Is the grandfathered unlimited data from AT&T obsolete?

[Melodeath]

Can someone explain this?

This looks pretty cheap, but it's only temporary right? Once we need new devices, that $15/month is going to go way up to $40, isn't it? Everyone would have to get Next and pay more for their phones to get that $15 price, right?

 

[randy98mtu]

Can someone explain this?

Image

This looks pretty cheap, but it's only temporary right? Once we need new devices, that $15/month is going to go way up to $40, isn't it? Everyone would have to get Next and pay more for their phones to get that $15 price, right?

That picture is right. And when you upgrade, you either do Next or pay full price for your phone. Both are cheaper than paying the $40 to get the Contract price.

 

[mizerab1e]

I get 25% discount on each line data. Plus I'm in a grandfathered 700 minute with roll over minutes with mobile to ANY mobile.

Never heard of 25% discount before, but hey, more power to you.

 

[randy98mtu]

Never heard of 25% discount before, but hey, more power to you.

I've heard of 25%, but it's definitely good. Mine is 20%.

 

[mizerab1e]

That picture is right. And when you upgrade, you either do Next or pay full price for your phone. Both are cheaper than paying the $40 to get the Contract price.

You cleared stated early that

If you pick up a new 2 year contract phone, you pay $40/mo

which makes no sense and insane even for ATT, but what you just said make more sense. I still think NEXT is always better option unless you are rolling in dough, which in that case you might as well buy the damn thing out right from the beginning.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

You are talking the total plan cost. I'm saying the DIFFERENCE between Next and a Contract is $25/mo (15 vs 40 for 10 gig or higher plans)

Idk how you are getting that number because for me it's MUCH MUCH higher.

I pay about 270 a month for phone service. This year I will be given a subsidy for 3 iPhones which retail for 2100, furthemore I will sell my old iPhones for about 300 a piece.

So

270 x 12 = 3240 - 2100 (subsidy) + 900 (salvage value) / 12 (months) = 170 a month average net cost for AT&T service on my nationwide family plan with 3 new iPhones.

With NEXT I'd be around ~300 or so because I wouldn't get a subsidy anymore and would have to pay off my phones each month.

Next year I will only purchase 2 iPhones so my net service cost increase but still I'm saving atleast 100 dollars a month on the older plan with 2yr contract subsidy.

 

[james92se]

Got rid of unlimited text two years ago so I use apps for text. I'm on an old $29.99 minutes plan and FAN discount as well. $54 is after all taxes and fees.

Ahh. I'm on the Nation 450 with rollover which is $39.99 and the $5 200 text message plan. So that's $15 extra for me right there. My FAN discount is $10.50 so you must get a better discount than me

 

[Melodeath]

That picture is right. And when you upgrade, you either do Next or pay full price for your phone. Both are cheaper than paying the $40 to get the Contract price.

So then the 2-year contract at $40/mo is just a ploy to make more money from people who don't know any better?

 

[ToroidalZeus]

So then the 2-year contract at $40/mo is just a ploy to make more money from people who don't know any better?

2 yr contract doesn't make financial sense for the people who are on the new share everything plans but if you have an older nationwide family plan or even a single plan they are a lot better.

 

[randy98mtu]

Idk how you are getting that number because for me it's MUCH MUCH higher.

I pay about 270 a month for phone service. This year I will be given a subsidy for 3 iPhones which retail for 2100, furthemore I will sell my old iPhones for about 300 a piece.

So

270 x 12 = 3240 - 2100 (subsidy) + 900 (salvage value) / 12 (months) = 170 a month average net cost for AT&T service on my nationwide family plan with 3 new iPhones.

With NEXT I'd be around ~300 or so because I wouldn't get a subsidy anymore and would have to pay off my phones each month.

Next year I will only purchase 2 iPhones so my net service cost increase but still I'm saving atleast 100 dollars a month on the older plan with 2yr contract subsidy.

How many phones? I pay $265/mo for 7 phones and 2 iPads with 20 gig of data. That's just the service cost and essentially I buy any devices outright (Next or upfront).

You are forgetting the $200/phone you will pay upfront for each 16 gig iPhone 6, unless you are getting 5C's.

 

[blunti]

Just a side note, http://about.att.com/story/att_first_quarter_earnings_2014.html

We used to live in Europe for a good 12 years & many countries in the EU provide true unlimited service that actually cost half (or even cheaper) than in the States.

I see absolutely no reason why these multi billion $ corporations should be milking us here left & right. With the money they make off of us every month? They should be upgrading towers/coverage/more data allowance. Instead, they force people into ridiculous monthly GB limits (in 2014 where we've been living in the Digital Age for quite some time now). What's 3/5/10GB in this day of age?

And why is it different than your home ISP?



So instead of hating on your fellow subscriber you should really be hating at&t, verizon (insert random corporation that has stinky throttling policy here)

 

[Vertigo50]

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the various $15, $40, etc. discounts/charges with this plan. But that's okay. It clearly won't save us money. My wife and I pay $115 a month for the two of us. I'm on unlimited, she is on 2GB, and we have so many rollover minutes stored up we could talk non-stop for the rest of the year!

