AT&T expands Mobile Share plans, adds 2GB for $50
AT&T-based users of Apple's iPhone and cellular iPad will soon have new data sharing options, as the carrier announced new two new tiers in its Mobile Share plan structure, including a new 2-gigabyte plan.
AT&T announced the new plans on Monday, noting that they will become available to customers on Friday, July 26. Customers will now have access to a new low-end 300-megabyte plan, as well as a 2-gigabyte Mobile Share plan.
The 300-megabyte plan will cost customers $20 per month, half what a customer will currently pay for a 1-gigabyte plan. In addition to the $20 plan rate, AT&T will charge $50 per smartphone on the sharing plan. That per-phone charge is $5 more than the charge for the 1-gigabyte plan and new 2-gigabyte plan.
The 2-gigabyte plan serves as an intermediate step for customers unable to keep their data use under 1 gigabyte but who don't need to spend nearly twice the 1-gigabyte price for the 4-gigabyte plan. The 2-gigabyte plan will be available at $50 per month, with a per-smartphone charge of $45.
With the new additions, AT&T's Mobile Share plans now range from $20 for low-bandwidth users up to $500 for much heavier users. The low-cost sharing option could prove attractive to customers newly acquired by AT&T in its recent purchase of Leap Wireless, which operates the low-cost and prepaid service Cricket.
AT&T has been continually tweaking its offerings and services to maintain a lead in the increasingly competitive U.S. wireless segment. The carrier also recently announced AT&T Next, a comprehensive smartphone and tablet upgrade program allowing customers to purchase a new device every 12 months. That program, which requires a monthly fee for 20 months, will launch on July 26, the same day as the new sharing plans.
AT&T announced the new plans on Monday, noting that they will become available to customers on Friday, July 26. Customers will now have access to a new low-end 300-megabyte plan, as well as a 2-gigabyte Mobile Share plan.
The 300-megabyte plan will cost customers $20 per month, half what a customer will currently pay for a 1-gigabyte plan. In addition to the $20 plan rate, AT&T will charge $50 per smartphone on the sharing plan. That per-phone charge is $5 more than the charge for the 1-gigabyte plan and new 2-gigabyte plan.
The 2-gigabyte plan serves as an intermediate step for customers unable to keep their data use under 1 gigabyte but who don't need to spend nearly twice the 1-gigabyte price for the 4-gigabyte plan. The 2-gigabyte plan will be available at $50 per month, with a per-smartphone charge of $45.
With the new additions, AT&T's Mobile Share plans now range from $20 for low-bandwidth users up to $500 for much heavier users. The low-cost sharing option could prove attractive to customers newly acquired by AT&T in its recent purchase of Leap Wireless, which operates the low-cost and prepaid service Cricket.
AT&T has been continually tweaking its offerings and services to maintain a lead in the increasingly competitive U.S. wireless segment. The carrier also recently announced AT&T Next, a comprehensive smartphone and tablet upgrade program allowing customers to purchase a new device every 12 months. That program, which requires a monthly fee for 20 months, will launch on July 26, the same day as the new sharing plans.
Comments
I cannot wait to go home again. The prices in the States are just crazy!!!
Examples of what we pay (tre.it):
Limit Cost
----------------------------------------------
3GB/Month €9 per month
1GB/Day €19 per month
Or... for the iPads specifically
3GB/Month €5 per month (which is what I use)
So basically... for each "i" device you are only paying €5/mo
I am not saying this for any other reason then that the people here really need to step up and give an absolute smack down to the service providers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
When do we figure this all comes crashing down for the telecoms and they're forced to give us reasonable bandwidth at reasonable prices? I can't take much more of this.
No kidding...everything changes over time so next month we will have something new.
The music industry was dragged kicking and screaming into the future (for the most part) and so will the telecoms, just need a disruptive force to enter the market for service in the same way Apple changed how carriers controlled handsets.
I am getting a headache trying to figure this out: whether it's really new or different, and whether I am getting screwed more or less.
Wait. I think I know the answer.
Criminals.
I cannot wait to go home again. The prices in the States are just crazy!!!
Examples of what we pay (tre.it):
Limit Cost
----------------------------------------------
3GB/Month €9 per month
1GB/Day €19 per month
Or... for the iPads specifically
3GB/Month €5 per month (which is what I use)
So basically... for each "i" device you are only paying €5/mo
I am not saying this for any other reason then that the people here really need to step up and give an absolute smack down to the service providers.
Until of course you drive two hours into another country and are suddenly paying international roaming data rates, whereas here you can drive for two days and still be paying the same rate. But no, you are right that the US carriers do get a bit carried away with their data plans. On the flip side, having a lot of friends living in Europe and spending quite a bit of time there myself, I can say the craziness European carriers lack in their data plans they more than make up for in their calling plans. Different buckets of minutes for calling cell phones vs landlines. Charging different per minute amounts for calling different cell carriers. I'd rather pay a little extra to not have to worry about it (for those of us who still make phone calls from our phones). Although I do like that the party placing the call is generally responsible for the paying for it and incoming calls are generally free, as it is for landlines in the US.Amazing. So 2 GB of data is $50. Add in $45 per month for a per-smartphone charge. Add in the cost of voice service and texting and you're way over $100 per month.
OTOH, for $45 per month, I get unlimited data, unlimited voice, and unlimited texting on Straight Talk - which uses AT&T's network, so I'm not giving up coverage. Granted, I don't have LTE, but I'm not a heavy enough data user for that to concern me much (especially since I'm on WiFi when using a lot of data).
Quote:
Originally Posted by jragosta
Amazing. So 2 GB of data is $50. Add in $45 per month for a per-smartphone charge. Add in the cost of voice service and texting and you're way over $100 per month.
OTOH, for $45 per month, I get unlimited data, unlimited voice, and unlimited texting on Straight Talk - which uses AT&T's network, so I'm not giving up coverage. Granted, I don't have LTE, but I'm not a heavy enough data user for that to concern me much (especially since I'm on WiFi when using a lot of data).
It's crazy they can charge TWICE what another carrier does for the same network.
Do you at least get HSPA?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jragosta
Amazing. So 2 GB of data is $50. Add in $45 per month for a per-smartphone charge. Add in the cost of voice service and texting and you're way over $100 per month.
OTOH, for $45 per month, I get unlimited data, unlimited voice, and unlimited texting on Straight Talk - which uses AT&T's network, so I'm not giving up coverage. Granted, I don't have LTE, but I'm not a heavy enough data user for that to concern me much (especially since I'm on WiFi when using a lot of data).
No, voice & text come unlimited as part of the $45 per phone charge. So for $140 you can have two phones with unlimited voice & text which share 2GB of data....and so on. But yes, it's still a huge rip-off!!
AT&T's early tier offerings were ludicrous. Making people buy way more data than they needed because there were so few choices. Kind of like, "too many text messaging tiers will confuse people, lets just offer the 20 dollar one."
A disruptive force is why they capped data.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rolandrich
I'm so glad I kept my unlimited data from 09 these rates are stupid dumb. They really count on you going over. If sprint, clear and others were not so crappy I may consider changing.
Too right, I was getting skeptical but these new rates have cured me of that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WisdomSeed
Is their new motto 'If you think we were putting the squeeze on you before, you ain't seen nothing yet?'
Agreed!
:wow:????????
Quote:
Originally Posted by dasanman69
A disruptive force is why they capped data.
I don't think anyone foresaw what was about to happen when the iPhone hit the market. It was moving in that direction but Apple attached it to a rocket.