Is the grandfathered unlimited data from AT&T obsolete?

[normanfox]

I recently dropped my 3 year old unlimited plan for 10GB shared plan. Just in case you haven't realized, they throttle you HARD after 5GB, which makes it pretty much worthless for me. I rather be able to use mobile hotspot legally and not be throttled every month and save a lot of money.

The benefit of unlimited 5GB is that even though they throttle you but they won't charge you extra if you go over 5GB. I consider it as a friendly remember that I reach my allowance without paying penalty for going over.

with 10GB share mobile plan, they don't throttle you but they will charge you once you are over 10GB and it adds up. if you pay attention to their alert msg, then it is ok. for wifes and kids, that is a problem since they don't pay attention to this alert msg.

 

[barkomatic]

I think so... (and I've got a grandfathered unlimited data plan)

My logic... I use whatever data I use. Typically between 3-5 gb a month. If you hit 5gb in a month, they throttle you for the following month... the throughput is next to unusable. So, as near as I can tell, the grandfathered unlimited is really nothing more than an expensive 5gb plan. I'm waiting for the dust to settle and for my iPhone 6+ to come in, and I'm going to switch plans, I think.

Just to clarify, AT&T does *not* throttle you for the *following* month if you exceed 5GB. They only throttle within the same billing cycle.

 

[mizerab1e]

The benefit of unlimited 5GB is that even though they throttle you but they won't charge you extra if you go over 5GB. I consider it as a friendly remember that I reach my allowance without paying penalty for going over.

with 10GB share mobile plan, they don't throttle you but they will charge you once you are over 10GB and it adds up.

Thank you for stating the obvious. As others and I have said several times already, the throttle is so extreme it cannot be used for any youtube, pandora or even loading website without waiting for minutes.

Good luck hitting 10GB with 'unlimited plan'.

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Just to clarify, AT&T does *not* throttle you for the *following* month if you exceed 5GB. They only throttle within the same billing cycle.

Yes, you are right. That's exactly what billing cycle means.

 

[blunti]

Keeping unlimited on both of our lines was the best & cheapest option. Even by paying $300 & $400 for the phones (6 & 6+)
Plus we always go over 5GB / line each month & never ever been throttled yet. Even w/ throttling we would still keep it due to the fact it's cheaper. I see absolutely no reason to switch to shared plan unless they significantly lowered the price for shared 15GB plan

 

[mizerab1e]

Keeping unlimited on both of our lines was the best & cheapest option. Even by paying $300 & $400 for the phones (6 & 6+)
Plus we always go over 5GB / line each month & never ever been throttled yet. Even w/ throttling we would still keep it due to the fact it's cheaper. I see absolutely no reason to switch to shared plan unless they significantly lowered the price for shared 15GB plan

I have no idea why everyone insist you must give up your 'unlimited' plan if you switch to NEXT, but I have done so several times before without any issues.

I stuck with ATT for years just to keep my unlimited. I did not care how much of a bastard they were, but once I started hitting +5GB mark and noticed the pain and save $100 dollars on my 3 lines, I told them to go **** themselves. Keep your 2 lines and unlimited, yes it will be cheaper, but saying you haven't been throttled is just delusional.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

The older plans with unlimited cost more upfront but are cheaper when you calculate the subsidy and yearly upgrades.

the next plans are cheaper UNTIL you start upgrading your lines.

 

[safetyobc]

It won't up your bill by several times. Once you sign 2 YR contract and pay the upgrade fee which can be waived, then you should just be able to pay the monthly shared plan cost until you upgrade again in 2 years. Bill will stay the same.

So the bill increases everyone is talking about is for NEXT when the discount is removed?

 

[iVegas]

Cancelled my "unlimited" plan for this iPhone. It was total junk after 5 gigs anyway, and now I have hotspot. It isn't really "unlimited" if the data stream is so slow after 5 gigs that it's nearly impossible to get to 10 gigs. I'd rather have 10 gigs full speed PLUS the hotspot.

What plan is this? I'd trade my unlimited for 10 gigs and hotspot for the right price.

 

[mizerab1e]

The older plans with unlimited cost more upfront but are cheaper when you calculus the subsidy and yearly upgrades.

the next plans are cheaper UNTIL you start upgrading your lines.

Pretty accurate, except NEXT will always be more expensive regarding of upgrades. When you sign 2 YR contract on $900 Iphone, you pay subsidized $400 or so upfront and call it a day. When you use NEXT for $900 Iphone, you will pay all that $900 in course of 18 month and if you want to upgrade sooner, you have to pay it all off before doing so on that particular line.

