AT&T killing unlimited data plan for new users

[ghostface147]

my understanding is that everyone who is on at&t up til June 6th are grandfathered in their existing plan meaning unlimited data. these new caps are for new contracts...either way yea i'm officially gonna leave at&t and never go back...which is sad cus i do love the iphone...

Why are you leaving if you can keep your existing plan? Unless you want tethering that is...

 

[cjvitek]

Over the last 6 months, I have averaged 438MB (mostly due to one month where I had 1GB of usage...without that it would be 326MB).

My wife has averages 103MB. My brother in law has average 64MB.

I think they will both be switching to 200MB. I will probably go with 2GB.

 

[paulrkiii]

I'm going to stay with the "unlimited" for my iphone but will change the wifes to the 2 gig plan...sucks because she is well above the 200 megabytes but well below 1 gig....

 

[svesper]

I paid extra into my contract last year to upgrade to the 3GS and when my renewal date still hasn't changed from November, I decided I am not going to get a new phone if one is revealed next week until my renewal date.

The only way I would get a new one would be to pay full price for a phone and not extend my contract at this point. I think this is something everyone else should consider. Let AT&T know we are not going to be sticking around when things are over with them and Apple. Especially after these ridiculous rate changes.

If a Verizon phone or other carrier ever comes about, nothing like giving people a HUGE excuse to switch. Of course they have raised the fees for opting out of your contract to an outrageous amount also which they get you coming and going.

 

[ifarlow]

Here's a question. I currently have the BB Bold 9000 w/AT&T and the wife has a regular cell phone. We both plan on getting the new iPhone in August when we're eligable for a discounted upgrade. She will be fine with the $25/month plan but will AT&T let me transfer my BB data plan ($29.99) to the new iPhone?

No. AT&T will change your data plan to an iPhone specific data plan.

 

[mo98]

Is this change only for iphone data plans, or does it apply to all smartphone data plans on at&t?

 

[Growat]

Yesss. I will have a grandfathered iphone plan, but not an ipad plan, thats coming this summer hopefully

Sounds like grandfathering only applies to iPads.

"iPad owners can keep the old plan"

 

[ugahairydawgs]

Is this change only for iphone data plans, or does it apply to all smartphone data plans on at&t?

Across the board for all smart phones.

 

[Ipheuria]

What I find funny is why even bother offering the 200MB plan? if you go over you pay another $15 for 200MB so for $30 the same you would have paid for unlimited and less than the $25 you would have paid for 2GB you just got 400MB?? not even half a GB that math does not compute. If you know your usage and once you hit your limit you would not be able to use data until the next month it kinda makes a bit of sense. I guess that's just me

 

[ghostface147]

What I find funny is why even bother offering the 200MB plan?

My parents would never use that amount if they got a smartphone. It would be perfect for them. Then again, they don't even know how to text.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

What I find funny is why even bother offering the 200MB plan?

200MB is perfect for me. In fact I'll probably never even sniff using my monthly quota.

 

[whmurray]

Data is not really my problem, voice is. $25- for 2G suits me fine. I have rarely exceeded 1G and my usage on the iPhone is going down as my usage on the iPad goes up. When tethering kicks in, I will drop data on the iPad and use the iPhone to connect the iPad, as I do now with my Verizon Mifi. [I have data on the iPad only because one day I could not register on WiFi and Verizon was slow. That's right, in lower Manhattan, at least on that day, AT&T beat hell out of Verizon.]

My problem is with voice. 450 minutes, without A-list, is not near enough, and 900 with A-List is way too much.

 

[whmurray]

I suggest that everyone look at their past usage before they judge the new plans. Most of us come no where near 2G.

 

[whmurray]

Tethering is a big deal for me. I can drop data on my iPad and drop my Verizon MiFi.

 

[whmurray]

I think that being able to change plans without resetting your contract is a big deal. I think that e-mail notices as one approaches one's max usage is also a big deal.

While AT&T has shut down accounts that were running up hundreds of dollars in data roaming charges, they have often sand-bagged.

 

[cjvitek]

With an unlimited data plan, paying for tethering makes sense. You will use more data, and since you aren't paying extra for that data, you pay extra for the option to use it in that fashion.

But with a limited data plan, tethering should be free. I get 2GB - period. Why does AT&T care if I use that 2GB streaming video, sending email, or tethering to my computer?

Yes, I know it is just so they can make more money...but still.

Chris

 

[whmurray]

Those who follow this forum know that I have been a consistent critic of AT&T's pricing and business practices. It is funny to find myself being one of the few to defend this change. I find this change very un-AT&T-like. It is far less defensive, more consistent with real use, and far more consumer tolerant, not to say, friendly.

 

[west3man]

As I said on the TiPb blog post, 2 out of 3 AT&T reps said the iPad 3G plan is NOT changing. They were unmoved by quotes from website articles that do not link to direct AT&T webpage content confirmation. I could find not such corroboration (but, to be fair, I couldn't find it regarding ANY change in their 3G plans for iPhones, even).

Unless I am missing something, even the article in the first post of this thread lacks a link to the AT&T site or even to the source of the article the op reprinted in it's entirety.

This is some sorry ass journalism, communication, or whatever you want to call it. If I am missing something, feel free to call me on it, but I have combed th TiPb, PC World, and Mac Rumors sites in search of an AT&T link but I came up with nothing but a series of links to their own articles (or NO links) that only spoke to the past, not the rumored changes.

AT&T's not much better, though, because I have received conflicting information from their reps on multiple occasions, including this one. He'll, they even told me they had nothing to do with the iPad and that I should call Apple.

No one should have to go through all this to find out if they are being screwed over. (And yes, even those of us who are "grandfathered" are being screwed over if we can't cancel our plans and then retrieve exactly as described at the time the device launched.)

 

[whmurray]

With an unlimited data plan, paying for tethering makes sense. You will use more data, and since you aren't paying extra for that data, you pay extra for the option to use it in that fashion.

But with a limited data plan, tethering should be free. I get 2GB - period. Why does AT&T care if I use that 2GB streaming video, sending email, or tethering to my computer?

Yes, I know it is just so they can make more money...but still.

Chris

I agree. Since I already pay for tethering and have four devices that I may wish to tether, $20- is not a big deal for me; even with it, I will still save money. However, it seems high for nothing but the privilege.

I think that this is a defensive move on AT&T's part. They are trying to protect the revenue from the broadband cards that they have been pushing so hard for the last few years. In my case, it is Verizon that loses revenue when I start to tether. However, for many customers, it will be AT&T that loses.

This is just one more case of punish the iPhone users. AT&T loves the iPhone subscribers but hates their use.

 

[sangs]

I didn't have enough posts to include the link, sorry. But the story is from The Associated Press, not just some blog.