AT&T ending grandfathered data plan with iPhone 6?

[lordofthereef]

You sure you are saving $70 a month. Are you losing your subsidy with this? Do you have to pay full price for your next phone?

There are actually folks out there that use their phones until they die, all the while staying in their contracted pricing.

Paying out of pocket for your phone on a plan that has a reduced monthly price due to a lack of subsidy can be very attractive to these folks.

Even those folks who buy phones once every two years religiously can save (to a lesser extent), assuming they don't ever go over their data allotments. This is especially attractive to those who don't use data hardly at all.

Heavy data users will always benefit more from the unlimited data plan assuming the prices stay the same (and of course that they keep offering to grandfather it, which they have no real obligation to do).

 

[ron7624]

Ha ha. You've fallen for ATT (and other carriers) reasons for getting rid of unlimited data. Let's revisit ATT history ok?

Back in August 2009, ATT starting mandating (requiring) all smartphone users be put on UNLIMITED DATA. Read please:

http://bgr.com/2009/08/21/att-to-require-smartphone-data-plans-starting-september-6th/

"We want our customers to have the best possible experience with their Smartphones. A predictable bill is a key factor in customer satisfaction, "

For consumers back in 2009, there was only one choice $30 unlimited data plan. There wasn't any other option. Corporate users paid $45 for unlimited data plan. So before the mandate if you had a smartphone, you could opt out of data. You could have opted out of iPhone data plan altogether. You had two choices, unlimited data or no data (put a data block on). Pretty simple stuff. The iPhone didn't have anything to do with data requirements. Just a money grab by ATT.

So ATT back in 2009 starting forcing any smartphone user to be put on unlimited data. Because they wanted to give users a "better experienced with predictable bills with unlimited data".

It's just a money ploy back in 2009. Once they realize they couldn't make any more more off data users on unlimited data. They started using "tiered data" as another money maker.

So when they switched to tiered data, they tried to blame heavy data users for congesting their network. You see they no longer use the "predictable bill excuse when they switched to tiered data". But it's been proven over and over again, heavy data users don't use much of their data during peak times. Most heavy data users are using it at off peak time.

So each time, ATT's lame excuse falls on its face. And yes I am an ATT shareholder.

The bottom line is ATT needs to show revenue to shareholders. Don't believe the excuses they make.

----------



You sure you are saving $70 a month. Are you losing your subsidy with this? Do you have to pay full price for your next phone?

Why would I. In December I will be able to get subsidized iPhones.

 

[aneftp]

Why would I. In December I will be able to get subsidized iPhones.

So are u on the new mobile sharing plans? If you are on new mobile sharing and saving $70 plus still getting a subsidy than that's great.

But if you are on the new mobile sharing plan $100/10gb data plus $15/line. That's with no subsidy. U can always get a subsidy with that model but att will add $25/line per month if you go the subsidy route with newer mobile shares.

 

[ZipZap]

I thought that T-Mobile used the AT&T network.

 

[ron7624]

So are u on the new mobile sharing plans? If you are on new mobile sharing and saving $70 plus still getting a subsidy than that's great.

Your post caused me to call ATT, go over all the details again and change my plan this afternoon. Yes I will get subsidized phones in December and I chose the 20gb option, but was wrong about the savings, so my savings are now 35 per month. But I have unlimited talk. That is the one thing that made me change. My 79yo motherinlaw is in very bad health and my wife is pushing the 700 minutes calling doctors, etc so that was the real selling point. After all, it is a phone, right? Unlimited would have been great if it were, but it wasn't. It was causing problems trying to hang on to it.
So thanks!!!

 

[ron7624]

I thought that T-Mobile used the AT&T network.

Sadly, I don't think so. I have both an ATT sim and a tmo sim for my iPad Air. The speed difference is very noticeable my at home. The same tower could not be sending both signals.

 

[aneftp]

Your post caused me to call ATT, go over all the details again and change my plan this afternoon. Yes I will get subsidized phones in December and I chose the 20gb option, but was wrong about the savings, so my savings are now 35 per month. But I have unlimited talk. That is the one thing that made me change. My 79yo motherinlaw is in very bad health and my wife is pushing the 700 minutes calling doctors, etc so that was the real selling point. After all, it is a phone, right? Unlimited would have been great if it were, but it wasn't. It was causing problems trying to hang on to it.
So thanks!!!

Yeah, do what's best for you. Everyone's situation is different.

