How would this impact customers with existing SMS plans?
Second paragraph:
Quote:
AT&T confirmed to AppleInsider on Thursday that existing customers with other text messaging plans, such as $10-per-month for 1,000 messages, will be grandfathered in. Customers who switch to a new phone will also be able to retain their old text messaging plan.
This is a clear case where regulatory intervention is called for. At the very least, AT&T should be required to disable SMS/MMS entirely for an account at the customer's request. If they can't do that, then the government should step in and regulate pricing. No carrier should be allowed to force customers into expensive extra services that they can't control in the entirely uncompetitive wireless market that exists in the U.S. today.
Get a google voice account and never pay for texting again.
Yeah, that's what I thought I would do, but the app is awful! It lags like hell and messages often do not go through. It is so unreliable that I have just given up. iMessage cannot come soon enough.
I guess I can always use iMessage and join a pay-per-use text plan.
I use the TextFree app regularly and it's 100% free, or you can use Google Voice which is also 100% free and works great. Only minor negative is with both (and others) you have to get and use a separate phone number for your incoming/outgoing texting. To me that's not a big deal just have to make sure everyone knows that's your SMS #(although both can also be used for phone calls). And you can tell AT&T to shove it!!
"The vast majority of our messaging customers prefer unlimited plans and with text messaging growth stronger than ever, that number continues to climb among new customers."
So if that is the case, that they believe everyone wants unlimited texting, then why force it? According to this statement, nearly will naturally select that option anyway. Oh, that's right, becasue they want to screw those of us who don't sit around sending text message all day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by drhamad
Something to keep in mind... for those of you with family plans, AT&T offers unlimited texting/etc for $30 for the entire family plan.
That's still a rip off.
Oh well, one more reason I'll never switch back to ATT.
This is a clear case where regulatory intervention is called for. At the very least, AT&T should be required to disable SMS/MMS entirely for an account at the customer's request.
You can do this already with a quick call to customer service. I did it. I'd rather communicate by smoke signal than by text message. My wife likes to have some texting capabilities due to friends of hers who insist on using it, so she gets 200 texts for $5/month and that works well for us. I'll be pretty mad if we ever have to upgrade to this new $20 plan with no increase in her actual usage.
...by the way... if you don't need unlimited texts, definitely switch over to the Messaging 1000 plan! Do it NOW! Save a few bucks each month. Why spend $20 for unlimited texting when you only send a few hundred per month?
One big problem with iMessage: It is only on IOS devices. Most of the world is still not on IOS (though IOS market share continues to improve). iMessage only makes sense when you know that everyone you text with (now and in the future) is on IOS. That will never happen.
Telco text messaging (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint) is device agnostic....this is a great feature and they know it...which is why they continue to raise prices.
I guess I can always use iMessage and join a pay-per-use text plan.
There is only one person that I regularly get messages from that doesn't have an iPhone but even that one person easily means more than $5 a month at $0.20 a message. I would probably try to coordinate some other means of getting short messages with notifications.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2oh1
Weird. Didn't AT&T just start the '1000 texts for $10 a month' package recently?
How recent? It was there last summer. So was a 200 text plan for $5/mo, which was not referenced in that screen shot. So that means if I leave AT&T, I won't be coming back, because leaving means losing the grandfathered plan.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2oh1
...by the way... if you don't need unlimited texts, definitely switch over to the Messaging 1000 plan! Do it NOW! Save a few bucks each month. Why spend $20 for unlimited texting when you only send a few hundred per month?
I'd think they're probably already on it. Why pay the extra if you don't use it?
And let Google have a copy of every text you've ever sent or received?
On the bright side, you get to have an easily searchable and accessible copy too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anonymouse
This is a clear case where regulatory intervention is called for. At the very least, AT&T should be required to disable SMS/MMS entirely for an account at the customer's request. If they can't do that, then the government should step in and regulate pricing. No carrier should be allowed to force customers into expensive extra services that they can't control in the entirely uncompetitive wireless market that exists in the U.S. today.
They do. Just give them a call.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2oh1
...by the way... if you don't need unlimited texts, definitely switch over to the Messaging 1000 plan! Do it NOW! Save a few bucks each month. Why spend $20 for unlimited texting when you only send a few hundred per month?
If you make a lot of M2M calls an extra 10$ and the cheapest voice plan can save you money.
