are eligible for the $25/mo. access charge. If upgrading to a smartphone on a 2-year wireless contract you are no longer eligible for the discounted pricing. To receive this monthly discount, upgrade with AT&T NextSM or pay the full purchase price for your new smartphone."

http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/data-plans.html#fbid=dQXP_jdDwex


It will catch a ton of people by surprise.

We originally just did the two year contract. After all for years now we have been upgrading our phones every two years and assuming that the subsidy was being paid in the service fees, I had no idea that the mobile share plans were different. Just didn't read the fine print and nobody at the AT&T store pointed out the differences between the mobile share plan and the plan I was on.

I'm not saying that the mobile share plan is a bad deal, it probably isn't unless you compare it to T-Mobile, etc. what frustrated me is that it wasn't marketed as a $260 plan that is reduced by $25 per line if you buy the phone outright.

Obviously going on contract with this plan is stupid since you will pay an extra $600 over the two years which is way more than you'd pay to buy the phone outright or use the next plan. But we now have to buy phones outright to make this plan work for us. I think this is the right direction since I have been trying to make my kids understand that iPhones are not free or $200 for a while now, but it should be explained clearly and I think that AT&T advertises this in a deceptive manner that their sales people do not try to clarify.

I just think that some people will get a shock next month that's all. Not everyone, but enough to make it hurt to be an AT&T customer service rep!

 

[MattMJB0188]

Saw this on Ars Technica.

Sure makes a good point.


You see, when you use data on a Grandfathered Unlimited Data Plan, that's called "congestion," so you're throttled at 5GB to EDGE-like speeds to "prevent" it.

Note this "congestion" doesn't occur when you double a shared 15GB data plan to 30GB, or a 20GB plan to 40GB, or a 30GB plan to 60GB, or a 40GB plan to 80GB, or a 50GB plan to 100GB. It doesn't occur if you let both new and current customers keep this "doubled data" in perpetuity, or at least until they change their plan.

No, "congestion" only happens with Unlimited Data Plans throttled at 5 GB.

What a farce.

First, I suggest you learn how to read. Once you do, come back and we'll discuss this further.

My point was that if AT&T reintroduced an unlimited data plan with no throttling, then the network would be brought to its knees. I say that because you would have many people using 100GB's of data just because they can. Unlimited usage with no restrictions is not a good thing. I do feel that they should not call it unlimited. I was not saying that congestion happens with the old unlimited data plan. That would be pretty ignorant of me to assume, considering its throttled at 5GB.

NO. It's not a fact. It's a MYTH. The guy driving 100,000 miles a year is not responsible for rush hour traffic. He is certainly not more responsible for it than 10,000 guys driving 2 million miles a year but happen to do it in more expensive cars.

How is 5GB more contesting than 100? Or even 10? When selling these caps, AT&T points out that well in excels of 99% of users do not exceed 5gb.

There aren't enough of these power users to cause the congestion you are worried about. It's just a play for money.

YES IT IS FACT! Your analogy is terrible. Since we're talking cell sites here, let's just skip around the lame analogies. If I am downloading content to my phone on the same tower a guy was downloading gigs and gigs (considering AT&T reintroduced some sort of truly unlimited data plan) then how would my service NOT be impacted? Of course it still could be impacted if he was on a tiered data plan. But I was strictly stating before that data usage would be impacted for anyone if someone is using 100s and 100s of gigs, even terabytes.

Now I will say this slowly (so to say) so you can understand. One's data usage is N O T I M P A C T E D in a way that is noticeable, unless that person is streaming gigs and gigs of data, crossing into the terabyte threshold on a single tower.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND? Good.

 

[Macboy Pro]

Why is 70% of your post history (dating back to your account creation) either bad mouthing other cellular carriers or putting AT&T on a pedestal?

I think I and everyone else will take any input you have with a grain of salt.

Now that is quite hypocritical of you. Anyone reading this post can right click on your name and see that "70%" of your posts are on the same subject also That laugh made my day...

Anyway, your statistics are wrong, but your premise that I post on certain things more than others, is correct. In particular, I get annoyed at the complete ignorance around the "unlimited plans" It boggles my mind and therefore I take very opportunity to state again and again the facts, rather than the desires of peoples cell phone plans.

