AT&T Introduces New Smartphone Data Plans w/3GB and 5GB Options

[pmz]

This is nothing but a price increase. If you have $30 unlimited -- why pay $30 to get stuck with 3 gig -- at least the $25/2-gig had some monetary incentive.

Stupid AT&T.

Because if you have any idea whats going on right now, Unlimted doesn't mean anything, because we're being capped at 2 GB and throttled down to edge speeds beyond that.

I hate AT&T. And right now they have me considering one of these plans, and giving up my now useless Unlimted plan.

 

[Pipper99]

Hmmm, unlimited users who pay $30/mo get throttled when they exceed 2gb in a month because At&T says they're "abusing" data. Shouldn't AT&T also throttle the new 3gb plan customers who are also paying $30/month when they get to the third GB? It seems to me that either the unlimited user should get an unthrottled 3gb, or the tiered user should get a throttled 3rd gb, if over 2gb puts you in the top percentage.

I don't really want anyone to be throttled: I'm just thinking about AT&T's bulsh. Next, i imagine that they'll throttle all of us and offer a "premium" plan for faster speeds.

 

[cvaldes]

why can't they keep the current data plans?

i have the 200mb, now i have to decide whether I should get the 2gb plan now or not.

They are keeping the current rates for current customers that stick with those plans.

As long as your usage needs don't change, your expenditure won't.

That's fair. The carrier gives the customer what they wanted when they signed up at the rate that they're paying. Change your mind later? Well, pay the current market rate for those services.

Remember that all of these companies will eventually increase their rates. In this case, AT&T is deferring plan increases to existing customers. Think you're immune to price increases? Well, I'd say you're naive at best.

After all, it's not like some eighty-year-old geezer is still paying 7 cents per gallon of milk, even if he buys it every week. Consumer prices go up for everyone eventually.

 

[pmz]

How about just simplify things and offer just a single rate of $10/GB

Individual user: $20 for 2GB. (Essentially min purchase of 2GB)
Family account: $30 for 3GB pooled. (Essentially min purchase of 3GB)

And how about just include tethering for free with these rates? You might just get people to actually pay for and be satisfied with service rather than pissing people off???

What dou mean why? MORE MONEY, that's why. These whores know what they're doing when they offer you 300 MB for $20, and 3000 MB for $30

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Hmmm, unlimited users who pay $30/mo get throttled when they exceed 2gb in a month because At&T says they're "abusing" data. Shouldn't AT&T also throttle the new 3gb plan customers who are also paying $30/month when they get to the third GB? It seems to me that either the unlimited user should get an unthrottled 3gb, or the tiered user should get a throttled 3rd gb, if over 2gb puts you in the top percentage.

I don't really want anyone to be throttled: I'm just thinking about AT&T's bulsh. Next, i imagine that they'll throttle all of us and offer a "premium" plan for faster speeds.

I honestly hope there is a hell to stick these people one day.

 

[aristobrat]

Yes
Image

I've gotten that slow on my Thunderbolt... doesn't seem that slow. When I had a 4S on Verizon it seemed less than earth-shattering too, but it still didn't seem slow.

Ugh, I can't wait for 4G iPhones, even if they only get 1/2 of what you just posted! Then I'll be a happy happy Verizon customer.

 

[Aquaporin]

AT&T should offer plans for people who bring their own phone. And it's a shame T-Mobile's 3G bands are not shared by the majority of world carriers and their unlocked phone choices are crap.

 

[AJH1993]

Ugh, I can't wait for 4G iPhones, even if they only get 1/2 of what you just posted! Then I'll be a happy happy Verizon customer.

I still prefer Android customization options and large screen size options for phones. Yeah, iOS is good but I think a new UI is overdue. A grid of icons just got boring to me. However the iPhone 4S camera is hard to beat. Also love the build quality.

 

[arkmannj]

Tethering should come free with all plans, once you've paid for the bandwidth then why should they care if you use it from your phone or from sharing it with your computer?