...by the way... if you don't need unlimited texts, definitely switch over to the Messaging 1000 plan! Do it NOW! Save a few bucks each month. Why spend $20 for unlimited texting when you only send a few hundred per month?
Whatever...the difference is $10. You can't even buy lunch in California for $10. People whining over a few bucks shouldn't even have an iPhone.
One big problem with iMessage: It is only on IOS devices. Most of the world is still not on IOS (though IOS market share continues to improve). iMessage only makes sense when you know that everyone you text with (now and in the future) is on IOS. That will never happen.
Telco text messaging (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint) is device agnostic....this is a great feature and they know it...which is why they continue to raise prices.
I guess I can always use iMessage and join a pay-per-use text plan.
Exactly. Text messaging works no matter what phone or network you are sending.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gwlaw99
Get a google voice account and never pay for texting again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tmoore44
Google voice all the way. Never looked back.
Until google decides to charge for it. Also, last I checked you cant do international texting on Google Voice
Quote:
Originally Posted by jsmythe00
IOS app Beejive. you can text most phones. Some cheap phones on sub networks like ntelos...wont allow ext to go through. But for your avg smart phone it's a non issue.
There's also a dozen and one text app thats a good workaround...google voice, IM+ pro...even YIM.
All these "text app replacements" rely upon you getting the people you text to all to join their communications network -- or you getting a 2nd phone number via the service so all your friends/Colleagues are given the task to deal with your multiple number (i.e. X number for voice, oh and if I want to text i need to use Y) Pain in the butt. SMS is good because it works with everyone from the get go. All messaging services are replacing the money you would spend with the carrier to provide the service, with you spending some time use an external service or convincing people to switch to an alternative instant message medium.
At the end of the day, SMS won't disappear because it's the only way that exists that always works no matter what the network or phone a person happens to use. So either pay your carrier with cash, or you pay with your time to use the alternatives.
Pretty smart move by AT&T actually. When they went to capped data plan, people were upset, but do you realize how many people have not changed to Verizon simply because they would lose uncapped data? Same deal here. AT&T can make themselves look better to current customers who may be shopping around by doing this. You know Verizon will match this offer. It is cheaper to retain a customer than to get a new one. I know my very cheap and unlimited data has kept me from being tempted to switch to Verizon.
Now if Verizon wanted, they could make an offer to honor current unlimited data contracts from AT&T at the AT&T rate, and would probably get a lot of people switching over to them.
Comments
How would this impact customers with existing SMS plans?
Second paragraph:
AT&T confirmed to AppleInsider on Thursday that existing customers with other text messaging plans, such as $10-per-month for 1,000 messages, will be grandfathered in. Customers who switch to a new phone will also be able to retain their old text messaging plan.
This is AT&T's present to its customers for letting it become the only GSM telecom in the country.
Well said. This is just a trailer of what will the landscape be when AT&T and T-Mobile actually merge.
Regulators, please take note.
Both my children are heavy texters on dumbphones. I have tried to find a way to eliminate this $30/mo. expense. No luck, so far.
Cut off their thumbs.
<kidding>
And let Google have a copy of every text you've ever sent or received?
If you don't text criminal or particularly dirty messages you've got nothing to worry about regardless.
Get a google voice account and never pay for texting again.
Yeah, that's what I thought I would do, but the app is awful! It lags like hell and messages often do not go through. It is so unreliable that I have just given up. iMessage cannot come soon enough.
I guess I can always use iMessage and join a pay-per-use text plan.
I use the TextFree app regularly and it's 100% free, or you can use Google Voice which is also 100% free and works great. Only minor negative is with both (and others) you have to get and use a separate phone number for your incoming/outgoing texting. To me that's not a big deal just have to make sure everyone knows that's your SMS #(although both can also be used for phone calls). And you can tell AT&T to shove it!!
"The vast majority of our messaging customers prefer unlimited plans and with text messaging growth stronger than ever, that number continues to climb among new customers."
So if that is the case, that they believe everyone wants unlimited texting, then why force it? According to this statement, nearly will naturally select that option anyway. Oh, that's right, becasue they want to screw those of us who don't sit around sending text message all day.
Something to keep in mind... for those of you with family plans, AT&T offers unlimited texting/etc for $30 for the entire family plan.
That's still a rip off.
Oh well, one more reason I'll never switch back to ATT.
And let Google have a copy of every text you've ever sent or received?
As if AT&T cannot and does not do the same?
How would this impact customers with existing SMS plans?
Obviously you're one of those who only reads the title to an article before commenting.
