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kevintech

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 5, 2010
319
2
When AT&T starts offering 4G services, do you all think we can get grandfathered into an unlimited 4G plan? Or will this be AT&T's way of getting rid of the unlimited plan?
 
If I can't have unlimited, then I'll have to stick to 3G iPhones, unless they offer a lot of data for a reasonable price.... like 10GB for $30. :rolleyes:

I bet they go with tiered plans. Its the future.
 
When AT&T starts offering 4G services, do you all think we can get grandfathered into an unlimited 4G plan? Or will this be AT&T's way of getting rid of the unlimited plan?

I wish. I doubt AT&T would ever offer unlimited LTE. They might offer a larger varietyof data packages though, say 5GB? I'm sure everyone realizes that more and more is being done through mobile data so it only seems plausible. I wouldn't be surprised if they upped the price a bit though. Either way nobody has a definite answer, just speculations.
 
4G, LTE, AT&T, unlimited LoL nope I don't see AT&T or any of the carriers giving unlimited LTE data
 
I doubt it, 3G unlimited will probably remain forever once they turn on 4G, but will disappear if you upgrade t a 4G device. The may have an initial promotion of unlimited, but I doubt it will last that long.
 
According to several people I have talked to Unlimited plans are on their way out. Those who have better keep them but sooner or later, you will be forced to a tiered plan. obuma gave the FCC the power to mandate and allow of carriers to charge for the data we use. I think that LTE will be the "tripping" point where you will have to give up your unlimited plan.
 
you never know but yes, i'm guessing the unlimited plan we all love will go away for now. At some point though, it may come back. Tmobile is getting ready to offer an unlimited 4g plan. If it takes off and they keep gaining a base, it could trigger a reaction from the other two.
 
I find this a bit funny. Not too long ago when Verizon was first touting how incredible their LTE was going to be, people pointed out that they would blow through their usage caps in 26 minutes or something silly. It's a bit of a paradox. Carriers are striving to provide faster and faster data while providing less of it.
 
I'm already on the 4G unlimited plan with AT&T... they grandfathered me in from my 3G plan.
I traded out my Samsung Focus for the Motorola Atrix yesterday and they switched me over without issue.

Currently they do not differentiate their HSPA+ and LTE services.
It's simply classified as 4G.
This could change in the future.

iPhone unlimited code is
GPRS WAP UNLTD DOM - CMB1

3G Smartphone unlimited code is
GPRS WAP UNLTD DOM - DPPB

4G smartphone unlimited code is
GPRS WAP UNLTD DOM - HSDPPB
 
I'm already on the 4G unlimited plan with AT&T... they grandfathered me in from my 3G plan.
I traded out my Samsung Focus for the Motorola Atrix yesterday and they switched me over without issue.

Currently they do not differentiate their HSPA+ and LTE services.
It's simply classified as 4G.
This could change in the future.

iPhone unlimited code is
GPRS WAP UNLTD DOM - CMB1

3G Smartphone unlimited code is
GPRS WAP UNLTD DOM - DPPB

4G smartphone unlimited code is
GPRS WAP UNLTD DOM - HSDPPB

Codes for what and where?
 
Codes for what and where?
The codes are for billing purposes. Reference purposes.
If you find yourself upgrading to 4G capable device and already have unlimited data, this will help you guide a "slow" AT&T rep on what to add/change on your account.
 
When I switched my iPhone 4 out for the Inspire 4G my iPhone unlimited became "smartphone personal" unlimited under their HSPA+/4G plans. You can carry over your grandfathered unlimited plans, if you look at the terms the only way they can let you out of a grandfathered plan is if you opt out.
 

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When I switched my iPhone 4 out for the Inspire 4G my iPhone unlimited became "smartphone personal" unlimited under their HSPA+/4G plans. You can carry over your grandfathered unlimited plans, if you look at the terms the only way they can let you out of a grandfathered plan is if you opt out.

I can only hope this is the case when a 4G capable iPhone is released.
 
Personally, I expect 4G (HSPA+) to remain the same, but LTE to have a different data plan (where unlimited doesn't exist). You want LTE speeds, you have to pay for the LTE data plan. I think this would get around the grandfathered unlimited plan because they aren't changing it, it's just not available for those phones.
 