I recommend the mobile sharing to both my brother and sister who are on ATT and they both switched to the tiered data from unlimited datda. Also recommend ATT mobile sharing (no subsidy) to my co workers as well.

I am on a older plan which allows 10 landline calling as well as the 700 minutes and any mobile. So I have a lot of flexibility if we ever run out of any mobile to mobile calls with those landlines along with the rollover.

 

[JackieInCo]

You're paying 74$ monthly? Wow Im only paying 15$ more on AT&T (on the rollover plan with more minutes than ill ever use) with way better LTE and reception everywhere I go! Like inside of buildings and stuff too!

I have LTE everywhere I go on T-Mobile here in Denver. I had to finally leave AT&T after four years because I simply could not get LTE at my house, Verizon was and still is the same way today. With T-Mobile. I finally get it here and I have unlimited everything for $77/month.

----------

Sadly, I don't think so. I have both an ATT sim and a tmo sim for my iPad Air. The speed difference is very noticeable my at home. The same tower could not be sending both signals.

Thats true. At my house on AT&T, I can barely get 1Mbps on 3G, no LTE here and on T-Mobile, nearly 50Mbps on LTE

 

[aneftp]

I have LTE everywhere I go on T-Mobile here in Denver. I had to finally leave AT&T after four years because I simply could not get LTE at my house, Verizon was and still is the same way today. With T-Mobile. I finally get it here and I have unlimited everything for $77/month.

----------



Thats true. At my house on AT&T, I can barely get 1Mbps on 3G, no LTE here and on T-Mobile, nearly 50Mbps on LTE

That 50mpbs won't last long if t-mobile usa gets more popular.

When Verizon launched LTE in Orlando in early 2011. I was averaging nearly 50mpbs consistenly. Now it's hit or miss around 10-30 mpbs. Sometimes as low as 5-6.

Same with ATT LTE. Although ATT has managed their LTE speeds better. I haven't had chance to see Verizon XLTE speeds yet. (I switch between ATT and Verizon service) and currently have my Verizon phone sim in my iPad 3 which doesn't support XLTE. My Verizon (unlocked for GSM) iPhone 5S is being used with my ATT sim. So I could test XLTE out but too lazy to get a nano sim at this point.

 

[Workhorse95]

I had the AT&T store guy try to talk me out of my unlimited plan by looking at data usage, to which I said forget it I am keeping my unlimited. I thought to myself why, obviously they expect usage to increase and I do too. I upgraded to my IPhone 6 Plus phone, kept my unlimited plan and will always. AT&T made considerable money then and at our expense and now we are using the data we rightful offered and should benefit. If others are not offered it now that is there business, but if AT&T continues throttling it or trying to mess with my plan I will seek legal counsel. FTC filed a complaint for throttling against them, and they won't dump your plan for an upgrade. I went to an Apple Store and had no problem.

 

[McDaddio]

but if AT&T continues throttling it or trying to mess with my plan I will seek legal counsel.

You may want to read the T&Cs of your contract before you spend any money on a lawyer.

 

[heyyitssusan]

I actually work for Target Mobile and I have not heard anything of that sort. You were probably told the wrong info, or the AT&T rep didn't know. Mine didn't mention any of that to me.

----------

This. The Target Mobile people are awful about it, and generally have no idea what they're doing on top of it. Thanks to one of them every line on my account somehow got the contract extended. 🙄

You must've dealt with someone who wasn't knowledgeable because I'm sure there are some, but I'm way diferent. Not all of us are like that though.

 

[Emmie320]

I just upgraded mine and my husbands phones to 6 & the Plus and we are on Unlimted Data. We were not asked to change and AT&T said they knew nothing about ending it.

 

[0928001]

I had the AT&T store guy try to talk me out of my unlimited plan by looking at data usage, to which I said forget it I am keeping my unlimited. I thought to myself why, obviously they expect usage to increase and I do too. I upgraded to my IPhone 6 Plus phone, kept my unlimited plan and will always. AT&T made considerable money then and at our expense and now we are using the data we rightful offered and should benefit. If others are not offered it now that is there business, but if AT&T continues throttling it or trying to mess with my plan I will seek legal counsel. FTC filed a complaint for throttling against them, and they won't dump your plan for an upgrade. I went to an Apple Store and had no problem.

Nice 7 month necro. Try not to bump old posts.

 

[TWO2SEVEN]

I upgraded two different accounts, both kept their unlimited data.