Anyway, thanks for the laugh and please enjoy your grain of salt.

 

[kazlx]

I came on here just for this thread after my brother pointed it out to me. I have been thinking about getting rid of my unlimited plan just because of the throttling. I have an unlimited plan that I have had since I bought the first iPhone. My wife is on a 5C with a regular data plan with 2GB and she is always close to going over. I just upgraded to a 6 on the release date.

The throttling is ridiculous...I'm getting 0.3 Mbps on average while paying for an 'unlimited' plan after I hit 5GB, which is usually after about 3 weeks. The data for maps and such becomes basically worthless. So looking at the deal through the share plans, for roughly $20 more a month I can get 30GB a month to share with my wife. Then I don't have to get charged for her going over, we both have more data to share and can use the tethering.

Am I missing something major here? How does the Next plan affect me if I just upgraded to the 6 and paid the $299 contract price for the standard upgrade? Sounds like I should have just done the Next thing when I got my 6. I just want to make sure I don't inadvertently screw myself.

 

[Teyla]

I came on here just for this thread after my brother pointed it out to me. I have been thinking about getting rid of my unlimited plan just because of the throttling. I have an unlimited plan that I have had since I bought the first iPhone. My wife is on a 5C with a regular data plan with 2GB and she is always close to going over. I just upgraded to a 6 on the release date.

The throttling is ridiculous...I'm getting 0.3 Mbps on average while paying for an 'unlimited' plan after I hit 5GB, which is usually after about 3 weeks. The data for maps and such becomes basically worthless. So looking at the deal through the share plans, for roughly $20 more a month I can get 30GB a month to share with my wife. Then I don't have to get charged for her going over, we both have more data to share and can use the tethering.

Am I missing something major here? How does the Next plan affect me if I just upgraded to the 6 and paid the $299 contract price for the standard upgrade? Sounds like I should have just done the Next thing when I got my 6. I just want to make sure I don't inadvertently screw myself.

It doesn't. AT&T Next has nothing to do with these plans if you are a 2 year subsidy subscriber. The news post was about the new mobile share plans, if you want to argue the pros and cons of Next, please take it to another thread (or start your own)!

 

[v3rlon]

First, I suggest you learn how to read. Once you do, come back and we'll discuss this further.

My point was that if AT&T reintroduced an unlimited data plan with no throttling, then the network would be brought to its knees. I say that because you would have many people using 100GB's of data just because they can. Unlimited usage with no restrictions is not a good thing. I do feel that they should not call it unlimited. I was not saying that congestion happens with the old unlimited data plan. That would be pretty ignorant of me to assume, considering its throttled at 5GB.




YES IT IS FACT! Your analogy is terrible. Since we're talking cell sites here, let's just skip around the lame analogies. If I am downloading content to my phone on the same tower a guy was downloading gigs and gigs (considering AT&T reintroduced some sort of truly unlimited data plan) then how would my service NOT be impacted? Of course it still could be impacted if he was on a tiered data plan. But I was strictly stating before that data usage would be impacted for anyone if someone is using 100s and 100s of gigs, even terabytes.

Now I will say this slowly (so to say) so you can understand. One's data usage is N O T I M P A C T E D in a way that is noticeable, unless that person is streaming gigs and gigs of data, crossing into the terabyte threshold on a single tower.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND? Good.

I understand. You do not.

When you experience congestion, it is because thousands of people are on at the same time as you. It has nothing to do with how long they were on before you got there or how long they will be there after you leave.

You log onto this forum at 5:00pm your time. At the same time, there are 4,000 other people in your area online. 1 of them is downloading all the porn on the internet and twirling his mustache at how he is wrecking your internet experience.

That one guy is only 1/4000th of the congestion you experience. He is doing nothing worse than you are buy checking this thread. He doesn't get more bandwidth because he is using more data. He is just on longer.

The bandwidth on his iPhone is ~20Mbits on AT&T on average just the same as yours. If he wants to download all the porn on the internet, he has to stay on the network longer, but there is nothing he can do on one lousy smartphone to somehow magically get 3,000 more people's capacity at any given moment. Therefore he (and every other one of the 4000 users on at that time, are contributing 1/4000'th of the congestion you are experiencing). If your congestion is so bad that you are getting ZERO DL speed, that means he is hitting you to the tune of 5k. That isn't even dial-up speed.