 

[cvaldes]

What dou mean why? MORE MONEY, that's why. These whores know what they're doing when they offer you 300 MB for $20, and 3000 MB for $30.

I will point out that the new rates have customers receiving 15MB of cellular data per dollar spent. The current (legacy) rates have customers receiving 13.33MB of cellular data per dollar spent.

It may be more revenue, but not necessarily more profit.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

3rd world countries have unlimited data plans. 3rd. World. Countries. In the most technologically advanced country in the world, its ridiculous that unlimited data plans aren't even available... especially considering the proliferation of the internet and smartphones.

While true in that sense 3rd world countries are the wrong group to compare with.
The US cell network in terms of speed and backhaul lags way behind the other develop countries. It pathic at how far behind the US is. Big time considering the US did invent the internet and the modern computer. The US led the world into the digital age and now it is lagging way behind.

 

[AJH1993]

Tethering should come free with all plans, once you've paid for the bandwidth then why should they care if you use it from your phone or from sharing it with your computer?

Carriers see this as a convenience to customers. Why make it free? It's an excuse for them to charge money. Of course, I have a rooted Thunderbolt and use my LTE as my primary home connection, and have iTether on my iPhone which I downloaded the day before Apple removed it

 

[Cartaphilus]

We've just got a new intrant in the world of French mobile carrier, named Free. All major carriers have since adapted their offer to match Free's plan.

Here's what Free offers : only 2 plans.

EUR 02,00/mo = 60min + 60 sms, no data
EUR 19,99/mo = unlimited voice calls to France, Europe, the US (mobile+landline), unlimited texts, unlimited MMS, 3GB data including tethering, P2P, VOIP, unlimited hotspot access.

And no commitment (you're free to leave) in either case.

Those plans come without a Phone but you can either buy an unlocked iPhone 4S for EUR 629, use your older phone or take a credit with Free which'll cost you EUR 90 more than buying the iPhone cash over 24mo.

Je vais y déménager tout de suite!

 

[TimTheEnchanter]

Tethering for all

Seriously! Tethering should be available on ALL DATA PLANS at no charge. We pay for a certain amount of data. It shouldn't matter to them HOW I use that data. I've never understood how they get away with this.

RELEASE TETHERING or WE'LL RELEASE THE KRAKEN DAMBIT!!!!

 

[unlimitedx]

I will point out that the new rates have customers receiving 15MB of cellular data per dollar spent. The current (legacy) rates have customers receiving 13.33MB of cellular data per dollar spent.

It may be more revenue, but not necessarily more profit.

debatable. now each 2 year contract will yield at&t $5 more a month, so over two years at&t gains $120 more versus someone previously choosing the $15 plan or $25 plan.

 

[gettingmy1stmac]

shared data

Hey, AT&T...how about shared data plans?

 

[kas23]

Ralph de la Vega: Smithers! How are we ever going to pay the $3 billion to T-Mobile as a result of the failed merger?

Smithers: Well, sir, you can always make the customers pay for it.

Ralph de la Vega: Excellent, Smithers! Will do!

 

[Judas1]

This is getting ridiculous. Its nothing but a scam to steal more of our money by charging us for data we don't use. I've got an idea. Lets spam the ATT network as a protest. Pick a day or week, and use all the data in our plan. If you have unlimited, max it out. These vultures need to be taught a lesson.

 

[Aquaporin]

I will point out that the new rates have customers receiving 15MB of cellular data per dollar spent. The current (legacy) rates have customers receiving 13.33MB of cellular data per dollar spent.

It may be more revenue, but not necessarily more profit.

It's pure profit because people's usage won't change. The people who'd use 300 MB would be the people buying 200, same with 3 GB vs 2.

AT&T is raising profits.

 

[cvaldes]

It's pure profit because people's usage won't change. The people who'd use 300 MB would be the people buying 200, same with 3 GB vs 2.

AT&T is raising profits.

Sorry, newer devices create more usage.

