AT&T rivals seen driving down cost of iPhone service

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 55
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by saarek View Post


    I have to say that I find O2's pricing in the UK really reasonable, I am on the £35 a month contract (around $50) which gives me the unlimitted internet and a fair amount of calls/texts.



    From what I can see the American pricing is a rip off, especially as Americans seem to have to use their minutes when people call them as well as when dialing out (I could be wrong here)



    You are right, but we get correspondingly more minutes as a result. So instead of worrying about who we are calling and how much each call will cost, we can get for a reasonable price truly unlimited calling, in and out, to any phone in the country, land line or mobile, local and long distance. I prefer it to all the worrying I hear about Euro plans and how you need to know what kind of a phone you are calling etc.
  • Reply 22 of 55
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by saarek View Post


    Yes, but they are already receiving payment for the call from the one who places it, do your landlines work the same way, do you have to pay to receive a call from someone else?



    You are right, it's certainly an idea that would never work here, no consumer would accept it.



    The opposite is also true - Euro style pricing would not be accepted here.



    Can we drop all the BS comparing cell phone plans internationally? IT ALL EVENS OUT. Both sides of the pond have oligopoly market structures, and similar levels of personal income. The price of using a cell phone works out about the same no matter where you live.
  • Reply 23 of 55
    timontimon Posts: 152member
    Verizon now has "Friends and Family" so I'm wondering when AT&T will add it. That would totally solve my major issue moving to AT&T which is the rest of the family that I normally call is on Verizon.



    That and adding some text messages to the data plan and I'll move when the new iPhone is released in June.
  • Reply 24 of 55
    neilmneilm Posts: 985member
    Yes, the iPhone's upfront device price is largely irrelevant in the TCO.



    However AT&T could make a marketing decision at any time to offer some lower tier of iPhone data/minutes if they think that makes sense from a competitive point of view. For instance in the several years that I had my previous Verizon phone the service plans changed numerous times.



    Remember though that in the roughly $70/month basic plan there's some amount that's paid to Apple as a hardware subsidy, and that's not going to change (unless the upfront price does). As a result AT&T has less room to move on price than the $70 number might suggest.
  • Reply 25 of 55
    I've said it before and I'll say it again: AT&T is a complete and total rip-off and only fool would pay those ridiculous prices for a freakin' PHONE!



    I'll stick with my pay-as-you-go phone for less than $10 a month thanks. If the time comes that I can make money using my phone, only THEN will I consider paying more because it will justify the cost. Otherwise I'd just be throwing money away for what? Coolness and convenience?
  • Reply 26 of 55
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    You guys need to look at the point of this article along with the current reality.



    AT&T and Verizon charge the most, but they are also growing the fastest. They are not forced to lower their costs.



    Sprint is loosing customers and T-Mobile isn't growing nearly as fast. So they both are forced to compete on price.



    As long as AT&T/Verizon continue to grow their isn't as much reason for them to compete on price.
  • Reply 27 of 55
    MetroPCS gives everything - EVERYTHING - for $50.00 per month. Unlimited nationwide calling, unlimited web, SMS, MMS, etc... anything, and everything... and NO contract what-so-ever. No credit check and no contract. Ever. They are stealing a ton of people away from Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc. They are the first domino driving down these prices. While they don't have a phone as cool as the iPhone, they are improving the selections - Data is new to them so you'll see more smart phones...
  • Reply 28 of 55
    AT&T and Verizon might think they are insulated from the price-cutting, but based on my call quality with AT&T I might switch the office over to the "little guys." The reality is that a cell phone doesn't provide $70 in value over a month, even an iPhone.



    For once, I think Shaw Wu is actually right. Ouch, that hurt.



    The trend in a business like cell phones should be towards unmetered, unlimited service for a flat fee, except for the artificial monopoly out there.



    Does T-Mo have a 3G network yet? Could Sprint switch to a GSM standard?
  • Reply 29 of 55
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 8CoreWhore View Post


    MetroPCS gives everything - EVERYTHING - for $50.00 per month. Unlimited nationwide calling, unlimited web, SMS, MMS, etc... anything, and everything... and NO contract what-so-ever. No credit check and no contract. Ever. They are stealing a ton of people away from Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc. They are the first domino driving down these prices. While they don't have a phone as cool as the iPhone, they are improving the selections - Data is new to them so you'll see more smart phones...