The thing I see with the Mobile Share plan is that AT&T is purposely obscuring some of these discounts and up-charges when you upgrade. I know this is true, because many people switched to the plan and thought they were saving, then posted on the forums here shocked that their rate was going to go up $40 when they get the new iPhone!

This is exactly the crap Apple was trying to cut through when they did the initial plan with the iPhone. $50 + $30 for unlimited data. Simple, short, and sweet. You know what you're paying and there aren't any fluid "discounts" that might change in the future. I wish this had stuck a little better.

At least T-Mobile is now making strides to shake up all this mess and confusion. If their network were better, I would already have switched.

For now, I'm definitely keeping my unlimited. I don't go above 5gb, but the Mobile Share plan would have me paying about $50 extra a month.

So to answer the original question: No, the unlimited plans are not obsolete for all of us.

 

[ender21]

Only explanation I can think of is that some people simply fail to notice the difference, but going from 10MB+ LTE to less than 1MB makes me a sad panda.

I think that's possible. Out here in Southern Cal where LTE is finally becoming widespread, it's anecdotally slower more frequently than LTE in other places I've measured, by LTE standards, of course. I've only gone over 5GB twice in my Unlimited history (that I remember), and each time AT&T told me I would be throttled and I didn't ever notice. My theory is just that: it's slow enough in my area that I wouldn't anyway.

Then again I could be totally wrong on that too. Ha!

 

[ToroidalZeus]

How many phones? I pay $265/mo for 7 phones and 2 iPads with 20 gig of data. That's just the service cost and essentially I buy any devices outright (Next or upfront).

You are forgetting the $200/phone you will pay upfront for each 16 gig iPhone 6, unless you are getting 5C's.

I have 5 phones; 2 with unlimited data.

the 200 + tax is cancelled out when I sell my old iPhones.

So basically I'm paying about the same a month as you except I am getting (net cost) free phones each year.

I think that's possible. Out here in Southern Cal where LTE is finally becoming widespread, it's anecdotally slower more frequently than LTE in other places I've measured, by LTE standards, of course. I've only gone over 5GB twice in my Unlimited history (that I remember), and each time AT&T told me I would be throttled and I didn't ever notice. My theory is just that: it's slow enough in my area that I wouldn't anyway.

Then again I could be totally wrong on that too. Ha!

They only throttle sometimes.

 

[blunti]

I'm honestly glad for you. If you don't mind though, do you mind running speedtest app on her phone and see what speed she gets? If it goes past 1MB, then you have fooled ATT and more props to you. If not, then I'm glad it still works enough for her to use it.

Sure, I'll do that once she's back home with the kid...

 

[g-limited]

Ahh. I'm on the Nation 450 with rollover which is $39.99 and the $5 200 text message plan. So that's $15 extra for me right there. My FAN discount is $10.50 so you must get a better discount than me

I think I've been holding onto this minutes plan since I got the 3GS lol. My FAN discount is at 22% which gives me $13.20 off

 

[james92se]

That's what I thought and it's smart thing to do for sure. Unlimited Text costs $30 or something like that, and it would be wise to use app texts.

How does it work if someone who doesn't have the same app sends you a normal text? do you get charged for it?

I couldn't do without ANY "real" texts, so I went to the 200 text plan prior to AT&T forcing everybody onto unlimited texts and I use it basically only to text work people who do not have iMessage.

Other than that I have been using TextFree for three or four years now. It gives me a "real" phone number and the other person does NOT need to also have TextFree. They can text me from their native SMS app on any phone. The drawback is that I have a separate TextFree number and you have to always remind non-iPhone people that "my number is X, but remember to text me on Y".

I prefer to use WhatsApp but then you have to convince people to download WhatsApp as well and most people don't want to download a special app just to text you.

 

[mizerab1e]

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the various $15, $40, etc. discounts/charges with this plan. But that's okay. It clearly won't save us money. My wife and I pay $115 a month for the two of us. I'm on unlimited, she is on 2GB, and we have so many rollover minutes stored up we could talk non-stop for the rest of the year!

The thing I see with the Mobile Share plan is that AT&T is purposely obscuring some of these discounts and up-charges when you upgrade. I know this is true, because many people switched to the plan and thought they were saving, then posted on the forums here shocked that their rate was going to go up $40 when they get the new iPhone!

This is exactly the crap Apple was trying to cut through when they did the initial plan with the iPhone. $50 + $30 for unlimited data. Simple, short, and sweet. You know what you're paying and there aren't any fluid "discounts" that might change in the future. I wish this had stuck a little better.

At least T-Mobile is now making strides to shake up all this mess and confusion. If their network were better, I would already have switched.

For now, I'm definitely keeping my unlimited. I don't go above 5gb, but the Mobile Share plan would have me paying about $50 extra a month.

So to answer the original question: No, the unlimited plans are not obsolete for all of us.

