Thoughts on the new AT&T data plans?

[drakethib]

This is a bad, bad, bad thing. ATT would not be doing this if it didn't eventualy take more money out of your pocket and put it into theirs.
It's also the start of a trend, Comcast, Verizon (both wireless and FIOS) are desperate to do this, they have been trying experiments and hinting around for years. Nobody wanted to be first.
The issue is they are still in love with their old revenue models. They love overage charges, more confusing contracts and anything that is billed by use.
The unfortunate side effect is going to be that the United States, which is already behind a lot of the developed world in broadband willl fall even further behind. The last I saw the US ranked 28th in average broadband speed among developed countries and we are falling further behind.
The major ISP's both cell and landline would rather find ways to wring more profit out of their existing infrastructure than build anything new

I have never had a probelm with AT&T service at all (it sounds like I am one of the few if you listen to the word on the street).

What I will say is I think AT&T just shot them self in the foot with this. I think another carrier is going to pick up the Iphone sooner or later (I think sooner) and is going to offer true unlimited data.

The cap they are putting on this is ridiculous IMHO. If they wanted to cap this, they should have done so prior to the relase of the Ipad in stead they they were boosting that the Ipad would not drain the network.

I think this may be the beginning to the end of AT&T. It is indeed a different market then they are used to dealing with.

JMHO

 

[Golf4food]

I think this may be the beginning to the end of AT&T. It is indeed a different market then they are used to dealing with.

JMHO

No, they just need competition. When you are a monopoly you can get away with murder. Once other carriers are allowed to have the iPhone on their network you'll see much more competition for rate plans, etc. I don't see this new limit lasting very long. Once Verizon has the iPhone I bet you they'll do something better to steal market share and then AT&T will have to match to stay competitive.

 

[rotlex]

I'm a current iPhone user, with an unlimited data plan. My average data usage is 1-200mb per month. I'll be keeping my unlimited plan at $30 though. The $5.00 savings per month to drop to 2GB doesn't make sense to me, and to drop to just 200mb per month for less, is far to risky, IMO.

With the release of the next iPhone, and my own use of data increasing with a number of new apps, I can't help but think that 2GB is going to not be enough just a few months down the road. Music streaming, as well as video, is becoming more popular, and with faster speeds, will be more usable. IMO of course.

Now, with THAT said, I would love to see a family "shared" data plan. My wife barely uses data, and I use it all the time. I've love to see something similar to the shared minutes and texting plans for data, and don't quite understand why they don't offer anything like that yet. Who knows, maybe it's coming.

Happily looking forward to today's WWDC keynote.

 

[disneysteve]

I would love to see a family "shared" data plan.

I agree. As more and more users move to smartphones, I think the market will demand this. Imagine if your internet provider required a separate account for each person in your household. It would be ridiculous. They charge a flat fee knowing that multiple people will be sharing the service. Cell phone plans should ultimately be the same.

 

[disneysteve]

On the same day that the unlimited data plan was eliminated, Netflix announced plans to add an app to stream movies to the iPhone. Of course, doing that over the 3G network would require the unlimited data plan that you can no longer get. That was lousy timing.

 

[DiRTyBuNNy]

On the same day that the unlimited data plan was eliminated, Netflix announced plans to add an app to stream movies to the iPhone. Of course, doing that over the 3G network would require the unlimited data plan that you can no longer get. That was lousy timing.

As far as AT&T is concerned it was perfect timing...but yeah I was thinking the same thing as you...

--DB

 

[MichaelColey]

On the same day that the unlimited data plan was eliminated, Netflix announced plans to add an app to stream movies to the iPhone.

I noticed that, too. As apps consume more and more bandwidth, 2GB is going to seem smaller and smaller.

 

[bdoyledimou]

I am not with AT&T (being in Canada) but i would be bankrupt without unlimited data... i recieve over 100mbs of email a day as it is (work related).. and the Zynga apps they just announced are going to guzzle bandwidth (not even taking Netflix into account)..

I suspect AT&T was more than aware of those apps coming and moved to cash in..

 

[disneysteve]

I noticed that, too. As apps consume more and more bandwidth, 2GB is going to seem smaller and smaller.