This is a clear case where regulatory intervention is called for. At the very least, AT&T should be required to disable SMS/MMS entirely for an account at the customer's request.
You can do this already with a quick call to customer service. I did it. I'd rather communicate by smoke signal than by text message. My wife likes to have some texting capabilities due to friends of hers who insist on using it, so she gets 200 texts for $5/month and that works well for us. I'll be pretty mad if we ever have to upgrade to this new $20 plan with no increase in her actual usage.
Do american carriers charge seperatly for texts and voice??
Yup. If American carriers could charge more for the ability to send uppercase letters in texts, they would.
One big problem with iMessage: It is only on IOS devices. Most of the world is still not on IOS (though IOS market share continues to improve). iMessage only makes sense when you know that everyone you text with (now and in the future) is on IOS. That will never happen.
Telco text messaging (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint) is device agnostic....this is a great feature and they know it...which is why they continue to raise prices.
I guess I can always use iMessage and join a pay-per-use text plan.
There is only one person that I regularly get messages from that doesn't have an iPhone but even that one person easily means more than $5 a month at $0.20 a message. I would probably try to coordinate some other means of getting short messages with notifications.
Weird. Didn't AT&T just start the '1000 texts for $10 a month' package recently?
How recent? It was there last summer. So was a 200 text plan for $5/mo, which was not referenced in that screen shot. So that means if I leave AT&T, I won't be coming back, because leaving means losing the grandfathered plan.
...by the way... if you don't need unlimited texts, definitely switch over to the Messaging 1000 plan! Do it NOW! Save a few bucks each month. Why spend $20 for unlimited texting when you only send a few hundred per month?
I'd think they're probably already on it. Why pay the extra if you don't use it?
And let Google have a copy of every text you've ever sent or received?
On the bright side, you get to have an easily searchable and accessible copy too.
This is a clear case where regulatory intervention is called for. At the very least, AT&T should be required to disable SMS/MMS entirely for an account at the customer's request. If they can't do that, then the government should step in and regulate pricing. No carrier should be allowed to force customers into expensive extra services that they can't control in the entirely uncompetitive wireless market that exists in the U.S. today.
They do. Just give them a call.
...by the way... if you don't need unlimited texts, definitely switch over to the Messaging 1000 plan! Do it NOW! Save a few bucks each month. Why spend $20 for unlimited texting when you only send a few hundred per month?
If you make a lot of M2M calls an extra 10$ and the cheapest voice plan can save you money.
...by the way... if you don't need unlimited texts, definitely switch over to the Messaging 1000 plan! Do it NOW! Save a few bucks each month. Why spend $20 for unlimited texting when you only send a few hundred per month?
Whatever...the difference is $10. You can't even buy lunch in California for $10. People whining over a few bucks shouldn't even have an iPhone.
One big problem with iMessage: It is only on IOS devices. Most of the world is still not on IOS (though IOS market share continues to improve). iMessage only makes sense when you know that everyone you text with (now and in the future) is on IOS. That will never happen.
Telco text messaging (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint) is device agnostic....this is a great feature and they know it...which is why they continue to raise prices.
I guess I can always use iMessage and join a pay-per-use text plan.
Exactly. Text messaging works no matter what phone or network you are sending.
Get a google voice account and never pay for texting again.
Google voice all the way. Never looked back.
Until google decides to charge for it. Also, last I checked you cant do international texting on Google Voice
IOS app Beejive. you can text most phones. Some cheap phones on sub networks like ntelos...wont allow ext to go through. But for your avg smart phone it's a non issue.
There's also a dozen and one text app thats a good workaround...google voice, IM+ pro...even YIM.
All these "text app replacements" rely upon you getting the people you text to all to join their communications network -- or you getting a 2nd phone number via the service so all your friends/Colleagues are given the task to deal with your multiple number (i.e. X number for voice, oh and if I want to text i need to use Y) Pain in the butt. SMS is good because it works with everyone from the get go. All messaging services are replacing the money you would spend with the carrier to provide the service, with you spending some time use an external service or convincing people to switch to an alternative instant message medium.
At the end of the day, SMS won't disappear because it's the only way that exists that always works no matter what the network or phone a person happens to use. So either pay your carrier with cash, or you pay with your time to use the alternatives.
Now if Verizon wanted, they could make an offer to honor current unlimited data contracts from AT&T at the AT&T rate, and would probably get a lot of people switching over to them.