He is creating no more congestion than the guy next to you checking football scores who will only use the phone for data this one time in his entire life.

Porn guy is just on the network longer than you. When you log back into this thread at 2AM and you and he are the only two guys on the network, your phone isn't fast enough (and his isn't either) that you would use up all the band width on the cell tower and even notice each other are there.

See, total data used is NOT bandwidth. That would be like saying folks that drive more than 12000 miles a year have their cars magically take up two lanes (but paying more money for the car will magically shrink it back down).

So yes, the guy downloading all the porn on the internet is have SOME effect
on your experience, but it is a negligible amount and doubtful you would even notice if he logged off. The problem is 4000 people on one tower at the same time, not how long there were there.

Even if the one guy streams gig and gigs of data off of your tower, he STILL can't get more bandwidth than his one device can handle. He will still not get more bandwidth than the other users. He may get more data, but that is because he is on LONGER, not WIDER.

 

[kazlx]

Not really arguing about the Next one way or another, more curious about a mobile share 30GB compared to what I have now with one unlimited line and a 2GB line. It seems like they are pushing people away from the unlimited, even though I get throttled at 5GB to the point it's almost unusable. Trying to figure out what the catch is with the mobile share....

 

[Management]

Maybe the power vs. energy analogy will help explain the matter.

 

[franpincho]

I don't ever get throttled to such unusable levels like most of you describe tbh.
Netflix, HBO Go, iTunes Match streaming, etc etc. I average 22 gb a month, throttling included. I actually got all the way up to 56 GB when the World Cup was on.

Throttling or not, love my unlimited.

 

[Management]

Not really arguing about the Next one way or another, more curious about a mobile share 30GB compared to what I have now with one unlimited line and a 2GB line. It seems like they are pushing people away from the unlimited, even though I get throttled at 5GB to the point it's almost unusable. Trying to figure out what the catch is with the mobile share....

I have the same decision to make but looking like I will be moving away from unlimited and to mobile share with 30GB or 40GB.

My wife has been in her parents line since I met her (3-lines). We planned to move her over to my account but didn't make sense financially since I have an unlimited plan. They moved to Next a couple weeks ago and saved ~$50 per month with 10GB of data instead of 6GB.

With this promotion, I'm thinking it of adding my iPad (3GB data plan) and my iPhone 6 to the family share, i.e. 5 devices, and moving to 30GB of data. I can pay the same amount and get roughly 27GB of data for my iPad and iPhone and save my in-laws an additional $50 per month.

Do the math with your situation, call AT&T to confirm, and make the move that is in your financial interest.

 

[MattMJB0188]

I understand. You do not.

When you experience congestion, it is because thousands of people are on at the same time as you. It has nothing to do with how long they were on before you got there or how long they will be there after you leave.

You log onto this forum at 5:00pm your time. At the same time, there are 4,000 other people in your area online. 1 of them is downloading all the porn on the internet and twirling his mustache at how he is wrecking your internet experience.

That one guy is only 1/4000th of the congestion you experience. He is doing nothing worse than you are buy checking this thread. He doesn't get more bandwidth because he is using more data. He is just on longer.

The bandwidth on his iPhone is ~20Mbits on AT&T on average just the same as yours. If he wants to download all the porn on the internet, he has to stay on the network longer, but there is nothing he can do on one lousy smartphone to somehow magically get 3,000 more people's capacity at any given moment. Therefore he (and every other one of the 4000 users on at that time, are contributing 1/4000'th of the congestion you are experiencing). If your congestion is so bad that you are getting ZERO DL speed, that means he is hitting you to the tune of 5k. That isn't even dial-up speed.

He is creating no more congestion than the guy next to you checking football scores who will only use the phone for data this one time in his entire life.

Porn guy is just on the network longer than you. When you log back into this thread at 2AM and you and he are the only two guys on the network, your phone isn't fast enough (and his isn't either) that you would use up all the band width on the cell tower and even notice each other are there.

See, total data used is NOT bandwidth. That would be like saying folks that drive more than 12000 miles a year have their cars magically take up two lanes (but paying more money for the car will magically shrink it back down).

