Unlike everybody else here, I welcome the move back to unlimited data...
Having to pay for TV + internet over cable + and internet (etc.) on a phone is triple redundant. The carriers have us locked into a paradigm that mostly serves their purposes -- profit. If I could consolidate all three bills into a single $100 charge I would be very happy. While it's true that it's not there yet, I think it is coming...
Prices are ridiculous. I realize these companies have big capital infrastructure costs, but $1200 a year per person or $1700 or more for a family is really an absurd rip-off especially considering that average 4G speed in the U.S. is something like 76th in the world. These companies are pigs.
IMO, the companies should be prohibited from advertising a price that doesn't include the fake fees. (Same for cable companies.) Total taxes and fees add almost 17% to my bill.
I'm grandfathered in the AT&T unlimited plan, but they've raised their prices twice recently. I get a small corporate discount but the plan still costs $100 a month (including all taxes and fees) with about $16 of texting charges (which should be included in the data plan anyway since all it is is data). I think they used to give unlimited texting for $5, but now it's $20. And then there's the absurd $40 "upgrade" fee when you get a new phone.
I'd switch to T-Mobile, but they have no coverage at my daughter's house in upstate NY.
You have to at least beat Verizon on price, AT&T. Your network sucks compare to theirs.
Their network sucks compared to T-Mobile's.
Ok - this is factually incorrect, and it is not subjective at all. T-Mobile coverage is still terrible by comparison to AT&T. This is why they don't need to compete directly on price. it is not a mystery.
AT&T wants to remain competitive and yet they charge those prices? LOL
It's a joke. Switched from AT&T to T-Mobile last July after being on AT&T for about 15 years. NO regrets.
how do people test coverage?
They don't, they switch based on marketing ploys, and find out the hard way.
The only time my parents had good coverage was when they were on AT&T (like me). They insisted on switching to Verizon for cost reasons, even though I advised against. They found out what a mistake that was, being on the only CDMA network in the US. Ha! Then they switched to T-Mobile, and found out just how bad it can really get.
AT&T wants to remain competitive and yet they charge those prices? LOL
It's a joke. Switched from AT&T to T-Mobile last July after being on AT&T for about 15 years. NO regrets.
But how do I verify coverage is going to work for the places I go? ATT works where I need it and that is what makes it hard. We have 6 phones on the plan so have to cater to everyone's needs. Guess that is what makes it hard to switch. If just my wife and I then would be easier but still, how do people test coverage?
I'll have to suggest something like I tried: AT&T's prepaid plan -- GoPhone. Since I don't have recent experience going to a different carrier I'll have to detail what I did for a test.
If you already have an AT&T compatible LTE phone (like an unlocked SIM-free iPhone) then all you need to do is hop into an AT&T store and get a SIM card (no charge for it), sign up for a pay by the day plan ($2 daily + $1 daily 100MB data package) and give it a try with a new phone number. If you don't have an already compatible phone then get a cheapo $20 phone from somewhere like Best Buy: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/at-t-gophone-alcatel-ideal-4g-lte-with-8gb-memory-prepaid-cell-phone-slate-blue/5443800.p?skuId=5443800 or borrow an old iPhone from a friend (it seems almost everyone has an old one they can loan out for a few days). There were no hidden fees to activate this service.
I went from AT&T's postpaid to their prepaid plans to save a bit of money. Unfortunately for me the only carrier with more than one bar of signal strength at my house is AT&T so I'm stuck with their network. Except for the non-USA based customer service I've had pretty good results on the GoPhone plan with three phones.
Verizon comes up with unlimited for $80 (okay, plus tax, throttling above 22GB, limited tethering, and requires autopay from a checking account or a debit card)
$80 includes all fees/taxes. I just confirmed with Verizon chat support as I'm about to ditch AT&T after being on grandfathered unlimited for far too long ($20-25 drop on my bill plus 10GB tethering? I'm in). Without autopay from checking it's only $5 more.
FYI - I called AT&T yesterday and laid down the law. Been a loyal AT&T customer for over a decade including grandfathered iPhone plan from the first iPhone yet still no tethering and recently announced $5/month price increase, lame for us loyal customers. Told them to earn my future business or I was going to T-Mobile. Call took 20 minutes but I ended up getting unlimited everything INCLUDING UNLIMITED TETHERING for $60 + taxes for a single line. Online it shows it is a $40 3GB data plan amended internally to unlimited data for $40 + $20 for the line equaling $60. CUT MY PLAN IN HALF!!!