Moral of the story is, if you got the dough and eligible, do 2 YR contract. If you are broke and want to buy an Iphone that is way out of your budget, use NEXT and get screwed for months to come.

 

[normanfox]

Thank you for stating the obvious. As others and I have said several times already, the throttle is so extreme it cannot be used for any youtube, pandora or even loading website without waiting for minutes.

Good luck hitting 10GB with 'unlimited plan'.

don't act like you know it all. Here is my situation, and see if that is what you know:

I hit 10GB one time without being throttled in Feb 2014. it seems that AT&T throttle me when I go over 5GB two months in a row.

 

[mizerab1e]

What plan is this? I'd trade my unlimited for 10 gigs and hotspot for the right price.

It's called Share Plan. It gives you unlimited talk/text and 10GB of data to share between your lines. Assuming you have multiple lines that is, and really worth it if you have 3 or more lines.

 

[aham23]

its so hard.

Mobile Share gives you a decreased smarthphone charge of 15-25 less per smartphone.

if you upgrade via NEXT you keep that.

if you ugrade via 2 year contract you lose that and the cost is back up to 40 per smartphone.

it is how they get their money for the smartphone from you. one way or the other you pay for the smartphone.

 

[mizerab1e]

I hit 10GB one time without being throttled in Feb 2014. it seems that AT&T throttle me when I go over 5GB two months in a row.

ATT gods smiled upon you on Feb 2014. I'm all for anyone getting the chance to stick it up to them but I guess they caught on and reamed you which is unfortunate.

God I hate ATT.

Edit: Nice ninja edit bro.

 

[normanfox]

ATT gods smiled upon you on Feb 2014. I'm all for anyone getting the chance to stick it up to them but I guess they caught on and reamed you which is unfortunate.

God I hate ATT.

I went over 5GB a couple times without being throttle. only when I did went over two months in a row, they throttle me.

I went over 10GB by watching Netflix (tethering) while I was in a hospital for a week.

 

[mizerab1e]

I went over 5GB a couple times without being throttle. only when I did went over two months in a row, they throttle me.

All I'm saying is, that's cool you got away with it. But in the end, they will screw everyone who signed up for their 'unlimited' plan. It's just like 'Affordable Care Act' AKA Obamacare, which isn't affordable unless you are homeless and screws everyone over. Say it like it is and don't **** the people who pays your bills you know?

 

[justthinking]

It's actually very simple math

With 2 year contract, you pay $199 + $40 for a $649 phone, which equals to $410 subsidy over 24 month

$410/24=$17.08

So if you can lower your bill by more than $17 per line, then no subsidy plan is cheaper

 

[randy98mtu]

Pretty accurate, except NEXT will always be more expensive regarding of upgrades. When you sign 2 YR contract on $900 Iphone, you pay subsidized $400 or so upfront and call it a day. When you use NEXT for $900 Iphone, you will pay all that $900 in course of 18 month and if you want to upgrade sooner, you have to pay it all off before doing so on that particular line.

Moral of the story is, if you got the dough and eligible, do 2 YR contract. If you are broke and want to buy an Iphone that is way out of your budget, use NEXT and get screwed for months to come.

This blanket statement is not at all true for all situations. I could easily go buy the phone for full retail. I could also do the 2 year contract and pay $25/mo extra ($600 total) PLUS the $200-500 for the upgrade PLUS have to deal with getting the $40 upgrade tax removed. Or I could keep all my money in the bank, pay 0% interest on a 2 year loan for the phone and pay it off when I want to upgrade to a new phone. The best option for me was clearly taking advantage of their 0% financing offer.

And when I switched from the original Mobile Share to the new Mobile Share, my plan went down $25/line/mo.

As has been said previously in this thread, these things are cheaper the more lines you have. That is why 2 years ago when the Mobile Share plans started, I pulled my parents and my wife's family onto my plan with my 20% FAN discount. We now pay $35/mo per line and have plenty of data to share (20 gig) I understand not everyone has a FAN and not everyone can pull together this many lines with trustworthy people. If I didn't have the FAN, we would go up about $4 per line.

My only regret is that I didn't jump all over the "Value" plan the minute it came available.

 

[mizerab1e]

It's actually very simple math

With 2 year contract, you pay $199 + $40 for a $649 phone, which equals to $410 subsidy over 24 month

$410/24=$17.08

So if you can lower your bill by more than $17 per line, then no subsidy plan is cheaper

I think what he was saying was ATT add 15~25$ fee if you use the 2yr contract, which eventually will cover the rest of subsidy. I'm not sure if that is true but I wouldn't doubt it if it were, either way you get ****ed.

