If this plan was worked out between the major carriers it would be called "price fixing", which is a federal offense under the Sherman Antitrust Act. I'm not saying you aren't right. In fact, you probably are right, and it wont matter because the FCC and congress are bought and paid for.
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More Details on AT&T's Data Plan Changes for iPhone and iPad
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If this plan was worked out between the major carriers it would be called "price fixing", which is a federal offense under the Sherman Antitrust Act. I'm not saying you aren't right. In fact, you probably are right, and it wont matter because the FCC and congress are bought and paid for.
Just to clarify, you are saying that there is in fact a 5gb cap...but people who have not reached this mythical cap are paying more than the $30 dollars or as you put it "surprised to get nailed"?
Hmmmm...
Changed the rules after we bought into the anytime unlimited for $30
Bait and switch
go to sprint's 4g website
They've been on the record for some time saying this. In fairness, it'll only apply to the new EVO phone and the 4g service, at least initially. All I know is this: we already have 4g service in DFW, and it seriously kicks Verizon and ATT's butt all around town. I don't care what Luke Wilson says, or that "can you hear me now?" guy. Those two companies are simply being disingenous and/or outright lying when they claim their service is superior to sprint's. Indeed, consumerist and other consumer websites compared similar plans side by side, and using a 24 month scale, Sprint by far was the cheapest, w/ATT first.
Face it, ATT/Apple fans, you're paying a substantial premium for a product/service that has definitely NOT functioned as advertised for a long time.
Until those companies get their LTE networks going, I get the feeling that Sprint will finally start picking up customers again...
They've been on the record for some time saying this. In fairness, it'll only apply to the new EVO phone and the 4g service, at least initially. All I know is this: we already have 4g service in DFW, and it seriously kicks Verizon and ATT's butt all around town. I don't care what Luke Wilson says, or that "can you hear me now?" guy. Those two companies are simply being disingenous and/or outright lying when they claim their service is superior to sprint's. Indeed, consumerist and other consumer websites compared similar plans side by side, and using a 24 month scale, Sprint by far was the cheapest, w/ATT first.
Face it, ATT/Apple fans, you're paying a substantial premium for a product/service that has definitely NOT functioned as advertised for a long time.
Until those companies get their LTE networks going, I get the feeling that Sprint will finally start picking up customers again...
Its still just 2GB. You're paying for the privilege of tethering is all. Just like when they charge you 20 dollars extra a month for texting. Those texts also count against the amount of data you use.
I buy an iPad based on advertising that is a whole 5 weeks old...the policy changes...I don't like the change...I'm a whiner. Got it thanks
We have 4G all over the place in the Chapel Hill area too, but even without that, Sprints 3G coverage completely destroys ATTs lousy offering. My issue with Sprint has always been their customer service. For an EVO with tethering, I'd overlook that service. Hell, for the past two years I've been overlooking the fact that the iPhone is a god-awful phone...and stupidly paying for the privilege to have it drop my calls.
So that means that Apple will allow and app like MyFi on the Apple Store? Like the apps they have to send text messages?
Equivalent 3G data usage
I agree the response was unnecessarily rude. However, I think there is a truth in the response that is lost. If you already can do those activities with your iPod Touch which uses Wifi only, then you will be able to do those same activities on an iPhone or iPad using the same Wifi hotspots. No 3G usage.
I agree the response was unnecessarily rude. However, I think there is a truth in the response that is lost. If you already can do those activities with your iPod Touch which uses Wifi only, then you will be able to do those same activities on an iPhone or iPad using the same Wifi hotspots. No 3G usage.
From buzzmachine:
AT&Ts service sucks. Just listen to our most trusted newsman on the topic. But AT&T response to this core business problem is not to improve its service, to invest in better ways to handle more customers.
No, AT&Ts response is to change its pricing to make us use its service less.
Thats cynical. Its evil.
AT&T got rid of unlimited data (except for grandfathered accounts else those changed accounts could all cancel without paying AT&Ts just-increased cancellation fee). They paint it as lowering the price but in truth they lowered the value.