So yes, the guy downloading all the porn on the internet is have SOME effect
on your experience, but it is a negligible amount and doubtful you would even notice if he logged off. The problem is 4000 people on one tower at the same time, not how long there were there.

Even if the one guy streams gig and gigs of data off of your tower, he STILL can't get more bandwidth than his one device can handle. He will still not get more bandwidth than the other users. He may get more data, but that is because he is on LONGER, not WIDER.

Nope. I don't see it that way. The more users on a single cell site, the less quality service others will receive. FACT. Not going to sit here and argue with you. Thank god unlimited data is gone!

 

[TheWatchfulOne]

Thank god unlimited data is gone!

"Unlimited Data" was never truly here to begin with. I mean when you consider the phone's limited battery life; the limited free time you have to be able to use the data; and other such limiting factors.

That being said I've actually reduced my monthly bill by ~$100 by switching to T-Mobile and upgrading two phones using Jump.

 

[v3rlon]

Nope. I don't see it that way. The more users on a single cell site, the less quality service others will receive. FACT. Not going to sit here and argue with you. Thank god unlimited data is gone!

no, again not a fact.

Putting it in all caps does not make it one.

MattMJB0188 IS SO WILLFULLY IGNORANT HE MUST BE AN AT&T SHILL: FACT.

See? Caps do not make it so.

A Cell tower has WAY more bandwidth than your cell phone. It is designed to support lots of users with 10-40GB of throughput. You phone AND the phone of the power user are not enough to saturate that. It is only when a LOT of people want on the network at the same time that it becomes an issue. If you kick off the guy watching Netflix, someone else will take his spot by checking Facebook as they get diverted from some OTHER tower that was overcrowded.


Also, there never was unlimited data. If I have unlimited to 5GB, then throttled to 1GB per day, then I can't exceed 36GB a month, can I?

36 < infinity, right? in fact, 36 is less than most of the doubled values.

Tiered usage is just a plan to make more money for the providers. It has absolutely nothing to do with capacity. In fact, they like the overage charges so much they want to implement it on your home wired lines too. This is also a bad idea.

 

[Moorepheus]

Per the graphic in tihs article, it's $15/line IF you're on their NEXT plan, otherwise with a 2 year commitment it's $40 per line.

So, I guess they're not requiring it, they'll just charge you a lot more if you don't.

If I had an unlocked phone (or just kept the phone I have now), I don't see how I could NOT be on the NEXT plan (unless I wanted to pay a lot more).

Actually, no, you only pay more per phone if you use the 2 year agreement purchase option. If you use the NEXT PLAN or an Off Contract phone, you get a discount off the device charge. I currently have 6 phones on my 15GB plan (now 30GB with their new offer), only one of them is a NEXT PLAN phone, all the others are OFF CONTRACT phones, so I get a $25 discount for each of the 6 phones. If I wanted too, I could have paid for the phone up front and then I would have 6 off contract phones, still get my $25 discount for each of the 6 phones on my plan. However, if I wanted to get a phone on a 2 year contract, I would have to pay the subsidized fee and then I would lose my discount on the PER PHONE charge, in this case, $25 per month for 24 months.

The NEXT PLAN is a plan that allows you to TRADE IN/UPGRADE your phone sooner then a 2 YEAR CONTRACT. And in fact, in my case, is CHEAPER then the 2 YEAR CONTRACT plan. With the Next Plan, you have 2 Options, the 12 Month Next Plan, in which you make 20 payments for the phone, but you can upgrade in 12 months, turn in your existing phone, the rest of your payments are forgiven and you get a new phone, on the next plan. The 18 Month Next Plan is the same, but you have to wait 18 months before you can upgrade, and the number of payments is upped to 24months. however, if you upgrade every 12 or 18 months, that is the number of payments you make for that phone.

 

[ImSoSad]

Next is a ripoff because you do not get to keep the phone at the end of the term.

With a normal 2-year upgrade, you do get to keep the phone at the end of the term.

 

[thevofl]

Next is a ripoff because you do not get to keep the phone at the end of the term.

With a normal 2-year upgrade, you do get to keep the phone at the end of the term.

If you make the payments that total to the price of the phone, it's yours. If you upgrade before your phone is paid off (in either 12 or 18 months), the phone is theirs. If at any time you want to pay off the phone, it is yours and you can upgrade again.