It's pretty simple really, If you have 3 or more lines, and don't like being throttled to death, then share plan will save money and gives you hotspot and more data you can actually use. If you use one or 2, you won't save money and keep the 'unlimited' plan out of spite but deal with throttling when you get there.

ATT really doesn't obscure anything, it's actually laid out pretty plain and simple for us but we just don't give a damn because we want our iphones. It's amazing how many people use NEXT and complain their bill went up by $40 bucks, I mean isn't that the whole point of NEXT?

Anyways, there are people who keeps unlimited due to totally legit circumstances like this guy, but some keep it due to spite and denial.

 

[randy98mtu]

There is no doubt the AT&T plans are confusing. The best thing to do is do a spreadsheet and figure it out for yourself. I honestly didn't intend to go to the "Value" plans. I went over the 15 gig plan last month by 2 gig, so the overage was $30. I called to switch to the 20 for the month (net cost of $16) and then switch back. She asked about value plans and I said no thanks. The next day I went online and looked and I was on the value plan. Instead of getting mad, I did the math and realized my bill went from $405/mo for 15 gig to $265/mo for 20 gig. That's $20/line and I went up 5 gig. So that $480 savings per line is more than the $450 you get from the subsidy (paying $200 instead of $650 for the phone) And as I have said, I don't mess around getting $40 upgrade charges reversed, which is never a given.

I put my calculator away, calmed down, and settled into my new bill being $140 less per month. Then I bought 2 new iPhones that added $70 onto my bill for my wife and I. I'm still ahead $70/mo. and I had 0 up front cost for my new phones instead of $300 and $500 for a 64 gig 6 and a 128 gig 6 Plus.

 

[mizerab1e]

There is no doubt the AT&T plans are confusing. The best thing to do is do a spreadsheet and figure it out for yourself. I honestly didn't intend to go to the "Value" plans. I went over the 15 gig plan last month by 2 gig, so the overage was $30. I called to switch to the 20 for the month (net cost of $16) and then switch back. She asked about value plans and I said no thanks. The next day I went online and looked and I was on the value plan. Instead of getting mad, I did the math and realized my bill went from $405/mo for 15 gig to $265/mo for 20 gig. That's $20/line and I went up 5 gig. So that $480 savings per line is more than the $450 you get from the subsidy (paying $200 instead of $650 for the phone) And as I have said, I don't mess around getting $40 upgrade charges reversed, which is never a given.

I put my calculator away, calmed down, and settled into my new bill being $140 less per month. Then I bought 2 new iPhones that added $70 onto my bill for my wife and I. I'm still ahead $70/mo. and I had 0 up front cost for my new phones instead of $300 and $500 for a 64 gig 6 and a 128 gig 6 Plus.

Holy smokes, you must have a huge family, 7 lines and 2 ipads??? Considering it all, you are getting one killer deal for it all no doubt.

 

[Kendo]

I remember shortly after the $30 unlimited plan ended during the 3GS days (2009), ATT switched to a 2GB plan for $25. At the time, ATT throttled after you hit 3GB on their unlimited plan.

I know a lot of people who switched to the 2GB in order to save $5 a month. They also reasoned that they never came close to 2 GB and mostly flew around the 1.0GB mark.

Fast forward to today and now 5GB is the new throttle cap, and people easily average over 3GB of data. The point I'm trying to make is that 5 years ago, 2GB seemed enough. Now 5GB seems enough (which is the cap for the unlimited plan). In 5 years with Super LTE (or whatever they call the next technology), data consumption will only increase and maybe 8GB will be the new minimum standard.

 

[blunti]

I'm honestly glad for you. If you don't mind though, do you mind running speedtest app on her phone and see what speed she gets? If it goes past 1MB, then you have fooled ATT and more props to you. If not, then I'm glad it still works enough for her to use it.

Sorry for the delay.

Here you go.

 

[Melodeath]

2 yr contract doesn't make financial sense for the people who are on the new share everything plans but if you have an older nationwide family plan or even a single plan they are a lot better.

So basically the Mobile Share could potentially save me money each month compared to grandfathered family plan, but we'd have to buy new phones full-price and overall spend more, right?

 

[mizerab1e]

Sorry for the delay.

Here you go.

View attachment 493174

View attachment 493175

Interesting, I don't know for sure that you passed 5GB mark yet, but I'll take your word for it. Honestly I'm more amazed you can hit 35MB+ on LTE, where do you live?

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So basically the Mobile Share could potentially save me money each month compared to grandfathered family plan, but we'd have to buy new phones full-price and overall spend more, right?

Shared Plan will save you money for sure if you have 3 or more lines. In many cases $70~100 depending on various options.

 

[randy98mtu]

Holy smokes, you must have a huge family, 7 lines and 2 ipads??? Considering it all, you are getting one killer deal for it all no doubt.

It's my parents, my in-laws, my sister-in-law, my wife and myself. My in-laws have an iPad and I have an iPad. My parents pay me once a year and my in-laws deposit into our account monthly for themselves and my sister-in-law. Works great for us and yes, I think it's a great deal. Like I said, the more people you can get on one plan, the cheaper it gets per person.