AT&T Rolls Out Cheaper Unlimited Plans, iPhone Monthly Rate Drops $30

[danjferguson]

My point exactly. I'm on my iPhone constantly, and my wife & I still racked up nearly 2,000 rollover minutes on our 700-minute family plan just over the past several months, and our bill (after taxes) still comes to just under $170 each month, even with my wife's gov't employee discount. We have unlimited texting as the only options were either a measly 200 per month for the both of us (yeah right) or unlimited texts. Way to utilize shrewd business tactics there, AT&T. The only unlimited features I want are data & texting. I do all my personal & work communication from my iPhone, and we still end up with rollover minutes at the end of the month. Not that I'm complaining about rollover minutes (except for the fact that we have yet to dip into that stash), but I think the 700-minute plan deserves a price break just as much as the unlimited-everything plan.

Definitely. I have almost 7000 rollover minutes now after being a year on AT&T, and I do EVERYTHING on my phone. I even try to use up minutes, but it just doesn't happen.

 

[distortedloop]

We get a FAN of 27%. It most definately applies to both voice and data plan. The discounts for each are broken out on our plan.

Really? I'll have to double check my bill, but I'm pretty sure the FAN I use is voice only. It must be company specific.

My FAN is 25% with AT&T. I looked at the offering we get for T-Mobile (in case I tried out a Nexus One)...it's not a fixed amount, it's some odd B.S. percentage that's based on the percentage of corporate usage month to month - whatever the hell that means.

 

[libertyforall]

Wow, that affects what about .001% of iPhone customers? You'd be better off supplementing your mobile phone with a SIP VoIP account, it's WAY cheaper for minutes! Like BroadVoice or Callcentric

 

[mousemd]

in response re: Verizon's pricing. they are so way overpriced. True, I like their coverage, but AT&T had them beat re: price for voice/data. My wife has a blackberry on Verizon and the costs that they charge for everything (voice/data) etc... is just too much. Plus, they cripple their phones and then charge you to use services that should be part of the phone in the first place. I am not a AT&T fan boy, but not happy about cell phone pricing in general

 

[iFalcon]

Really? I'll have to double check my bill, but I'm pretty sure the FAN I use is voice only. It must be company specific.

My FAN is 25% with AT&T. I looked at the offering we get for T-Mobile (in case I tried out a Nexus One)...it's not a fixed amount, it's some odd B.S. percentage that's based on the percentage of corporate usage month to month - whatever the hell that means.

Under our voice plan we have a discount of about $22 and then 16.20 (8.10 for each iPhone). About $40 total.

 

[oldwatery]

Odd, can anyone confirm this? Does that mean you literally don't get internet, or are you just hit with hefty per byte charges if an app or something else decides to use internet??

If true, might open up some options for family members who want an iphone but don't want to pay for the internet access.

Just checked......

" AT&T is Apple's exclusive carrier partner for iPhone in the United States. An eligible data plan for iPhone is required. This data plan covers data usage in the United States and does not cover international data usage and charges. If AT&T determines that you are using an iPhone on your account without an eligible data plan, AT&T reserves the right to add an eligible data plan to your account and bill you the appropriate monthly fee."

That Sucks

 

[casik]

when does Ted (Rogers™) will do the same thing for canada users??

I'm pissed of being ass-raped by him...

Hm... thats odd since Ted died last year.

We already have Tiered data in Canada. I love it. I am paying $70 total for Visial Voicemail, CID, 350(per second) daytime minutes, Unlimited EW @ 7, Unlimited Texting and 500MB. Thats what... $65 USD?

 

[casik]

One word:
Wind

( assuming you live in its service area )

Wind is brutal. Why would you want to get charged per min outside of your home zone? I want my minutes to follow me. Out of all the Canadian iPhone carriers I choose Fido.

