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

[aristobrat]

I would love to see the actual cost breakdown for what the per MB cost is to deliver such gold over the air.

That'd be interesting to see. I also wish they'd specifically state how much of the $20 billion they spent in 2011 for capital expenditures went specifically towards their wireless division.

You have to keep in mind that a lot of people have iPhones because it's a phone + iPod. They don't necessarily use a lot of data and 200-300mb is the sweet spot for them.

Agreed. AFAIK, AT&T is the only iPhone carrier that offers a smaller, less expensive iPhone data plan like that.

 

[nt5672]

Nothing really new here. They will raise prices until they see a drop in subscribers. So don't bitch, just switch.

 

[aristobrat]

Nothing really new here. They will raise prices until they see a drop in subscribers. So don't bitch, just switch.

This doesn't affect existing customers (unless they're on the 200mb plan and want to switch up), so I really don't see people switching. If people are currently on the current $25/2GB plan, they remain on the $25/2GB plan.

For new iPhone customers considering either AT&T or Verizon, AT&T's data rates are now the same price as Verizon's, but AT&T gives them 3GB instead of 2GB. Advantage = AT&T.

 

[ChrisTX]

I also have the grandfathered unlimited data plan ($30/mo). I have never gone above 2 GB actually. Once I was at 1.8 GB, but normally around 300-500 MB. But I keep the unlimited plan as a future-proof type thing as it is a given that data usage on a xG network will only increase moving forward.

Do they always throttle *any* user that goes above 2 GB? Or just users that consistently go above 2 GB with an unlimited plan?

Honestly, I'm not sure. I stream a lot of Pandora from my phone at work, and in the car, and I know there are days when it just cuts out on me and won't stream at all. Or when I try to load the Facebook, or Twitter app and it is slow as a turtle! This just seems like another way for AT&T to screw it's highest paying customers out of more money, as if we're not paying enough already. I don't want to have to start paying iPhone data prices just to get data onto my iPad when I'm not near wifi.

 

[davie18]

Lol, I pay £10 / month in the UK for unlimited data, 3000 texts and 300 minutes. Albeit it is a SIM only deal as the iPhone I use it on is unlocked, but even still US contract prices seem a bit steep.

 

[jsw]

This change looks like it might actually save me some money.

I currently have an iPhone 4s and iPad, both on Unlimited. I pay $60/month total, and I do so because ZOMG I have Unlimited and you can't get it anymore and I might use it some day and it makes me so cool to have it and blah blah blah.

A month ago, while on vacation at Disney, my credit card number was hacked, so my card was cancelled, and I forgot it was the card I used for month-to-month on the iPad, and that caused the Unlimited plan to get cancelled. I practically panicked and ended up convincing them to keep letting me have that plan ("convincing" is a stretch - they basically just said "um, OK"). The relief was palpable.

Keep in mind that, in the two years (almost) that I've had the iPad and three and a half years I've had an iPhone, all on Unlimited (yes, they do let you transfer it, at least as of the 4s purchase), I've gone over 2GB in a month once on each device. By about 100mb. My total monthly use (both devices) has never exceeded 3GB, not once. And I use each device all I want, whenever I want. It's just that, when I'm not around WiFi, I tend to be driving, so it's not all that easy to eat up the GBs.

I'll wait for the iPad 3 announcement to be sure there's not some trickery involved, but... it would appear that I could get the 5GB plan on the iPhone, always tether the iPad when I felt like it, and still have room to double my data usage without ever going past the plan limits, all while saving $10/month.

Damn. I must be missing something.

 

[roasted]

So there's no $40 option for tethering anymore...?

Maybe in iPhone land this isn't possible, but my rooted Android tethers just fine without any need of an additional monthly cost from my service provider.

 

[SkippyThorson]

I will never budge from my current $15 200mb data plan that I've had all along. The day I'm forced to pay a dime more than $15 dollars is the day I drop AT&T.

You can on keep grandfathering me in for another century; I'm not budging. Especially not for this price hike bull. Do they expect us to consider this a great value? Price hikes all around?

Bull. Wireless carriers are almost as greedy as some politicians.

If they offer a CHEAPER data plan than $15, I'd consider changing. This is crap.

 

[100Teraflops]

The policy change may benefit or inconvenience people, but the price of data is surely getting out of hand. Long Live Wi-Fi!!! Pretty soon, 'they' will find a way to bill us for that too!!