 

[normanfox]

All I'm saying is, that's cool you got away with it. But in the end, they will screw everyone who signed up for their 'unlimited' plan. It's just like 'Affordable Care Act' AKA Obamacare, which isn't affordable unless you are homeless and screws everyone over. Say it like it is and don't **** the people who pays your bills you know?

I don't disagree with what you are saying. what I am saying is that unlimited is not "obsolete" for everyone. For me it is cheaper than Mobile Share + Next. I did a spreadsheet calculation.

that is the reason why AT&T is trying hard to get everyone to Next. as their CEO mentioned that subsidized phone is not a sustainable business model.

 

[mizerab1e]

I don't disagree with what you are saying. what I am saying is that unlimited is not "obsolete" for everyone. For me it is cheaper than Mobile Share + Next. I did a spreadsheet calculation.

that is the reason why AT&T is trying hard to get everyone to Next. as their CEO mentioned that subsidized phone is not a sustainable business model.

I've said multiple times that if you are riding solo, 'unlimited' but not plan is the cheapest option for what you get. All I am arguing against is for people who has multiple lines that wants to decide if they should let it go for shared plan to save money and deception while still getting decent data, hotspot and no throttling at 5GB

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This blanket statement is not at all true for all situations. I could easily go buy the phone for full retail. I could also do the 2 year contract and pay $25/mo extra ($600 total) PLUS the $200-500 for the upgrade PLUS have to deal with getting the $40 upgrade tax removed. Or I could keep all my money in the bank, pay 0% interest on a 2 year loan for the phone and pay it off when I want to upgrade to a new phone. The best option for me was clearly taking advantage of their 0% financing offer.

And when I switched from the original Mobile Share to the new Mobile Share, my plan went down $25/line/mo.

As has been said previously in this thread, these things are cheaper the more lines you have. That is why 2 years ago when the Mobile Share plans started, I pulled my parents and my wife's family onto my plan with my 20% FAN discount. We now pay $35/mo per line and have plenty of data to share (20 gig) I understand not everyone has a FAN and not everyone can pull together this many lines with trustworthy people. If I didn't have the FAN, we would go up about $4 per line.

My only regret is that I didn't jump all over the "Value" plan the minute it came available.

Are you certain that there is $25 charge for a line that uses 2 year contract? If so, either way you get ****ed for sure and one should go with NEXT to avoid paying hundreds of dollars up front.

I have the same regret as you. Even bigger regret is what I should have switched to Verizon years ago instead of holding onto this 'unlimited' plan.

 

[tgi]

It's called Share Plan. It gives you unlimited talk/text and 10GB of data to share between your lines. Assuming you have multiple lines that is, and really worth it if you have 3 or more lines.

Thanks for that. I was wondering how many lines you would need for the mobile share plan to become cheaper.

So even at 2 lines, it's still not worth it?

 

[g-limited]

For a single line, unlimited is fine. I pay only $54 a month with my current unlimited plan so I don't think ill be switching anytime soon. I average just about 4GB a month so its perfect for me.

 

[nutmac]

By removing the unlimited data plan and switching to a data share plan, monthly bills can be lowered quite a bit a AND you also get the hotspot feature and no chance of data throttling.

Now does the price difference factor in the price difference between off-contract and on-contract phones? AT&T will charge $15 more per each line if the phone was purchased at subsidized price and is still on 2-year contract. If so, the price difference may become almost nil.

Even with almost no price difference, I favor Mobile Share plan over Family plan if the bandwidth is more than sufficient for reasons you cited. And thanks to T-Mobile's Un-Carrier efforts, AT&T is adding new benefits only to Mobile Share plans, such as free international SMS and MMS.

 

[tgi]

For a single line, unlimited is fine. I pay only $54 a month with my current unlimited plan so I don't think ill be switching anytime soon. I average just about 4GB a month so its perfect for me.

$54 total for your bill? That's crazy, do you not have a text messaging plan?

 

[mizerab1e]

Thanks for that. I was wondering how many lines you would need for the mobile share plan to become cheaper.

So even at 2 lines, it's still not worth it?

If you already have unlimited on both lines, it's sort of toss up. You will end up paying around the same amount, but it comes down to personal preference. Would you rather keep your 'unlimited' plan or have ability to hotspot legally and share 10GB of non throttled data. For a lot of people me included, for the longest time we did everything we can do to keep 'unlimited' out of spite, but once throttling became clear, there was really no point of keeping it around, which is exactly what ATT wanted to force people to do. (They succeeded) You should definitely go talk to your local ATT rep and figure out the numbers and pick what you think is best for you.