 

[oldwatery]

I used to be neutral in the ATT debates that go on around here but reading some of the posts and the above quote from the ATT web site re internet access has swung me firmly into the anti ATT camp. Now, I'm not supporting other carriers. I think they, like political parties, are all the same. But it does suck when we have to put up with these monopolistic corporations who just screw us all on a regular basis.
Sure don't know what the answer is but it is very frustrating.
I'd love to know how many paid for minutes fly around due to our inability to truly tailor our plans to our usage.
Just imagine a car company telling us that we had to fill up once a week and if we didn't use the gas after a certain time we had to dump it!
I would like to have the option to use the internet once in a while but I will never do so more than a couple of times a month maximum. Why should I have to pay the same as a YouTubing FB'ing kid?
Am I being selfish or blind to reality

 

[CubusX]

Unlimited?

So how is AT&T going to get the revenue to upgrade their network when they are lowering prices? Competition is great but their network is lacking dependable on 3G.

 

[the-oz-man]

Wait wait, can I try to guess where this is going?



[the-oz-man]
Then don't sit there and tell us how it all works, you couldn't possibly know.
[/the-oz-man]

I was just going to point out that somebody seems just a little offensive about anything related to AT&T . . .

 

[Le Big Mac]

I just had AT&T completely turn off texts. No incoming, no outgoing. With an iPhone, I can make a call, send an email or use IM. No need for texting. No need for extra charges tacked on.

I did this as well. I have zero use for 20c each or yet another line item on my bill. I suppose if I had tons of teenage friends who liked to text I'd feel differently, but I haven't been a teenager in a while.

 

[Le Big Mac]

I read somewhere that the rollovers are only up to the plan that's being switched to.

Meaning if you're switching from 1400 to 700 min plan, you can only bring over 700 min as rollover.

That is what AT&T does. You get to keep only the monthly amount. Otherwise people would have an expensive plan for one month, load up on rollovers and switch to the cheapest plan.

 

[rumplestiltskin]

Re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic

Neither the AT&T nor Verizon rate plans match what I have been getting from my old Alltel plan. I don't need nor want web (and don't pay for it). I have 1000 minutes per month voice (plus free nights and weekends) shared among three phones with 200 text messages (on one line) for a little over $100 including tax.

I thought technology was supposed to get cheaper over time?

Excuse me while I finish setting up my Magic Jack and disconnect my two land lines.

 

[serdiouk]

ATT's "cheaper" plan

I think this means that Apple has finally dumped ATT as their exclusive carrier. Why would ATT start announcing all of these new phones.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

I'm not normally the "sue" type of person - but i'm NOT happy at hearing that you have to have a $9.99 data plan with Verizon on all phones except the bare bones ones. Just because the phone CAN do "data" - doesn't mean a person should be forced to pay for it. In that case, it just need to be included in the monthly fee for those phones. Period.

I actually don't have data on my smartphone (Treo) right now because my contract was old enough that i don't have to have it.

Frankly, data should be optional on ALL phones. Period. Again, i'm not big on suing and government intervention, but this crap needs to STOP in the current economic climate. Of course, AT&T/Verizon would probably say the Data people aren't using is probably paying for their subsidy.... so they need to maintain that. So break that out of the "plan". Add a fee on top of a base plan if you want to finance the phone over time....

Better yet, blow up the whole system and start over.

 

[MikhailT]

That is what AT&T does. You get to keep only the monthly amount. Otherwise people would have an expensive plan for one month, load up on rollovers and switch to the cheapest plan.

I know, I was telling somebody else who was saying that you'll lose ALL of your rollover when switching. I believe that to be false.

 

[TheOrioles33]

Why can't they offer a plan without direct internet access.
I love my iPhone....as a phone.
I never go on line.
It sucks I have to pay $360+ a year for something I don't use.

Thats bizarre that you only use the iPhone as a phone. I'm the complete opposite. I never use it as a phone but use it for everything else it is capable of. I would just get a regular phone if I were you. Save lots of money.

 

[oldwatery]

Thats bizarre that you only use the iPhone as a phone. I'm the complete opposite. I never use it as a phone but use it for everything else it is capable of. I would just get a regular phone if I were you. Save lots of money.

I hope I'm not bizarre
But personally I don't see that iPhone usage should just revolve around internet access.
It does so many other things so well including mating with my Mac computers. apps etc.
I like it's tactile feel and ease of use as well as it's music playing capabilities.
But that is just me....and it seems there are several posters here that feel that way too.
So, I'm happy being me but not happy paying for something I simply do not require

 

[Dimwhit]

Now if they can just include texting with the data...