Let's set aside Siri data usage. The iPhone 4S has something like an 8MP camera. The iPhone 4 has something like a 5MP camera. On top of that, the video resolution has gone from 720p to 1080p. If I recall correctly, that's about a 2x increase in the number of pixels.

Even if you have an iPhone 3GS user moving to an iPhone 4S and taking the same number of photos as day (let's say 1 photo every two days), that user is still gobbling up more data.

I am using AT&T GoPhone Pay As You Go service and I know what my cellular data usage is *right now*. I expect that to go up some day if I get a newer iPhone, simply from the photo resolution increase.

 

[Rot'nApple]

Especially since emerging technologies continue to make things cheaper for them...wait, WTF?!

Curious to know, what was the NEW asking price for the 32GB iPhone 4 versus the 32GB iPhone 4s that you have in your signature? Will emerging technology ever bring down the cost of the iPhone, outside of purchasing last years version?

Ps: Since it's no big deal, mind if I have $5 a month...for two years?

I'd go after the government for the money you've been paying for increased fuel costs it took you to drive to get your iPhones and to go to work to pay for those iPhones thanks to the current administration's abomination towards drilling for fossil fuels in ANWAR but yet provides funding for foreign nations for drilling, a la Brazil, close down the Gulf's oil drilling platforms after the explosion of one rig, and most recently, no Keystone oil pipeline from Canada and yet all that money for Solyndra which worked out so well and the money for the Chevy Volt that has sold tens of dozens of cars that were recalled due to fire hazard of the battery. Winning! Yeah, the green pres should pay you for your energy cost more than some member here on the forums! It's definitely more than $5.00 a month for two years!

Gas prices for gallon of regular gas January 2009, $1.85. Today's National average $3.37. How many $5.00's a month has that been? Just have to put things into perspective.

http://www.quora.com/What-was-the-price-of-gas-when-Obama-took-office

http://fuelgaugereport.aaa.com/?redirectto=http://fuelgaugereport.opisnet.com/index.asp
/
/
/

 

[Ryth]

sounds like it's ripe time for apple to launch an mvno... only because they're not afraid to shake things up and revolutionize the market (ie. original iPhone launched amongst myriad of crappy devices)

it would at least be interesting to see what they could do with it.

Wasn't Apple interested in buying/bidding on a spectrum for just this reason?

 

[Judas1]

Sorry, newer devices create more usage.

Let's set aside Siri data usage. The iPhone 4S has something like an 8MP camera. The iPhone 4 has something like a 5MP camera. On top of that, the video resolution has gone from 720p to 1080p. If I recall correctly, that's about a 2x increase in the number of pixels.

If these people actually cared about data usage, and not just making more money at your expense, they would make the low data plan more attractive. The truth is, it has nothing to do with data usage. I don't know why you're so focused on it.

 

[unlimitedx]

Sorry, newer devices create more usage.

Let's set aside Siri data usage. The iPhone 4S has something like an 8MP camera. The iPhone 4 has something like a 5MP camera. On top of that, the video resolution has gone from 720p to 1080p. If I recall correctly, that's about a 2x increase in the number of pixels.

Even if you have an iPhone 3GS user moving to an iPhone 4S and taking the same number of photos as day (let's say 1 photo every two days), that user is still gobbling up more data.

I am using AT&T GoPhone Pay As You Go service and I know what my cellular data usage is *right now*. I expect that to go up some day if I get a newer iPhone, simply from the photo resolution increase.

not everyone uploads photos and videos onto the web, let alone on 3g rather than wifi

 

[Yuniverse]

Does that mean that if you upgrade your phone, you have to choose between these plans (because getting a new phone means a new contract). That's a pretty big change from how they have been operating, which is basically if you like what you have, you can continue it.

I personally like my 2GB for $25 plan, and my wife fits fine under the $15 200MB plan. I really don't want to have to pay $10 more per month once we upgrade phones...

As long as you keep using iPhone with AT&T, you can keep the old plan. I don't know when, if at all, AT&T would change their minds on that.

 

[Can't Stop]

5GB for 50? It basically screams AT&T, rape me, please.