AT&T's new data plans: $25/2GB cap, tethering +$20
att.com
att.com
I thought the whole (customer-facing, anyway) point of charging for tethering was the greater bandwidth that the network expects to bear with a desktop-class device. Yet nearly doubling your data charges doesn't actually get you any more data, merely AT&T's blessing of how you use your allotted data.
Where to begin? Canceling the $30/unlimited option barely a month after the iPad 3G shipped is deceptive, at best. Adding a 2GB cap to the top-tier iPhone/iPad data plan while only dropping the price by $5 doesn't seem like a good deal to me. I accept the need for caps, but I'd rather pay the extra $5 and get 5GB a la Verizon. The $15/200MB plan is comparable to what I paid Telstra in Australia, which I thought was a horrible deal, but at least it was contract-free!
If they'd accompanied these new data plans with similar price and usage reductions on the voice side, I'd be less upset, maybe even pleased. But given that the voice plans for the iPhone are still Cadillac- and Escalade-sized, when I only want a Vespa, AT&T is clearly out of step with my needs. FOAD.
On the bright side, a half-price data plan is a step in the right direction. The light email and Google Maps user finally has an appropriate plan as of today; perhaps the heavy data user and occasional caller will be the next addressed.
What's also interesting is it's starting June 7, the same day as WWDC. I guess that means the next iphone is dropping that day. I can't see how the new iphone will be on multiple carriers, because I think any other carrier would win by offering an unlimited (or at least more attractive) data plan. ATT (for now) knows that their network sucks and they have the upper hand, which is why they are able to get away with offering such shitty plans.
Could anyone with an iPhone share their data usage statistics? I'm curious to see your usage.
I still think it's a pretty bad move on AT&T's fault, and is probably an indication that they have secured exclusivity in the US for at least another year.
* iPhone 3G (7/11/08 to 6/23/09; 347 days) - 1.9 GB (5.48 MB/day)
* iPhone 3GS (6/23/09 to present; 343 days) - 2.8 GB (8.16 MB/day)
For reference, 200 MB/month is ~6.5 MB/day and 2 GB/month is ~65 MB/day.
I'm disappointed with the 2 GB cap, but now that's I've seen my actual usage it seems more reasonable. My wife and I could save $10 a month and still stay comfortably under the cap.
I can see one benefit to the new price structure. My wife, who just uses her iPhone to look at maps and mail, only does maybe 100MB/month. If not for that she might want to switch to the iPhone 4G and who knows how data intensive it might be (may be worth it to stay grandfathered), we could save $15/month on by cutting back to the $15/200MB plan for her line. Even if she goes over that by 200MB we still would pay less than with the current data package.
I attribute the falloff in May to my adoption of Opera Mini over Safari.
I believe it's going to have a front-facing camera, which would open the path to 2-way video calls.
And yes, tethering has been here since 3.0, and unlimited, but remember that the average Taiwanese salary is about 1/3 of what an American might make. Would you consider a 90$ unlimited and tethered AT&T monthly plan to be a good deal?
Still, not properly handling the two major cities where the phones are used the most is ridiculous.
Yet, even in areas that are just as dense, we still can't get good cell coverage (SF) or fast Internet.
I can't imagine providing 3G coverage in Taipei or Kaohsiung is any different than providing it in NYC or SF. Lots of heavy users here too.
Sure it is much harder to provide 3G across Canada - but the providers don't have coverage in most of Canada. Even semi-rural areas in Southern Ontario an hour from Toronto have little service.
My iPhone 3G contract is up any day now and theres no way I'll get another iPhone on AT&T without testing an android phone on another carrier.
Thank goodness for caller ID. ;)
jailbroken iPhone + iPad = amazing
Under an unlimited plan, bandwidth feels like it's free, because there's no cap. With caps, I'll _constantly_ worry about how much data I'm using.
Now I feel glad I went with Android... new OS update just straight up gives me tethering, and T-Mobile's still got unlimited data plans.
AT&T said that 98% of its customers will save money by switching to these plans. And, AT&T doesn't have the capacity to handle many people who would exceed these limits. AT&T will now send alerts directly to your phone when you get close to reaching the caps. I think this is a much better solution to the "worrying" problem than forcing everybody to over-pay for under-provisioned service.
When trying to overcome debt, many financial advisors recommend paying off the smallest debt first, even if it has relatively lower interest than other debts. This is because the psychological win of paying off an entire debt quickly has a much bigger impact upon the ability of people to stick with their payments, rather than the mathematically better path of paying down a higher-interest debt first.
So yes, people may be saving money. But that doesn't mean that it's necessarily better. I'd rather pay an extra $5/mo or whatever for the peace of mind.
> And, AT&T doesn't have the capacity to handle many people who would exceed these limits.
As a consumer, I don't care what AT&T has the capacity to do. They're supposed to figure out how to serve me and give me what I want. It's obviously possible, as they were doing it before, and other companies still have unlimited bandwidth plans. Innovate or die. But I guess I'm expecting too much out of the telecom industry...
Fortunately, these people also know that AT&T has competitors.
That is reasonable. I think even your local internet cable connection has a max. 250GB transfer limit. Thing is, these are rarely enforced and present for worst case scenerios.
AT&T said that 98% of its customers will save money by switching to these plans.
I am more concerned about the future consequences. High bandwidth content over mobile is in its infancy right so usage is no where what it will be a few years from now. That is when AT&T will be making a killing because by then, use would go up and people would be used to this notion of paying by the GB.
I know this because I saw this in action in India. Initially, in the 90s, the ISPs had few gb limits. It didn't matter because all you used the net for was email. Then came broadband, napster, and torrents and guess what? The concept of buying by the GB carried over.
edit- I believe T-mobile may also sell micro-sim cards. Shouldn't be necessary, though, as you can also get a micro-to-regular sized SIM adapter for your modified micro.
This is a great reason to sign up for the unlimited iPad plan now, and hold on to it; the micro-sim works in any device with the help of an adapter.
Next week is the new iPhone. I think this unilateral pricing change indicates a new USmcarrier is coming on board.
I am in Canada on Fido. The competition between carriers is a good thing up here. I pay $30 for 6GB data plan.
The "news" on ATT is TLDR, to figure out all parameters, but note that the Apple store (http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad) still shows old rates. Wonder what happens if I buy iPad from Apple when site gives old rate... what leverage would I have against rate increases. Anyone yet read details on the plan they signed up for - regarding changes?
I also wish all those upset about this class action status so I will get a $2.50 coupon...
AT&T is really not competitive here. What is their value add? Why would you do business with them?
"Look, we have iPhones!"
(Although, in my experience, all phone companies are a pain to deal with. Luckily, I don't have problems very often.)
And yet you're going to keep putting up with it instead of cancelling your plan?
Also, I'm not quite sure I understand why it requires the 4.0 OS. I was under the impression that tethering is present in the 3.x OS as well. They could push a really minor update to change and enable this.
So even if you wanted to switch to a lower plan you can't b/c you have no idea how much voice/data/texts you are using.
I wonder how much Google pays ATT to keep Android in the race, by crippling the iphone/ipad.
AT&T screws over Google too: http://blogs.computerworld.com/15715/at_ts_backflip_android_... .
Second part: tinfoil hat or joke?