AT&T Won't Charge for FaceTime Over Cellular, Will Require New Mobile Share Plan

Wow ... I'm not sure which is worse ....

For whatever reason, this reminds me of when Bank of America wanted to charge its customers $5 a month for using the debit card.

I'm switching to Verizon. Verizon offers free hotspot / tethering on both the ipad and iphone. AT&T still cannot get it together to allow my ipad a chance to be a hotspot.
 
This is very stupid indeed!

Luckily this does not affect me... I use facetime at home and if i ever needed t use it on the road my phone is jailbroken :cool:
 
NY Guitarist said:
Back at you. I guess you think it's better to stay uneducated, be a compliant consumer robot, and just roll over and do nothing?
Click to expand...

Educated? Yes, doing a Google search is educational, for people who think making forum posts is actually doing something about what they think is some kind of cosmic injustice. Keep on typing NY Guitarist, that'll fix things. :rolleyes:
 
If I'm reading all of this correct, if you're on an unlimited plan now, and want to get the new iPhone you MUST switch to one of the new plans? Is that correct?

Also, I currently have the 2gig data plan, will I be forced to change to one of the new plans which offer zero benefit to me except making me pay $5 more a month for half the data I currently get?
 
blevins321 said:
Just upgrade. They're not forcing you to drop unlimited when you upgrade (unlike Verizon). You'll keep the same plan.
Click to expand...

What he said. When going through the upgrade flow if a customer has a 3G unlimited data plan the system automatically chooses the LTE unlimited data plan. I just always double-check to make sure nothing screwy happens as I click through. Not once have I had it force me to pick a different plan for a customer.
 
Intarweb said:
If I'm reading all of this correct, if you're on an unlimited plan now, and want to get the new iPhone you MUST switch to one of the new plans? Is that correct?

Also, I currently have the 2gig data plan, will I be forced to change to one of the new plans which offer zero benefit to me except making me pay $5 more a month for half the data I currently get?
Click to expand...

No, you will not be required to changed. Unless you wish to use FaceTime over cellular and your not jailbroken.
 
Macboy Pro said:
Its funny reading the ignorance on this board whenever AT&T is in the headlines. Anyone notice that the AT&T Plans are CHEAPER than Verizon? And by the way, my $290 plans (phone and tablets) with 3 iphones and 3 tablets will now be under $200, so YES, it will save money and give unlimited voice, free tethering, and unlimited texting.

You people need to read, investigate for yourself before you run at the mouth about stuff you do not understand.
Click to expand...

"you" need to calm down and realize 90% of people are not in your boat with 100 Devices hot shot. Most people have 1-3 devices and are tired of Corporate greed and swindling.
 
4x03656 said:
I'm switching to Verizon. Verizon offers free hotspot / tethering on both the ipad and iphone. AT&T still cannot get it together to allow my ipad a chance to be a hotspot.
Click to expand...
Nothing in life is free. Have you already done a price comparison? I'd be interested to hear what package you currently have on AT&T, and what package you're considering with Verizon. I'd be surprised if that Verizon plan gives you more (or even the same) for less money.
 
Crap I didn't know that. I hope that doesn't change when they bring out the new iphone with LTE capability. I wonder if it's because they marketed HSPA+ as 4G and if the contract says I already have a 4G plan. Either way, this is great news. I'm looking forward to upgrading to the next iPhone now.

blevins321 said:
Just upgrade. They're not forcing you to drop unlimited when you upgrade (unlike Verizon). You'll keep the same plan.
Click to expand...
 
Kind of funny to read how many people will leave ATT, blah blah blah over such a non issue.

And yes, corporate greed is something new right?:rolleyes:

To call your bluffs:

1) If ATT has the best coverage in your area, you will stay with ATT
2) If you know your way around apps, you will use SKYPE for free to use face time type conversations
3) Are people really dumb enough to leave their unlimited plan for face time?
4) Is everybody who complains about ATT really even using face time?
You got through life without it when it wasn't available and now it's a deal breaker?

Just a few considerations to put things in perspective.

The data game has only just begun. ALL providers cannot keep up with the demand. (I.e. prices will remain high)

Whatever new capacities they will create will be used by new features of our mobile devices.

That's the future!
 
I remember reading about how Steve wanted Apple to build its own carrier network for the iPhone, thereby setting the precedent for shutting the telecoms out of the smartphone business forever. :)
 
Thunderhawks said:
To call your bluffs:

3) Are people really dumb enough to leave their unlimited plan for face time?
Click to expand...

I agree with you except for 3. Why is it dump to move away from an unlimited plan. I have an unlimited plan from the get go, but I plan on switching to the shared plans when the new iPhone comes out. Why? Why should I keep my unlimited? It's pointless! So I get to use more then 3gb and not get charged, so what. At the throttled speed its no better then having sprint, it's useless.
 
Gooberton said:
...and are tired of Corporate greed and swindling.
Click to expand...