True. I was thinking about downgrading to the cheaper plan based on my usage thus far, but I think I'll hang on to the unlimited plan. I can easily afford it and since I can't ever get it back, I don't think it makes sense to give it up voluntarily.

 

[minie_meese]

I heard a segment on NPR this morning. It includes some interesting points that have mostly been made here but this was the first time I heard that 10% of the AT&T users of the unlimited plan use 50% of the bandwidth. That's pretty skewed. I know AT&T has had some major response problems related to infrastructure in cities like NY. When I'm in NYC it seems like everyone I see has an iPhone. As usage increases, especially in the more populated areas, there will be problems unless the infrastructure can keep pace. AT&T can keep building on the infrastructure and at some point increase the price of the unlimited plan for everyone or try to control the demand by metering usage. I'm sure they will also bake additional profits into the picture but added infrastructure is not cheap. Controlling demand is going to be more predictable for them, but will make some people annoyed in the process. I'm guessing that other carriers will have the same issues as their smart phone user bases grow, especially if they get the iPhone so I'm betting more will go to the tiered plan than an unlimited one.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127525710

We currently have 4 iPhones, 2 of them average under 100 mb and the other 2 under 400mb. I'm sure or usage will go up as the technology and applications improve but it's unlikely we'll all be power users. I'd love to see a shared plan with rollover. For now we're going to wait and see for a while.

 

[Renysmom]

On the same day that the unlimited data plan was eliminated, Netflix announced plans to add an app to stream movies to the iPhone. Of course, doing that over the 3G network would require the unlimited data plan that you can no longer get. That was lousy timing.

That wasn't lousy timing at all.. AT & T was made aware of what was coming and reacted accordingly. They had to have been told. I knew there had to be more to it than AT & T just lowering most users rates and now we know what it it.

I do like though that a current user can get the new phone, with an extended 2 year contract and still keep the unlimited plan. Now I want to know how the unlimited is affected with tethering program.

 

[lady danger]

On the same day that the unlimited data plan was eliminated, Netflix announced plans to add an app to stream movies to the iPhone. Of course, doing that over the 3G network would require the unlimited data plan that you can no longer get. That was lousy timing.

It may seem like lousy timing, but I think anyone who was thinking about the data potential of the iPhone was already seeing the writing on the wall. It wouldn't have mattered if Netflix announced it a week before or 6 months later, anyone who drops down onto "cheaper" data plans with AT&T is betting that they're won't be taking any more advantage of what their phone is capable of than they already are despite the race to create more and more web content that can be accessed via smartphones and tablets. And I'm pretty sure that's what AT&T is hoping for, that as many of their unlimited data customers will look at their data usage and think "hey! I'll be getting a break if I switch to the cheaper plan!" only to possibly be locked into a 200MB or 2GB plan (as an aside: I still can't get over the fact they're charging $15 for the 200MB plan as MB for MB, that's about 600% more expensive than their 2GB plan) once such limited plans start to become restrictive.

I heard a segment on NPR this morning. It includes some interesting points that have mostly been made here but this was the first time I heard that 10% of the AT&T users of the unlimited plan use 50% of the bandwidth. That's pretty skewed. I know AT&T has had some major response problems related to infrastructure in cities like NY. When I'm in NYC it seems like everyone I see has an iPhone. As usage increases, especially in the more populated areas, there will be problems unless the infrastructure can keep pace. AT&T can keep building on the infrastructure and at some point increase the price of the unlimited plan for everyone or try to control the demand by metering usage. I'm sure they will also bake additional profits into the picture but added infrastructure is not cheap.

That's the thing though, current US mobile companies are already not investing much money in our infrastructure and its not because they're not raking in enough profits. As Webmaster Alex stated earlier in topic, the United States is falling way, way behind in terms of mobile and broadband infrastructure. And it's not like people in the countries with better infrastructure are using their devices less or are paying that much more for them. We just haven't prioritized as a country that sort of investment, either on a private, corporate basis or on a nationalized level.

 

[disneysteve]

Now I want to know how the unlimited is affected with tethering program.

You can not get tethering with the unlimited plan. You have to switch to the new plans.