I'm also now firmly in the "bring on the tiered pricing" camp. I looked at our past 12 months of usage, and the most data my wife and I (combined) have used is 150MB. I'm paying $60/month for that. I love having it, because we use it all the time, but it's just email/web stuff, so the data is minimal. But I'm paying a ton per MB for it right now.

 

[distortedloop]

I thought technology was supposed to get cheaper over time?

Excuse me while I finish setting up my Magic Jack and disconnect my two land lines.

Technology does get cheaper over time. Services do not, unless there is competition. In the US, the wireless telephony business doesn't have a lot of competition. The iPhone and Nexus One and Droid drive home this point better than anything else. Want an iPhone, you're stuck with AT&T. Droid your stuck with Verizon. Nexus One locks you into T-Mobile (yes, the phone's unlocked and will work (in a crippled EDGE only state) on AT&T) if you want 3G service. When I can buy any phone I want and take it to any network without a contract, prices will finally become competitive. Until then, we just have to suck it up.

- but i'm NOT happy at hearing that you have to have a $9.99 data plan with Verizon on all phones except the bare bones ones. Just because the phone CAN do "data" - doesn't mean a person should be forced to pay for it. In that case, it just need to be included in the monthly fee for those phones. Period.

I think I mentioned earlier that there are as many Verizon haters as there are AT&T haters. Yours is the typical reason I hear for hating Verizon: bizarre pricing and billing requirements, matched with nickel & dime charges and locking out features. AT&T is a greedy pig, but so is Verizon, even if it really does have a better network (which doesn't matter to me, as it's network is no better in the areas I live/work/play 99% of the time.

I did this as well. I have zero use for 20c each or yet another line item on my bill. I suppose if I had tons of teenage friends who liked to text I'd feel differently, but I haven't been a teenager in a while.

I'm 50-ish. I text FAR more than I voice call. The bulk of my friends I text with are in the mid-30s range. I'm not sure texting's popularity is limited to teenagers.

 

[jmass777]

I agree with those who say "Don't believe everything you read" about this being "cheaper." I have the 450 plan and LOTS of rollover minutes. Even in my busiest month I don't come close to using them up, and then I start accumulating them again.

I went way over on the texting plan, so I bought unlimited lifetime texting for $9.95 from beejive, which I can simultaneously turn on on my computer(s), through AOL.

 

[LagunaSol]

I went way over on the texting plan, so I bought unlimited lifetime texting for $9.95 from beejive, which I can simultaneously turn on on my computer(s), through AOL.

But you can't send standard SMS messages to people with dumb phones, correct? I keep going over my 200 text limit too, and I'm sick of paying the overage. And on principle I refuse to pay AT&T $15 a month for a stupid text plan (or $30 for a family unlimited plan). What a racket.

 

[DakotaGuy]

Attention which may not be turning into actual sales, if this report last week is even close to accurate:

http://mobile.venturebeat.com/2010/...e-phone-sells-a-mere-20000-in-its-first-week/

20,000 in launch week??? Ouch.

The Nexus One isn't doing very well, but the Droid sold an estimated 1.2 million units last quarter, which was actually just November and December. I understand the iPhone probably sold 10x that in the quarter, but it is a good solid start for a new phone.

http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/Opp...-by-Motorola-last-quarter-article-a_8675.html

In Other News...

Is this the Nexus Two? Sounds like it could be...

http://www.slashgear.com/google-nexus-two-spotted-in-shape-of-qwerty-motorola-shadow-1670084/

For a slider that is VERY thin.

 

[LagunaSol]

The Nexus One isn't doing very well, but the Droid sold an estimated 1.2 million units last quarter, which was actually just November and December. I understand the iPhone probably sold 10x that in the quarter, but it is a good solid start for a new phone.

Too bad the Droid is yesterday's news in AndroidLand. Today's news is the Nexus One. Tomorrow it will be something different.

Android handset makers aren't just competing against Apple, they're competing against each other. Not a position I'd want to be in.