    Does MetroPCS still only do the one-way nationwide calling. IOW, you can call anywhere in the nation from your home area, but you get charged roaming fees if you call from outside that area?



    Either way, MVNOs like MetroPCS do serve their purpose for those that live in the right areas, but they couldn't suit my needs. I wasted $150 on a CDMA-based phone that I used for less than 2 months. I wanted good phone and data coverage and they just can't supply that.
  • Reply 30 of 55
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by samab View Post


    There is also nights and weekends and rollover minutes.



    Plus no roaming when you travel between states. I remember back in the mid 1990s your phone would not work once you leave your area code or state if you don't enroll in roaming plan.



    People don't realize that what work for Europe might not work in the US. Being able to use my phone when traveling 500 miles from home without paying roaming charges and call anyone in the US without paying long distance fees are very important. However, I don't know if this is possible in Europe or not.
  • Reply 31 of 55
    kibitzerkibitzer Posts: 1,114member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Timon View Post


    Verizon now has "Friends and Family" so I'm wondering when AT&T will add it. That would totally solve my major issue moving to AT&T which is the rest of the family that I normally call is on Verizon.



    That and adding some text messages to the data plan and I'll move when the new iPhone is released in June.



    Our family had the same situation in that the majority were on Verizon Wireless before the iPhone came on the market. We stayed within Verizon and got unlimited free calling to our kin on Verizon Wireless in Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Florida and Texas. Since then almost all of us have migrated to AT&T upon Verizon contract expiration, simply because the IPhone features still run rings around any competitors, even with introductions of new products from Blackberry and LG.



    Verizon Friiends and Family is a nice plan if you choose a family plan with two or more lines, which lets you set up to 10 family and friends on any wired or wireless U.S. network for free unlimited calling.



    In our case, however, with my wife and I both having AT&T iPhones on a 700 minute family plan, we never get close to our monthly limit since the big family migration. Accordingly, we have a cushion of rollover minutes.



    AT&T's Family Plan options all include the following:



    - Unlimited Nights and Weekends calling from 9 p.m to 6 a.m.

    - Unlimited Mobile to Mobile (M2M) calling to other AT&T wireless customers

    - No domestic roaming or long distance charges

    - All lines sharing Rollover Minutes which lets you save those unused minutes



    So you may want take a fresh look based both on your own calling patterns and what your family members would like to do when their Verizon contracts come up for renewal. You all may want to migrate to AT&T like we did, even if AT&T never introduces a copycat version of Verizon Friends and Family.



    Last word - everybody in our family loves their iPhones!
  • Reply 32 of 55
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NasserAE View Post


    eople don't realize that what work for Europe might not work in the US. Being able to use my phone when traveling 500 miles from home without paying roaming charges and call anyone in the US without paying long distance fees are very important. However, I don't know if this is possible in Europe or not.



    That is a good point. I went to Hawaii and I was covered under my normal AT&T plan. I travel all over the US yet I never have to switch SIM cards. I get 3G from AT&T most of the time, even on highways and on trains. For example, it is about 2,600 miles (4200 km) from San Francisco to New York City.
  • Reply 33 of 55
    "Unlimited data/voice" is actually a 5GB limit per month. They'll need to change this when tethering is available.
  • Reply 34 of 55
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SHAPIRO2 View Post


    "Unlimited data/voice" is actually a 5GB limit per month. They'll need to change this when tethering is available.



    I would imagine that they would make it the same as their 3G USB and EC/34 cards, $60/month. That is what I pay for mine.



    I go quite a bit over the 5GB limit. I did about 70GB last month and I have never been called, throttled or, obviously, dropped because of my usage. I do also pay for 2 iPhones so perhaps they are showing me some leniency, but I doubt that as I've never hard of anyone else getting booted for excessive usage on AT&T's network.
  • Reply 35 of 55
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dualie View Post


    I've said it before and I'll say it again: AT&T is a complete and total rip-off and only fool would pay those ridiculous prices for a freakin' PHONE!