 

[overcast]

Wish I had the unlimited data before they took it away.

Why? I've I've had the iPhone since the very first one, two months in. I've NEVER reset my Cellular Network Data statistics and I am at 1.4GB total Sent and 9.8GB total Received. That is an average of around 250MB per month and coincides with my monthly AT&T bills from 150-350MB a month. I can't imagine using the 2GB per month AT&T gives new iPhone users, let alone needing unlimited.

 

[MrNomNoms]

I believe tiered plan do limit bandwidth, but at$t's plans do not. Look at the huge gap between the 300 MB and 3 GB plan. I'm guessing, but based on my and my wife's usage, that 95% of current iPhone users use more than 300 mg, but much less than 3 GB per month. So, they are stuck with paying the $30 3 GB plan. Now, people may think that since they're paying for 3 GB, they might as well use it, thus increasing their usual data usage.

I'd say that they've made the tiered plans according to the usage data that they've collected over several months but I wouldn't be surprised if the ended up tweaking it. I know with the carrier I'm with they used to only have a $1 for 10megabytes casual plan and the one up from there was something like 250MB but then they eventually tweaked their data allowance so the jump wasn't so big. What I am surprised about is why they just don't charge a straight fee and let the end user decide whether to tether the phone or surf on the phone itself - I know where I am I pay the monthly data charge and the carrier itself doesn't care a flying continental how I use the data allowance.

 

[mkrishnan]

Maybe in iPhone land this isn't possible, but my rooted Android tethers just fine without any need of an additional monthly cost from my service provider.

Not disingenuous lack of emphasis on key word (bolded by me).

Jailbreaked iPhones can tether on any data plan, as can official iPhones that got one of the apps that briefly landed on the app store and got pulled.

Non-rooted Android devices, AFAIK, are stuck in the same place that iPhones are.

The new AT&T plans stink. I briefly went up to 4GB and didn't really need it; I'm glad I backed down to 2GB before they went and did this.

 

[aristobrat]

I'd say that they've made the tiered plans according to the usage data that they've collected over several months but I wouldn't be surprised if the ended up tweaking it.

I think these specific tiered plans were specifically made so that AT&T can charge as much as Verizon, but still appear to be the better value (by giving more data for buck than Verizon does).

 

[ActionJax]

I used to advocate for AT&T among my friends and family, as I've generally been pleased with their service and pricing options. That's all changing. I can no longer recommend AT&T over the competition.

• AT&T used to offer a reasonable $5/month plan for 200 text messages, or $10/month for 1000 text messages. These options are gone. You have one plan option now and it's $20/month.
• AT&T used to offer a reasonable $15/month data plan with a 200MB allowance. This has worked fine for me and I recommend this plan to most people who are buying their first iPhone. This option is gone. The lowest-cost plan is now $20/month and it allows you to consume an additional 100MB that most people who are content with 200MB/month will not even use.
• AT&T continues to offer the "five-bar dropped call" which is an astounding technical feat that the other mobile providers just can't seem to emulate.

Regarding the data plan price increases, some people say "Eh what's the big deal, it's only $5 more" When you have two iPhones in your family, now the increase is $10/month. That's $120 more each year. And don't forget that you also have to pay tax on that additional $10/month. It adds up.

 

[MrNomNoms]

I think these specific tiered plans were specifically made so that AT&T can charge as much as Verizon, but still appear to be the better value (by giving more data for buck than Verizon does).

Meh, I've never been able to understand how people can go through gigabytes of data. For me my mobile device has always been a complimentary service to my existing fixed line broadband rather than a replacement hence my I've never hit higher than 300MB in a month. The highest I hit was almost a year ago when I went on holiday with my laptop and used my Sierra Wireless 3G stick where I clocked up a few gigs whilst I was away - but that is the exception rather than the norm.

Unlimited data is just unsustainable - something has to give somewhere in the equation as there is a limit to the capacity of each tower then add on top of that trying to get up new towers is like a trip to hell and back. Just look every time a mobile phone vendor tries to put up a new tower and half the neighbourhood believes their brains will be fried to a crisp if they allow it anywhere near their house.