Occupy Wall Street anarchist dogma. Vote with your wallet and switch carriers, or better yet, give up your cell phone all together because all corporations are filled with 'greed and swindling'. Why, all corporations should simply sell things at cost, with enlightened elites like you determining what their cost is. Oh, Gooberton, please lead us! Lead us Forward. to the Land of Hope and Change where everyone has both the same opportunity and a govt guaranteed outcome.
 
Really?

Only AT&T would have found a way for all of us who have grandfathered unlimited data plans. Now have to decide to not have FaceTime, or, switch to a sized data plan(w/limitations) Are you stupid? Whole reason all lot of us stayed with your company is because you still honored our old plan, unlimited. You reward your customers who have been with you. But now, you are going to charge for a free service to all of your unlimited users. SPRINT is not charging, and Verizon still has to chime in on the matter….AT&T you **** up big time!:apple:
 
tigress666 said:
Aren't they on the same network as you? I know AT&T doesn't charge you minutes for talking on the phone with some one else on an AT&T mobile. It's one reason we do well on a grandfathered old minute plan (it's so small they don't even offer it anymore). It's not just that we don't talk on the phone much, the few people we tend to talk the most on the phone have AT&T as well so we don't use up minutes talking to them.

(I would assume other networks are the same).
Click to expand...

Yes, my wife is on the same network. My kids are 4, 2, and 5 months. Nothing is more special to me than getting a good morning FaceTime call from my kids. It's much more personal, they can show me what they are doing at that time, etc.

----------
Radio said:
damn - most of us dont use the phone - good for u
Click to expand...

With three young kids it really is an awesome feature. Te kids also call the grandparents via FaceTime, and we live in the same city as them. It is just cooler to see a face with the kids than just the voice.
 
Those who are expressing outrage and saying they will switch to Sprint can't be serious. That network runs at dial-up speed for feck's sake.

I see business value in my AT&T services and finally a reason to drop my unlimited iPhone plan. MY heavy data use is on my iPad and I would LOVE to be able to use my iPad in LTE mode as a mobile hotspot for my Mac. I rarely use more than 512MB of my "unlimited" data on my phone so making this move and sharing with other family members offers me a clear advantage in bandwidth and cost since I will be getting tethering effectively for free. My high water mark for data on my iPhone was just under 1GB, so I've been paying for bandwidth I'm not using. By being able to share with other devices and family, I will finally get some value out of the data I'm paying for on all of this stuff and be able to use it where I need it.

If you have one device, these plans make no sense at all but if you have a group of them, want FaceTime and tethering, do the math. For me it's a no-brainer.

I have a very positive opinion of the new plans and look forward to the rollout this week. For those seriously moving to Sprint. Thanks for freeing up the bandwidth.
 
johncrab said:
Those who are expressing outrage and saying they will switch to Sprint can't be serious. That network runs at dial-up speed for feck's sake.

I see business value in my AT&T services and finally a reason to drop my unlimited iPhone plan. MY heavy data use is on my iPad and I would LOVE to be able to use my iPad in LTE mode as a mobile hotspot for my Mac. I rarely use more than 512MB of my "unlimited" data on my phone so making this move and sharing with other family members offers me a clear advantage in bandwidth and cost since I will be getting tethering effectively for free. My high water mark for data on my iPhone was just under 1GB, so I've been paying for bandwidth I'm not using. By being able to share with other devices and family, I will finally get some value out of the data I'm paying for on all of this stuff and be able to use it where I need it.

If you have one device, these plans make no sense at all but if you have a group of them, want FaceTime and tethering, do the math. For me it's a no-brainer.

I have a very positive opinion of the new plans and look forward to the rollout this week. For those seriously moving to Sprint. Thanks for freeing up the bandwidth.
Click to expand...


ssshhhh

i hope the whiners move to sprint. the death star has been getting so much better since sprint got the iphone.
 
Epic Fail

AT&T are just showing how incompetent and greedy they are. Instead of making things easier they are complicating the process, showing that they are more interested in profits than their customers. I have a 4 person Family Plan - what would possess me to switch to a shared data plan that would cost me a ton of $ more than I pay at the moment. Duh! :confused:
 
So this is what really sucks about this AssTT move to shared. No one really gives a crap about voice and text, cheap and done. I have 3 kids, my wife and me on a plan. They each have 2G and if they go over, they pay the $10. What happens when we share 10G and my daughter uses it in a week. How can I hold her accountable? That would mean every gig would cost us $10? Would it make more sense to just get 5 different accounts tailored to each? As usual, AssTT will find something no one cares about, tell us we can have it, while shuffling the deck to screw as. I so hate them, but really there is no one else.
 
Flitzy said:
Why even bother with AT&T or Verizon? AT&T is too much into these money-grabbing schemes and Verizon is way too buddy-buddy with Google.

Seriously, just sign up for Sprint. Unlimited text messaging, unlimited data, unlimited mobile-to-mobile. How can you say no? :)
Click to expand...

****** ass network
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Back
Top