I'm hoping that they don't start charging more for "premium data"
3G is fast enough for me so paying more for HSPA+ isn't exactly worth it imo.
 
you never know but yes, i'm guessing the unlimited plan we all love will go away for now. At some point though, it may come back. Tmobile is getting ready to offer an unlimited 4g plan. If it takes off and they keep gaining a base, it could trigger a reaction from the other two.

T-Mobile offering an unlimited 4G plan? Don't they already offer that since HSPA+ is practically an upgraded 3G? All of their '4G' phones G2/MyTouch are sold with the current unlimited plan for 3G/4G data. Now if they were to launch LTE and offer an unlimited plan for that. Well, then we'd have something to expect in return from AT&T/Verizon.

According to several people I have talked to Unlimited plans are on their way out. Those who have better keep them but sooner or later, you will be forced to a tiered plan. obuma gave the FCC the power to mandate and allow of carriers to charge for the data we use. I think that LTE will be the "tripping" point where you will have to give up your unlimited plan.

Please quit speaking...

I find this a bit funny. Not too long ago when Verizon was first touting how incredible their LTE was going to be, people pointed out that they would blow through their usage caps in 26 minutes or something silly. It's a bit of a paradox. Carriers are striving to provide faster and faster data while providing less of it.

It is, but I'm sure they'd rather be in the past with a hundred million EDGE data hogs then with fifty million HSPA(+) users. Considering that the faster internet speeds are going to allow us to use more internet it makes sense that they'd impose limits. I'm not for it in the least but it only makes sense. Just look at T-Mobiles HSPA+ network. Didn't it offer UP to 22MBPS? That's a lot higher than the average bandwidth of an American home. It'd be easier just to use your phone for a lot of things really.

When I switched my iPhone 4 out for the Inspire 4G my iPhone unlimited became "smartphone personal" unlimited under their HSPA+/4G plans. You can carry over your grandfathered unlimited plans, if you look at the terms the only way they can let you out of a grandfathered plan is if you opt out.

Great find, I really hope it sticks though. Otherwise I'm probably going to hold on to my unlimited data for years after LTE is launced.
 
They'll definitely charge extra for LTE. That's what I'm afraid of for iPhone 6. Makes me want to just get the 5 for its HSPA+ and keep it.
 
I'd be happy with reliable, low latency 2-3Mbps speeds on 3G... there just isn't anything that I do on my phone that requires a connection as fast as my home connection... heck even bumping my cable modem up to 24 Mbps from 12 Mbps really didn't make much difference for day-to-day use.
 
Since Verizon is tiered pricing, maybe AT&T will pitch in for an unlimited 4G plan, after all, they need a come back after their 3G plans fiasco.

Honestly I don't think it hurt them for existing customers. I know people who have 4 iphones in a family plan and went from $30 unltd to $15 plan cause they were mostly on wifi. So it is a savings for them.
 
Personally, I expect 4G (HSPA+) to remain the same, but LTE to have a different data plan (where unlimited doesn't exist). You want LTE speeds, you have to pay for the LTE data plan. I think this would get around the grandfathered unlimited plan because they aren't changing it, it's just not available for those phones.

That's what I had in mind also.
HSPA+ up to 14Mbps speeds would stay the same price as 3G and then after that LTE would probably cost more and not be unlimited.
 
Let's see what the SIM cards look like. I don't want to have a card that only works with one phone.
 
AT&T Official Response to grandfathered unlimited data

Thank you for contacting AT&T about your wireless service. My name is Daniel D. I understand your concerns and I will be happy to assist you with Unlimited Data Plan information today.

After some research, I am happy to inform you that we don't currently have any plans to remove the Unlimited Data plan being grandfathered from customers that switch to an LTE device. In other words, at this time, you may keep the unlimited data plan once you switch. Please continue to check in with this information as this might change in the future, although we don't have future information regarding the grandfathered Unlimited Data Plans.

I would also like to take some time to give *service options to allow easier account management.

*Services is offered free of charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
There are five offerings in *Services:
*MIN#(*646#)- Checks remaining minute balance.
*DATA#(*3282#)- Checks remaining data/text package balance.
*BAL#(*225#)- Checks invoice balance and last payment received.
*NEW#(*639#) - Checks your equipment upgrade eligibility.
*PAY(*729)- Makes payment on an invoice.
 
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