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I'm glad you pointed out that it wasn't a typo, I would have assumed! Wow, 3 cents per KB! I guess here in USA, we pay about 1 cent per MB. So compared to that roaming rate, we pay 3,000 times less. I don't get it. Even my Mother uses 50 MB on her iPhone per month (much more on an iPad probably), and she doesn't use much internet (on the iPhone). How much would a 50 MB plan cost on Rogers, Telus or Bell cost?

Thankfully the monthly plans are far more reasonable than off-plan or roaming. The iPad plans from the three carriers are roughly the same:

10 mb/month for $5 (laughably small)
250 mb/month for $15 (also really pushing it, especially with LTE)
5 gigs/month for $35

Looks like they've smartened up some with "data passes" for those who don't want to pay for larger monthly buckets yet also don't want to pay ridiculous overage fees.
 
How the hell is this considered okay by anybody?

It's okay because it doesn't exist as stated. The $5 for 10MB is the first tier in a flex plan, which enables users to maintain their service for a minimal amount in months they don't use cellular service. The max tier is $35 - $36 for 5GB/mo. After 5MB, it's 2 cents per MB.

As a matter of interest, the mentioned Canadian carriers are giving unlimited data for the first two months at $5/mo. For the following four months you get double the data for each tier, or 10GB/mo at the top tier. For the first two months it's true unlimited. One poster earlier in this thread downloaded 82GB in five days on Telus.
 
It's okay because it doesn't exist as stated. The $5 for 10MB is the first tier in a flex plan, which enables users to maintain their service for a minimal amount in months they don't use cellular service. The max tier is $35 - $36 for 5GB/mo. After 5MB, it's 2 cents per MB.

As a matter of interest, the mentioned Canadian carriers are giving unlimited data for the first two months at $5/mo. For the following four months you get double the data for each tier, or 10GB/mo at the top tier. For the first two months it's true unlimited. One poster earlier in this thread downloaded 82GB in five days on Telus.

Aha, thanks. I was looking at Apple's own website (select Apple Store, select iPad 4G, and scroll down). That section did not make it clear it was a flex plan with multiple tiers.

That makes much more sense!

Roaming is still ridiculous though: "Additional data: 2¢/MB. Data transmission charges of 3¢/kB apply when roaming ($3/MB in the U.S.), minimum volume of 20 kB (1 kB in the U.S.)." By comparison, AT&T used to charge 1/2 cent per KB for international roaming, but now charges $10/10 MB for roaming.
 
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Aha, thanks. I was looking at Apple's own website (select Apple Store, select iPad 4G, and scroll down). That section did not make it clear it was a flex plan with multiple tiers.

That makes much more sense!

I think what's on Apple's site is the on-device activation. There are only prepaid fixed tiers there, and for 3G only. For LTE, and the flex plans you must sign up with one of the listed providers' for monthly billed service. You still have the option of month to month, cancellable anytime, or you can go on a year's contract. The advantage of a contract with Rogers or Bell is that if you already have services from them, the addition of the iPad data plan will result in a 5% cost reduction for your services, so you could recoup more than the monthly cost of the $5 lowest tier. That is ideal for those who only use the cellular connection occasionally.
 
I'll be sure to do that after ebay and paypal get their ridiculous amount. ;)

You know you wouldn't have to pay them their ridiculous amount if you just sold it to me directly. I could arrange that. Got a new iPad AT&T LTE and will be receiving it next week.

So...there's that option. Really.
 
It's okay because it doesn't exist as stated. The $5 for 10MB is the first tier in a flex plan, which enables users to maintain their service for a minimal amount in months they don't use cellular service. The max tier is $35 - $36 for 5GB/mo. After 5MB, it's 2 cents per MB.

As a matter of interest, the mentioned Canadian carriers are giving unlimited data for the first two months at $5/mo. For the following four months you get double the data for each tier, or 10GB/mo at the top tier. For the first two months it's true unlimited. One poster earlier in this thread downloaded 82GB in five days on Telus.

Ah, thank you for clarifying. I must have missed that part.
 
Ah, thank you for clarifying. I must have missed that part.

To add to the confusion, there are now two $5 for 10MB plans. One is the on device plan, 3G/LTE for Bell and Telus, 3G only for Rogers, and the other $5 plan for all three providers is the first tier of their 3g/LTE flex plans. The 10MB plans are obviously useless for data, so they are most likely there to provide continuous activation at minimal cost when cellular is not being used.
 
It's worth noting how Netflix currently stops buffering once it reaches 4 minutes of buffered video, making the difference between 3G and LTE not that great, even if you don't watch the entire video. YouTube and streaming sites like it tend to be very lazy with that sort of thing.

One thing a lot of people fail to realize is that while Netflix may only buffer 4 min of video, it automatically adjusts the compression level based on network speed, so you will end up using more data with LTE compared to 3G.

Most sites serving video dont limit the buffer time. And these sites also serve higher quality (ie bigger files) video when they detect a fast connection.

I went over my limit in less than a week (it's 3gb/month) so I'll probably end up paying a lot more than I had budgeted for each month. Hopefully AT&T will charge a more reasonable rate for people who do need to use the LTE connection for video (

And no one really mentioned the fact that some people actually work in the film business and use the iPad when out and about to view remotely hosted video clips in places where there are no wifi connections . . . So the "stop watching stupid videos on YouTube " argument is stupid. It doesn't really apply to a lot of people who need to watch higher res videos as a part of their job.
 
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Thankfully the monthly plans are far more reasonable than off-plan or roaming. The iPad plans from the three carriers are roughly the same:

10 mb/month for $5 (laughably small)
250 mb/month for $15 (also really pushing it, especially with LTE)
5 gigs/month for $35

Looks like they've smartened up some with "data passes" for those who don't want to pay for larger monthly buckets yet also don't want to pay ridiculous overage fees.

Actually that rate of 5 GB/Month at $35 is quite reasonable! It's interesting how the different plans offer such varying levels of value. (The largest plan is only $7/GB, however the smallest plan is $500/GB. The middle plan at 250MB/month is $60/GB)

In the US, the plans are generally $10/GB.
 
AT&T Announced Hotspot Feature!!! iOS 4.3+! iPad 2+

Yeah here's info from March 11, 2011... Really surprised nobody has latched onto this yet, that this was promised over a year ago and never materialized. Maybe this is why Verizon announced and delivered on it, they did not realize AT&T has neglected to enable this old feature?

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/att-adding-personal-hotspot-option-to-ipad-plan/
AT&T has announced that it will allow iPads to utilize the Personal Hotspot feature of iOS 4.3. According to the announcement, the Personal Hotspot feature will be available to iPad customers who choose the $25/2GB monthly plan and add the $20 tethering option, which includes an extra 2GB of data that is shared between tethering and normal usage. Previously, tethering was limited to iPhone users. In the same release, the company notes that customers who activate a new postpaid $25/2 GB plan will receive the first month free.

When AT&T says something, do not hold your breath. By the end of 2013, they should have their LTE rolled out as much as they plan to do so. So who knows? Maybe by iOS 7/8?

On the old AT&T news:
http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?p...5&mapcode=wireless-networks-general|broadband
The Personal Hotspot feature being introduced with iOS 4.3 is also available to customers who choose the $25 plan plus a $20 tethering option that provides an extra 2 GB of data.
 
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