I think you got swindled. I just chatted with AT&T to try to get them to offer me something. The support person says there's no way you got anything other than the 3GB Mobile Share Plan (I think it's called), which is only unlimited in that there are no data overages, but you'll be throttled after 3GB. Unless they lied to me, but she was very sorry and said they had no power to add extra features and such on the back end and that's all controlled by corporate higher ups. I've also been with them for a decade or so and she couldn't offer me shit other than the publicly available plans, and said the only "unpublished" plans were the legacy ones that people are still on but aren't available to new users such as the grandfathered unlimited and one other she mentioned.
To be clear, I pasted your exact post in the chat window to be certain there was nothing she could do for me.
I'm jumping ship to Verizon after confirming it's a flat $80/mo with everything. AT&T can suck it.
FYI - I called AT&T yesterday and laid down the law. Been a loyal AT&T customer for over a decade including grandfathered iPhone plan from the first iPhone yet still no tethering and recently announced $5/month price increase, lame for us loyal customers. Told them to earn my future business or I was going to T-Mobile. Call took 20 minutes but I ended up getting unlimited everything INCLUDING UNLIMITED TETHERING for $60 + taxes for a single line. Online it shows it is a $40 3GB data plan amended internally to unlimited data for $40 + $20 for the line equaling $60. CUT MY PLAN IN HALF!!!
I think you got swindled. I just chatted with AT&T to try to get them to offer me something. The support person says there's no way you got anything other than the 3GB Mobile Share Plan (I think it's called), which is only unlimited in that there are no data overages, but you'll be throttled after 3GB. Unless they lied to me, but she was very sorry and said they had no power to add extra features and such on the back end and that's all controlled by corporate higher ups. I've also been with them for a decade or so and she couldn't offer me shit other than the publicly available plans, and said the only "unpublished" plans were the legacy ones that people are still on but aren't available to new users such as the grandfathered unlimited and one other she mentioned.
To be clear, I pasted your exact post in the chat window to be certain there was nothing she could do for me.
I'm jumping ship to Verizon after confirming it's a flat $80/mo with everything. AT&T can suck it.
I sure hope not. I did check online and it says under Date, Left, Unlimited. I also have a text message from the customer service person: "AT&T Free Msg: Today I was able to keep with AT&T by taking your bill down to $60.00/m with unlimited everything and tethering. I want to thank you for your loyalty with AT&T. - Thank you! Randy P."
The unlimited wouldn't be throttled after 3GB, if it is, someone will be fired. You can't say "unlimited" and really be 3GB data. There is NO WAY ON THIS EARTH that I would agree to 3GB then throttled as the entire discussion was about unlimited data on Verizon and T-Mobile which AT&T needed to match.
FYI - I called AT&T yesterday and laid down the law. Been a loyal AT&T customer for over a decade including grandfathered iPhone plan from the first iPhone yet still no tethering and recently announced $5/month price increase, lame for us loyal customers. Told them to earn my future business or I was going to T-Mobile. Call took 20 minutes but I ended up getting unlimited everything INCLUDING UNLIMITED TETHERING for $60 + taxes for a single line. Online it shows it is a $40 3GB data plan amended internally to unlimited data for $40 + $20 for the line equaling $60. CUT MY PLAN IN HALF!!!
I think you got swindled. I just chatted with AT&T to try to get them to offer me something. The support person says there's no way you got anything other than the 3GB Mobile Share Plan (I think it's called), which is only unlimited in that there are no data overages, but you'll be throttled after 3GB. Unless they lied to me, but she was very sorry and said they had no power to add extra features and such on the back end and that's all controlled by corporate higher ups. I've also been with them for a decade or so and she couldn't offer me shit other than the publicly available plans, and said the only "unpublished" plans were the legacy ones that people are still on but aren't available to new users such as the grandfathered unlimited and one other she mentioned.
To be clear, I pasted your exact post in the chat window to be certain there was nothing she could do for me.
I'm jumping ship to Verizon after confirming it's a flat $80/mo with everything. AT&T can suck it.
I sure hope not. I did check online and it says under Date, Left, Unlimited. I also have a text message from the customer service person: "AT&T Free Msg: Today I was able to keep with AT&T by taking your bill down to $60.00/m with unlimited everything and tethering. I want to thank you for your loyalty with AT&T. - Thank you! Randy P."
The unlimited wouldn't be throttled after 3GB, if it is, someone will be fired. You can't say "unlimited" and really be 3GB data. There is NO WAY ON THIS EARTH that I would agree to 3GB then throttled as the entire discussion was about unlimited data on Verizon and T-Mobile which AT&T needed to match.
What do you think?
The carriers tout "unlimited" all of the time and yet they throttle customers after a certain amount. Yes, it's usually at around 22 GB/month, but there is still a limit. It's just at a higher limit than 3 GB.