The sick and stupid irony of this is that it was AT&T in the person of Tom Evslin, then head of AT&T WorldNet (remember them? AT&T killed that golden goose, too) that turned off the ticking clock on the internet when it established flat-rate pricing of $19.95 a month for unlimited use of the internet. That is what exploded use of the internet and enabled us all to browse without worry. That turned the internet into an industry.
And now its AT&T that turns the clock back on. Tick. Just as mobile is about to explode with new devices and new uses for us all to be ubiquitously and constantly connected doing all kinds of new things and creating new value along the way, AT&T says it wants nothing to do with that explosion (because it would have to work harder and invest more to do better). So it makes a business strategy out of imprisoning Apple fanboys as long as it can and making them use its service less. Tock.
AT&T also tries to push us off its network both with its pricing and with the promise of wi-fi. Its press release even makes it sound like an AT&T service that we can use unlimited wi-fi in our home! Thank you, AT&T.
Lets note that AT&Ts action in relation to the iPad is nothing short of bait-and-switch as it was sold as using the magic of unlimited data with plenty of data-rich applications and now the price of that gadget only soars if you actually use it as it was designed: to consume media constantly.
I would hope that Apple is chagrinned about the door to which it has delivered its customers. But Apple sniffed the shark when it picked AT&T, making Apples control more important than its customers service and value and its partners quality and ethic.
Of course, this is all the more painful because AT&Ts competitors also suck. Verizon, which most say has good service, has data caps. T-Mobile, which Im using on my Nexus One, has unlimited data but its network is about an inch worse than AT&Ts. When I was on Sprint, its service wasnt great but at least they still have unlimited data. But with Verizon and Sprint, I cant use their phones when I go abroad.
Americas mobile phone industry sucks! Thats more than a mere consumer kvetch. It is a strategic failing.
Hey FTC, if you really want to serve the future of media, why dont you figure out how to instill real competition in the mobile industry? Right now, its a miserable quadopoly that has us by the balls and squeezes.
Can you hear me now?
: Oh, I meant to add: With GoogleVoice and Skype, I dont even want your voice minutes, phone companies. All I want is your data. And I dont even necessarily want data over your stupid caps. I dont want to worry about it. Selling me a service I have to worry about is bad business.
Can you hear me now?
AT&Ts service sucks. Just listen to our most trusted newsman on the topic. But AT&T response to this core business problem is not to improve its service, to invest in better ways to handle more customers.
No, AT&Ts response is to change its pricing to make us use its service less.
Thats cynical. Its evil.
AT&T got rid of unlimited data (except for grandfathered accounts else those changed accounts could all cancel without paying AT&Ts just-increased cancellation fee). They paint it as lowering the price but in truth they lowered the value.
The sick and stupid irony of this is that it was AT&T in the person of Tom Evslin, then head of AT&T WorldNet (remember them? AT&T killed that golden goose, too) that turned off the ticking clock on the internet when it established flat-rate pricing of $19.95 a month for unlimited use of the internet. That is what exploded use of the internet and enabled us all to browse without worry. That turned the internet into an industry.
And now its AT&T that turns the clock back on. Tick. Just as mobile is about to explode with new devices and new uses for us all to be ubiquitously and constantly connected doing all kinds of new things and creating new value along the way, AT&T says it wants nothing to do with that explosion (because it would have to work harder and invest more to do better). So it makes a business strategy out of imprisoning Apple fanboys as long as it can and making them use its service less. Tock.
AT&T also tries to push us off its network both with its pricing and with the promise of wi-fi. Its press release even makes it sound like an AT&T service that we can use unlimited wi-fi in our home! Thank you, AT&T.
Lets note that AT&Ts action in relation to the iPad is nothing short of bait-and-switch as it was sold as using the magic of unlimited data with plenty of data-rich applications and now the price of that gadget only soars if you actually use it as it was designed: to consume media constantly.
I would hope that Apple is chagrinned about the door to which it has delivered its customers. But Apple sniffed the shark when it picked AT&T, making Apples control more important than its customers service and value and its partners quality and ethic.