    I'll stick with my pay-as-you-go phone for less than $10 a month thanks. If the time comes that I can make money using my phone, only THEN will I consider paying more because it will justify the cost. Otherwise I'd just be throwing money away for what? Coolness and convenience?



    Just curious - how old are you?



    As people get older, they tend to start valuing their time more. So that little throwaway word, the last word in your post... that's kinda important. Convenience. $2 per day is all the iPhone costs. For people who value their time and appreciate well made things, that's probably the best deal around. And you know what, the sales numbers bear it out.
  • Reply 36 of 55
    rainrain Posts: 538member
    Doesn't do anything for us up here where Rogers has a monopoly.



    As far as getting charged for minutes on incoming calls, Rogers also charges us for incoming text now, even if it's spam. We get charged both ways.



    Monopolies suck.
  • Reply 37 of 55
    When the iPhone 3G first came out, a lot of us 1st gen iPhone owners complained about the monthly fee hike and refused to upgrade our phones. Lot of people justify the iPhone 3G by saying it's just an extra $10/month for faster speed and the aggregate cost is the same more or less. Yes, but you pay it in installment over a recurring monthly fees... For some of us, that relationship with the carrier lasts longer than a 2 year contract. Hence, the complaint about the fee increases.



    The iPhone 3G is nice except that some of us actually like our iPhones to be used as phones and don't have all that bandwidth requirement. Furthermore, I am close to a wireless network most of the time so I can get access to a fast network without using AT&T's network. So, at least for me, it was already difficult to sign up for the $65/month iPhone/Edge plan and I hardly use the phone for accessing the internet anyway.



    So, I do hope AT&T changes their plan. I already cancelled my AT&T DSL and phone line and went with cable for data and voice. So, I say let the competition duke it out. I'm willing to wait until the dust settles.
  • Reply 38 of 55
    mrobmrob Posts: 13member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Enigmafan420 View Post


    I have been saying all along that the thing holding up more rapid adoption of the iPhone is NOT the price of the hand set.



    God, $200 is NOTHING when you figure that the service will cost NO LESS than $1,680 over 2 years, and that is before cell plan taxes.



    I just don't see a price cut to $100 for the phone making that much of a difference.



    BUT-a voice and data plan that included some sort of texting (400?) for $50 per month per line WOULD BE THE "KILLER APP" for adoption.



    Absolutely. Lower the price to $50 and I'm at the ATT store in a heartbeat.
  • Reply 39 of 55
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    In Australia I pay $A79 a month ($US51) on a 24 month contract the 8GB is free, the 16GB is $A121 ($US78).



    For that I get $A550 calls SMS or whatever else I want to use, which is around 600 minutes and 1000 minutes of free calls intra Network on weekends.



    The calls cover anywhere in Australia and it's free to receive calls



    Plus 400MB of data which I use in full as open wireless networks are few and far between.



    My monthly fee costs around 3 hours of average weekly earnings.



    My iPhone is officially unlocked, if I travel I can use any SIM.
  • Reply 40 of 55
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hill60 View Post


    In Australia I pay $A79 a month ($US51) on a 24 month contract the 8GB is free, the 16GB is $A121 ($US78).



    For that I get $A550 calls SMS or whatever else I want to use, which is around 600 minutes and 1000 minutes of free calls intra Network on weekends.



    The calls cover anywhere in Australia and it's free to receive calls



    Plus 400MB of data which I use in full as open wireless networks are few and far between.



    My monthly fee costs around 3 hours of average weekly earnings.



    My iPhone is officially unlocked, if I travel I can use any SIM.



    Yet, Apple has sold far more iPhones in the USA than in any other country, despite what everyone keeps insisting is such a terrible deal. Wierd!



    For what it's worth, per capita income in the USA is about 33% higher than in Australia, so are you surprised that consumer prices are also higher?



    http://www.finfacts.ie/biz10/globalw...epercapita.htm
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