FYI - I called AT&T yesterday and laid down the law. Been a loyal AT&T customer for over a decade including grandfathered iPhone plan from the first iPhone yet still no tethering and recently announced $5/month price increase, lame for us loyal customers. Told them to earn my future business or I was going to T-Mobile. Call took 20 minutes but I ended up getting unlimited everything INCLUDING UNLIMITED TETHERING for $60 + taxes for a single line. Online it shows it is a $40 3GB data plan amended internally to unlimited data for $40 + $20 for the line equaling $60. CUT MY PLAN IN HALF!!!
I think you got swindled. I just chatted with AT&T to try to get them to offer me something. The support person says there's no way you got anything other than the 3GB Mobile Share Plan (I think it's called), which is only unlimited in that there are no data overages, but you'll be throttled after 3GB. Unless they lied to me, but she was very sorry and said they had no power to add extra features and such on the back end and that's all controlled by corporate higher ups. I've also been with them for a decade or so and she couldn't offer me shit other than the publicly available plans, and said the only "unpublished" plans were the legacy ones that people are still on but aren't available to new users such as the grandfathered unlimited and one other she mentioned.
To be clear, I pasted your exact post in the chat window to be certain there was nothing she could do for me.
I'm jumping ship to Verizon after confirming it's a flat $80/mo with everything. AT&T can suck it.
I sure hope not. I did check online and it says under Date, Left, Unlimited. I also have a text message from the customer service person: "AT&T Free Msg: Today I was able to keep with AT&T by taking your bill down to $60.00/m with unlimited everything and tethering. I want to thank you for your loyalty with AT&T. - Thank you! Randy P."
The unlimited wouldn't be throttled after 3GB, if it is, someone will be fired. You can't say "unlimited" and really be 3GB data. There is NO WAY ON THIS EARTH that I would agree to 3GB then throttled as the entire discussion was about unlimited data on Verizon and T-Mobile which AT&T needed to match.
What do you think?
The carriers tout "unlimited" all of the time and yet they throttle customers after a certain amount. Yes, it's usually at around 22 GB/month, but there is still a limit. It's just at a higher limit than 3 GB.
Look at what AT&T offers, and what they offered me when I was about to jump ship. It's right here in plain text:
"With AT&T Mobile Share Advantage℠, you get unlimited talk & text and shared data with no overage charges.* Learn more.
*After all your high-speed data allotments are used, all data usage is slowed to a max of 128 Kbps for the rest of the bill cycle. "
^ THIS. Here are more details on the data speeds:
"Data Speeds & Overage Charges: No charge for overage. After all your high-speed data allotments are used, all data usage is slowed to a max of 128Kbps (2G speed) for the rest of the bill cycle. You will have basic data use for viewing a web page or checking email. Audio and video streaming, picture and video messaging, apps and features, as well as other usage, including sponsored data, will be impacted and may not be fully functional. See att.com/broadbandinfo for info on AT&T Network Management practices. Video Streaming: Plan will include Stream Saver feature which allows content that it recognizes as video by streaming higher definition video in Standard Definition quality (about 480p) on compatible devices (unless the video provider has opted out). AT&T will activate the feature for you. Check your account online to see if the feature is active. Once active, you can turn it off or back on at any time online (consumers at att.com/myatt; business customers at wireless.att.com/business). Stream Saver will not recognize all video content. Ability to stream and video resolution may vary, and be affected by other factors. Restrictions apply. See att.com/streamsaver for more details."
So you pay $60 (PLUS taxes/fees) for 3GB of LTE, and after that it's 128Kbps with which I think would have most people screaming at their phones.
And they were trying to be sly with me saying "it's almost like unlimited in that there's no data cap" and I was like bullshit, it's throttled, see ya later, and they offered me nothing other than a 6GB plan of the same for $80(+tax/etc) at which point I had to remind them the reason I was leaving to begin with.
Now I'm looking at the pros/cons between Verizon (80/mo total) T-Mobile(70/mo total) which both actually are unlimited up to 22GB and after that "may" be throttled, especially now that a friend came up with a 20% off for life on the T-Mobile plan, so $56/mo for that, which I think I'm going to give a shot first 'cause damn that's cheap.
Comments
Having to pay for TV + internet over cable + and internet (etc.) on a phone is triple redundant. The carriers have us locked into a paradigm that mostly serves their purposes -- profit. If I could consolidate all three bills into a single $100 charge I would be very happy. While it's true that it's not there yet, I think it is coming...
IMO, the companies should be prohibited from advertising a price that doesn't include the fake fees. (Same for cable companies.) Total taxes and fees add almost 17% to my bill.