Of course, this is all the more painful because AT&Ts competitors also suck. Verizon, which most say has good service, has data caps. T-Mobile, which Im using on my Nexus One, has unlimited data but its network is about an inch worse than AT&Ts. When I was on Sprint, its service wasnt great but at least they still have unlimited data. But with Verizon and Sprint, I cant use their phones when I go abroad.
Americas mobile phone industry sucks! Thats more than a mere consumer kvetch. It is a strategic failing.
Hey FTC, if you really want to serve the future of media, why dont you figure out how to instill real competition in the mobile industry? Right now, its a miserable quadopoly that has us by the balls and squeezes.
Can you hear me now?
: Oh, I meant to add: With GoogleVoice and Skype, I dont even want your voice minutes, phone companies. All I want is your data. And I dont even necessarily want data over your stupid caps. I dont want to worry about it. Selling me a service I have to worry about is bad business.
Can you hear me now?
The WWDC will be interesting for sure. Long for the days we talked about whether the guy that lost the iPhone 4G would take the stage with Jobs.
IMO if Jobs evens says 98%... then we might know there was a backdoor deal.
Records don't seem to mean much for those iPad buyers after the 7th...
Unlimited Data
So for the people that are not 'grandfathered' in with the unlimited data and want to get it....you still can.
I have a Samsung Black Jack II and will be getting the new iphone. I called ATT and confirmed with 2 different reps that if you get the unlimited data before June 7th you will be 'grandfathered' in and it will never change unless you request a different plan. Even if you get a different phone, upgrade, anything... it will not change.
With Netflicks app and video calls on the way you might want to consider...you can always go to a lesser plan.
So for the people that are not 'grandfathered' in with the unlimited data and want to get it....you still can.
I have a Samsung Black Jack II and will be getting the new iphone. I called ATT and confirmed with 2 different reps that if you get the unlimited data before June 7th you will be 'grandfathered' in and it will never change unless you request a different plan. Even if you get a different phone, upgrade, anything... it will not change.
With Netflicks app and video calls on the way you might want to consider...you can always go to a lesser plan.
Yes it does because you have now extended the 30 day cycle. If run out on day 25 you now get another 30 days. On the fixed monthly cycle, you now have to pay $10/GB for just 5 more days. Then that extra gig disappears. If use it up then fine, but if don't it just disappears.
In contrast, if you go 15 days twice and extend twice over the course of year can push the "data days" you bought into the next calendar year. On a fixed cycle they just disappear; no "data days" carry over into the next calendar year.
Now if your bandwidth is out of control, always busting 2G every month, then yeah you have an issue. However, it isn't really overages mechanism that is the root of the problem.
Example, 3GB every 30 days is 100MB/day. So every 20 days need a new 2GB plan. So 18.25 plans needed in a year (plus get 0.75 of plan to "carry over" into next year). 18 * 25.00 + ( 0.25 * 25.00 ) = $456.25. Whereas (12 * 25.00) + ( 12 * 10.00 ) = $450. However, if can cut back on usage on certain days (don't use iPad 7 days a week on 3G) can slide under the $450 mark. For example, every 22 days is $415 whereas fixed cycle still stuck at $450.
In short, if you don't burn up your plan with data consumption as rapidly as possible, you get more days.
Cheaper data prices means more iPhones sold. I am sure Apple is pretty happy about the iPhone changes.
In fact, one might even guess this was an extension on the original iPad negotiation to offer this tiered pricing with a lower end option, contingent on actual data review.
Now AT&T rolls out lower pricing for the iPhone, potentially as part of an exclusivity extension that some of us MacRumor Analysts predicted at the time they announced the iPad data pricing.
Having a $15 data plan has to be great news for Steve, as it opens up his world to even more consumers.
So for the people that are not 'grandfathered' in with the unlimited data and want to get it....you still can.
I have a Samsung Black Jack II and will be getting the new iphone. I called ATT and confirmed with 2 different reps that if you get the unlimited data before June 7th you will be 'grandfathered' in and it will never change unless you request a different plan. Even if you get a different phone, upgrade, anything... it will not change.
With Netflicks app and video calls on the way you might want to consider...you can always go to a lesser plan.