 

[ImSoSad]

If you make the payments that total to the price of the phone, it's yours. If you upgrade before your phone is paid off (in either 12 or 18 months), the phone is theirs. If at any time you want to pay off the phone, it is yours and you can upgrade again.

Understood-- but this doesn't affect what I said.

Buy a phone at a subsidized price with a 2-year contract and the phone is yours.
2 years later, buy another phone at a subsidized price and the phone is yours.

When you enter a scenario where you can pay 99% of a phone at full price and not own the device you are still under contract-- and not a very good one.

it is a ripoff.

 

[Sayayin]

I came on here just for this thread after my brother pointed it out to me. I have been thinking about getting rid of my unlimited plan just because of the throttling. I have an unlimited plan that I have had since I bought the first iPhone. My wife is on a 5C with a regular data plan with 2GB and she is always close to going over. I just upgraded to a 6 on the release date.

The throttling is ridiculous...I'm getting 0.3 Mbps on average while paying for an 'unlimited' plan after I hit 5GB, which is usually after about 3 weeks. The data for maps and such becomes basically worthless. So looking at the deal through the share plans, for roughly $20 more a month I can get 30GB a month to share with my wife. Then I don't have to get charged for her going over, we both have more data to share and can use the tethering.

Am I missing something major here? How does the Next plan affect me if I just upgraded to the 6 and paid the $299 contract price for the standard upgrade? Sounds like I should have just done the Next thing when I got my 6. I just want to make sure I don't inadvertently screw myself.

Next plan is $15x 20 months =300+ (37.50x20 months this is the price of iphone $750) +tax of this is like $75 that you pay when you get the phone total in this plan you are paying $1125
$15+37.50=52.50 is what you have to pay per month on the next plan

2 year contract you pay $40 x 24 months =$960 plus $330 with taxes for your phone= $1290 total
You are gonna save a bit more with the next plan but eather way you will pay alot

 

[yukyuklee]

Make it unlimited and I may switch back. Switched to Tmobile and never looked back.

Unlimited is unheard of even going past 5GB being grandfathered in to AT&T "unlimited plan" they still gave me a warning saying they will reduce my speed

 

[alfonsog]

How cool was this! I went on the app not knowing about this today to upgrade to the 20GB plan because we've gone over the 15GB plan by one GB the past 3 months. Now its 30GB for the same price as 15GB!!!

I switched to the family share from contracts earlier this year and lost my unlimited (but I never went over 5GB ever from the original iPhone on anyway.) It works out much cheaper. We have 7 iPhones, 4 5s's on next, 1 5c on contract, and 2 regular 5's out of contract, the bill is around $385. The one 5c is $40 a month and the other six are $15 plus the $130 30GB plan, so it's $260 a month plus a little over $100 is the next part which will go away once paid off or continue for upgrading. At least 3 of the next plans probably won't upgrade for a few years barring them breaking the phones because they aren't tech people.

Everyone complaining about the so called increase want a subsidized phone for $15 a month. That's not going to happen. You are paying the full price of the phone either way, and a little more with the contract way. Next may increase your actual monthly bill more depending on your choice of phone but you are paying 0% interest and can upgrade before 2 years. Also you can have a max of 4 phones on next, which is why I haven't upgraded to the 6, I'm might buy it outright or pay off one of the next phones or more likely wait for the 6s, my 5 is just fine and will work with the WATCH although I don't wear a watch at my restaurant or playing viola, both of which I spend most of my time doing.

----------

Understood-- but this doesn't affect what I said.

Buy a phone at a subsidized price with a 2-year contract and the phone is yours.
2 years later, buy another phone at a subsidized price and the phone is yours.

When you enter a scenario where you can pay 99% of a phone at full price and not own the device you are still under contract-- and not a very good one.

it is a ripoff.

It is not a ripoff, because you pay $40 a month for phones on contract, $25 more for the subsidy so $600+$199=$799 for the base 6 which if you use next or buy outright costs $649. On next you only pay $15 for service. After the 2 years the next or contract is paid off and you can keep the phone. If you want to upgrade early they take the phone, if you were 99% paid on next you can pay the $6.49 remaining first and keep the phone and sell it for more and just start a new next plan. Either way the phone costs at least $649 (and $799+$40 activation on contract, which to me is the ripoff.)