I'm grandfathered in the AT&T unlimited plan, but they've raised their prices twice recently. I get a small corporate discount but the plan still costs $100 a month (including all taxes and fees) with about $16 of texting charges (which should be included in the data plan anyway since all it is is data). I think they used to give unlimited texting for $5, but now it's $20. And then there's the absurd $40 "upgrade" fee when you get a new phone.
I'd switch to T-Mobile, but they have no coverage at my daughter's house in upstate NY.
They don't, they switch based on marketing ploys, and find out the hard way.
The only time my parents had good coverage was when they were on AT&T (like me). They insisted on switching to Verizon for cost reasons, even though I advised against. They found out what a mistake that was, being on the only CDMA network in the US. Ha! Then they switched to T-Mobile, and found out just how bad it can really get.
If you already have an AT&T compatible LTE phone (like an unlocked SIM-free iPhone) then all you need to do is hop into an AT&T store and get a SIM card (no charge for it), sign up for a pay by the day plan ($2 daily + $1 daily 100MB data package) and give it a try with a new phone number. If you don't have an already compatible phone then get a cheapo $20 phone from somewhere like Best Buy: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/at-t-gophone-alcatel-ideal-4g-lte-with-8gb-memory-prepaid-cell-phone-slate-blue/5443800.p?skuId=5443800 or borrow an old iPhone from a friend (it seems almost everyone has an old one they can loan out for a few days). There were no hidden fees to activate this service.
If you have trouble finding AT&T's GoPhone plans -- it's hard to find: https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/gophone-plans.html
I went from AT&T's postpaid to their prepaid plans to save a bit of money. Unfortunately for me the only carrier with more than one bar of signal strength at my house is AT&T so I'm stuck with their network. Except for the non-USA based customer service I've had pretty good results on the GoPhone plan with three phones.
I think you got swindled. I just chatted with AT&T to try to get them to offer me something. The support person says there's no way you got anything other than the 3GB Mobile Share Plan (I think it's called), which is only unlimited in that there are no data overages, but you'll be throttled after 3GB. Unless they lied to me, but she was very sorry and said they had no power to add extra features and such on the back end and that's all controlled by corporate higher ups. I've also been with them for a decade or so and she couldn't offer me shit other than the publicly available plans, and said the only "unpublished" plans were the legacy ones that people are still on but aren't available to new users such as the grandfathered unlimited and one other she mentioned.
To be clear, I pasted your exact post in the chat window to be certain there was nothing she could do for me.
I'm jumping ship to Verizon after confirming it's a flat $80/mo with everything. AT&T can suck it.
The unlimited wouldn't be throttled after 3GB, if it is, someone will be fired. You can't say "unlimited" and really be 3GB data. There is NO WAY ON THIS EARTH that I would agree to 3GB then throttled as the entire discussion was about unlimited data on Verizon and T-Mobile which AT&T needed to match.
What do you think?
https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/data-plans.html
"With AT&T Mobile Share Advantage℠, you get unlimited talk & text and shared data with no overage charges.* Learn more.
*After all your high-speed data allotments are used, all data usage is slowed to a max of 128 Kbps for the rest of the bill cycle. "
^ THIS. Here are more details on the data speeds:
"Data Speeds & Overage Charges: No charge for overage. After all your high-speed data allotments are used, all data usage is slowed to a max of 128Kbps (2G speed) for the rest of the bill cycle. You will have basic data use for viewing a web page or checking email. Audio and video streaming, picture and video messaging, apps and features, as well as other usage, including sponsored data, will be impacted and may not be fully functional. See att.com/broadbandinfo for info on AT&T Network Management practices. Video Streaming: Plan will include Stream Saver feature which allows content that it recognizes as video by streaming higher definition video in Standard Definition quality (about 480p) on compatible devices (unless the video provider has opted out). AT&T will activate the feature for you. Check your account online to see if the feature is active. Once active, you can turn it off or back on at any time online (consumers at att.com/myatt; business customers at wireless.att.com/business). Stream Saver will not recognize all video content. Ability to stream and video resolution may vary, and be affected by other factors. Restrictions apply. See att.com/streamsaver for more details."
So you pay $60 (PLUS taxes/fees) for 3GB of LTE, and after that it's 128Kbps with which I think would have most people screaming at their phones.
And they were trying to be sly with me saying "it's almost like unlimited in that there's no data cap" and I was like bullshit, it's throttled, see ya later, and they offered me nothing other than a 6GB plan of the same for $80(+tax/etc) at which point I had to remind them the reason I was leaving to begin with.
Now I'm looking at the pros/cons between Verizon (80/mo total) T-Mobile(70/mo total) which both actually are unlimited up to 22GB and after that "may" be throttled, especially now that a friend came up with a 20% off for life on the T-Mobile plan, so $56/mo for that, which I think I'm going to give a shot first 'cause damn that's cheap.