Can I add the unlimited data to my plan if I don't have a smartphone currently? Also, are these plans ("data for smartphone" and "data plan for iPhone") the same? It seems as if there are different unlimited plans on ATTs website.
If I go to an ATT store can I tell them I bought a 3GS on craigslist, but it has not yet arrived, and ask them to add the unlimited iPhone data plan to my account?
Well it is legal because you didn't have a contract with them to do anything different. Legal and ethical are two different things. The reality is the pricing was not likely to stay the same for the iPad forever.. People didn't really expect that.
I agree on the short notice it sucks.. but given the non-contract nature of things, I see no good way for AT&T to fix this for people without leaving legacy devices on unlimited programs for years and years and years.
I agree.. but they don't do it, probably because it makes them more money. They get away with it under the guise that you are changing your plan when you do it. When you switch from the $15 to $25 plan retroactively, that is your new plan rate going forward. You will have to go change it back later.
I suspect that having them automatically do two plan changes on your account is simply something they did not want to do...
Again was their expectation that this service would be available for any period of time? People who want unlimited data can still achieve it. Sure they can't turn it on and off at will but I doubt that is a foundation for a reasonable class action suit.
It is called a soft-cap for a reason. That is what a soft cap is. One that is manually, gradually or partially enforced.
I suspect with these changes you will see the unlimited softcap being enforced fairly stringently.
That of course will lead to another round of arms thrown up in the air screaming here.
Again I agree it sucks it lasted so short, and hopefully AT&T will figure out a way to make this better for people who already bought it, but they offered a non-contract service that could be turned on and off at will.
By its very nature that means the terms could change month to month if they wanted to do so.
More likely going to be an exclusivity extension with AT&T although it won't be announced. You will just not hear about any iphones on any other US carriers.
This to me is another sign that Verizon is not getting the iPhone any time soon. But as a MacRumors Analyst, as any analyst I could be wrong 100% of the time.
You people really can't think long term, do you?
Did it ever occur to you that this new pricing is to prepare for the video conferencing feature in the new phone?
In the unlimited data plan, there wouldn't be anything to stop traffic from people having useless calls at launch and afterwards. With the new pricing for new customers, they can now control that traffic, or at least get paid for allowing you to do so.
Did it ever occur to you that this new pricing is to prepare for the video conferencing feature in the new phone?
In the unlimited data plan, there wouldn't be anything to stop traffic from people having useless calls at launch and afterwards. With the new pricing for new customers, they can now control that traffic, or at least get paid for allowing you to do so.
Video Chat over 3G is going to be a joke. AT&T can't even deliver audio phone calls! You think you and millions of other people will be doing live audio/video streaming to each other all at the same time? On the AT&T network? Good luck with that!
You give me credit for more deduction than I used. I simply read the words for what they said and tried to help. My retired father had just asked me a similar question and was pleased that wifi usage won't count towards his data. I was also just thinking along the lines you mentioned that I personally still really only need to do most of these activities on wifi, so my own mind went straight there. I apologize for reading words instead of minds. I'll stick to reading and won't try to help again.
Even if I had meant to be snarky, it did not warrant the counter-response.
How is there a breech when the contract ended ? If you overtly cancel your contract to let it expire what gives you rights to get same terms back later? Can see how if run them consecutive (if bought as expired as defacto continuation sure). But contract expires and 5 years later should get same terms? Really, it is written that way? (almost no vendors write "rolling" contracts where they don't reserve rights to change pricing in future. This isn't even rolling it is expired. )
Or is somehow there is some contract for ATT to provide no service and you to pay no money. A contract to not exchange/do anything ?
They should have gone to tiered pricing that rolls over for you!
1gb = $15
2gb = $25
3gb = $35
4gb = $45
5gb = $50
And so on...
Every month we all start at the first tier. If we step over we'll be charge the next tier and so on. It makes way more sense then the whole 200mb or 2gb with overages debacle.
1gb = $15
2gb = $25
3gb = $35
4gb = $45
5gb = $50
And so on...
Every month we all start at the first tier. If we step over we'll be charge the next tier and so on. It makes way more sense then the whole 200mb or 2gb with overages debacle.