As a consumer you're squeezed on one side by technology and the other side by NIMBY's hell bent on ensuring that any additional capacity is next to impossible to add and if it is added that the carrier has clocked up so much additional costs that they have to recoup it some way (aka higher charges for its customers).

 

[aristobrat]

[*]AT&T used to offer a reasonable $15/month data plan with a 200MB allowance. This has worked fine for me and I recommend this plan to most people who are buying their first iPhone. This option is gone. The lowest-cost plan is now $20/month and it allows you to consume an additional 100MB that most people who are content with 200MB/month will not even use.

To play devil's advocate, will you now recommend that people buying their first iPhones should choose Verizon or Sprint, where $30/month is the least expensive iPhone plan offered?

 

[theman510]

at&t isn't throttling your data at 2gb on the unlimited plan. What they have stated is if you fall in the top 5% of data users for a specific monthly cycle they will begin to throttle you at that point. so the cap depends on how much data people are using. Last week i encountered someone who was being throttled his data usage on the network for the month was over 10gb

According to your logic then of only the top 5% being throttled, if I'm at 2GB and am throttled and someone else is over 10GB, how would I fall into the top 5%? I just think that's incredibly unlikely. I've read up on this a lot and the most logical answer is that it is location based. I live in NJ right across the river from NYC, so I'm in a highly populated area. If I lived out in the middle of Kansas or something I probably would be OK w/ my 2GB's of usage.

 

[aristobrat]

Meh, I've never been able to understand how people can go through gigabytes of data.

Agreed, but if people's choices are $30/2GB or $30/3GB, I think they're going to find the $30/3GB a better value, even if they only end up ever using 500mb/month.

 

[Dwalls90]

Well now I have NO reason to downgrade from my UNLIMITED plan at $30 to this LIMITED plan at a measly 3Gb for the same price.

 

[mkrishnan]

Agreed, but if people's choices are $30/2GB or $30/3GB, I think they're going to find the $30/3GB a better value, even if they only end up ever using 500mb/month.

My usage hovers somewhere around 700-1200MB. I willingly went from unlimited to 2GB because I just didn't use that much data (don't think it's ever been >1.5GB). Honestly, the answer for me on how I use this much data is simply that my iPhone is rarely near wifi (back when it was around more wifi, the number was smaller). So, it's a mix of e-mail, surfing, streaming (used to listen to NPR on my walk to work, etc), app content, downloading small apps, etc, that adds up. I guess you can blame or criticize me for not having wifi at work (which I don't really control) and not having it at home (which I do control, but for which this option works better for me than paying separately for home internet at this point).

As others said, if there were something like a cheaper 1GB plan, I'd be interested in it, but I think there's a fairly large block of users who are somewhere in the 0.5-1.5GB range, and that contingency is getting a fee hike (if they come to AT&T) without getting anything in return.

 

[pandamonia]

No wonder AT&T were happy when the iPhone landed. Data usage went through the roof and so did their profits.

This Scam they are running on the US is worse than the old Bell Monopoly. They are taking you for a ride!

 

[trainwrecka]

This is fair

Dear AT&T,
Make all of your users happy:

$5 = 250 MB
$10 = 1 GB
$20 = 3 GB
$30 = Throttled Unlimited
$50 = True Unlimited

If you go over, 1 GB is applied at the normal $10 amount.

 

[aristobrat]

I think there's a fairly large block of users who are somewhere in the 0.5-1.5GB range, and that contingency is getting a fee hike (if they come to AT&T) without getting anything in return.

I absolutely agree with what you're saying. I just think that the majority of smartphone users have no idea what their actual usage is/will be, and when they consider carriers, they're likely to perceive AT&T as the better value (even though they're unlikely to ever use 3GB/month).

 

[ghostface147]

Regarding the data plan price increases, some people say "Eh what's the big deal, it's only $5 more" When you have two iPhones in your family, now the increase is $10/month. That's $120 more each year. And don't forget that you also have to pay tax on that additional $10/month. It adds up.

Wow, if you can't find a way to save an extra 120 bucks+ stretched out over an entire year, then you have some questionable money saving tactics.

 

[ActionJax]

To play devil's advocate, will you now recommend that people buying their first iPhones should choose Verizon or Sprint, where $30/month is the least expensive iPhone plan offered?

Verizon offers 1000 text messages for $10/month and AT&T does not, so it becomes a matter of how important a text messaging plan is to the individual.