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AT&T kills unlimited data

I hope Verizon doesn't follow suit. 2GB seems so small.

I thought so to but when I check my usage I havent gone past 300MB ever so this could save me 15 bucks I average under 200MB a month. My girlfriend barely gets above 50MB a month..... Of course when Slingbox is release for my Dinc then it will probably be a different story for me.

Still its a little pricey I mean 24.95 for a 2GB or 29.99 for Unlimited thats a no brainier
 
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This is bad news. if AT&T is going to risk the step, Verizon will likely follow. They probably feel they have more to gain by changing their pricing model than bragging about their 'unlimited plan.' The latter wouldn't help much because they already have the reputation as the 'best' network.

all in all, this news makes me queasy. Hopefully AT&T customers will rebel...
 
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This is bad news. if AT&T is going to risk the step, Verizon will likely follow. They probably feel they have more to gain by changing their pricing model than bragging about their 'unlimited plan.' The latter wouldn't help much because they already have the reputation as the 'best' network.

all in all, this news makes me queasy. Hopefully AT&T customers will rebel...

Not likely, they are die hard Fanbois and will do whatever it takes to stay on the Steve Jobs fan wagon! :D
 
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It only applies to new customers, not existing ones.


For AT&T or Verizon? Existing AT&T users will be allowed to switch once the changes are implemented, despite current contract status.

AT&T makes sweeping changes to data plans, iPhone tethering coming at OS 4 launch -- Engadget


DataPlus / DataPro

  • The existing $30 fair-use "unlimited" smartphone data plan is being replaced by two new options: $15 per month for 200MB and $25 for 2GB (called "DataPlus" and "DataPro," respectively). Customers currently on the $30 plan are welcome to stay on it, but they can switch at any time without extending their contract.
  • AT&T's new overage system is arguably the game changer: on the $15 plan, you'll pay $15 for each additional 200MB, but on the $25 plan, you'll pay $10 for each additional GB. It's simple and straightforward -- but most importantly, it won't bankrupt you if you go over by a gig or three in a month. This compares to $50 per gigabyte of overage on AT&T's 5GB DataConnect plan for laptops.
  • The carrier's going to be very flexible about changing between the DataPlus and DataPro plans -- if you're on DataPlus, for example, and you discover that you're blowing past your allotment, you can choose either to start DataPro the following billing cycle, pro-rate it, or apply the higher plan retroactively to the beginning of your current billing cycle. That's pretty wild.
Tethering

  • Tethering will be offered as an add-on to the DataPro plan for an additional $20 per month, which means you'll pay a total of $45 a month for 2GB of data shared between your phone and your tethered devices. If you're light on the usage, it's a sweet deal -- but if you scale it up and you're using the data almost exclusively on your laptop, it compares unfavorably to the traditional DataConnect plan: $60 versus $75 for 5GB (and in the unlikely even you've got a webOS device on Verizon, it compares even less favorably). If you're striking a balance of data use between a smartphone and tethered gear, AT&T's new setup is still pretty solid considering that you would've been paying $60 for the USB stick plus $30 for smartphone data before.
  • Yes, it's finally happening: AT&T's iPhones will get access to the tethering option, too.
iPad

  • iPad users are also affected by the change. The $30 iPad data plan -- lauded for being labeled by AT&T as truly unlimited -- goes away to be replaced by the same $25 / 2GB plan that smartphone users will see, though current subscribers to the $30 plan can continue unaffected.
Everything launches on June 7, except for iPhone tethering -- it'll launch when OS 4 does. In the meantime, we're told users can sign up for the $30 plans both on their phones and iPads if they'd like to be grandfathered in. Follow the break for more details along with AT&T's full press release.

We're definitely mourning the death of unlimited data -- "unlimited" is a word that consumers always naturally like to hear -- but AT&T points out that 98 percent of its smartphone subscribers use less than 2GB a month, which means that nearly all users ultimately stand to see a $5 reduction in their monthly bills. We spoke to Mark Collins -- AT&T Mobility's senior vice president of data and voice products -- about the changes for a few clarifications on the company's strategy, and he made it crystal clear that the concept of unlimited data is a thing in the past (echoing
comments made recently by Verizon's Lowell McAdam), particularly in light of the oncoming spectrum crunch that stands to make wireless broadband an even more precious commodity than it already is. He also mentioned that laptop plans are unaffected by this move, though he went on to say that they've laid a "framework" for data pricing here that should continue all the way through to the company's LTE rollout, so we wouldn't be surprised to see some tweaks made on the laptop side sooner or later (to reduce overage fees, if nothing else).

We mentioned that the change stands to hurt a few users, and it's true -- we're extremely heavy smartphone users here, for example, and we're hard-pressed to break even a gigabyte of usage in a month; anyone doing a boatload of video streaming though, or lacking access to WiFi at home and the office (AT&T's quick to boast about its 20,000-odd hotspots) might find themselves regularly slamming headlong into that 2GB cap, and there won't be any option but to buy overage. For what it's worth, Collins pointed out to us that the plans will feature automatic text and email alerts at 65, 90, and 100 percent usage of your monthly allowance (and at 75 and 100 percent usage of each overage purchase), so it should be pretty easy to keep an eye on things and make sure you don't break the bank.
 
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Well, I welcome tiered plans and pricing, but dropping to 60% less for just $5 savings seems like a crappy tier. It should have been more like $15 for 1gb, $20 2gb, $25 for 3gb and so on...

And what's w/ the $20 upcharge for tethering? I mean, that doesn't give you any more on your limit. What do they care whether it terminates at my phone or thru a cable to my laptop? I'm paying for the same 2gb limit! Stupid.

And furthermore, why can't a user just get a 2gb plan and share it over their iPad and iPhone? Again, it's the same data, and hey, it's aT&T so neither of them can even make calls!
 
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I use my phone MORE at work because of all the restricted sites, it is easier for me to get info from my phone than request a site be unblocked. My normal data usage is 4-6gb a billing cycle. I listen to Pandora for 6-7 hours a day.

I'm under the mindset that VZW won't do this right away, as they said that with 4G/LTE is when the unlimited plans go away. They'll take all the additional subscribers that AT&T is going to throw their way now! Of course AT&T says that less than 2% of the users use over 2gb of data in a cycle. They probably include all of the "dumbphone" users to draw the percentage down since they're using 0mb in most cases.

What it will do is put a premium on buying phones at off contract rates so you don't get locked into the new data tier plans when they are released for VZW and June 7th for AT&T. When 4G is released on VZW, it'll be a big tradeoff, speed, or limiting your bandwidth.

Also.. don't forget what Google has been hinting at... Phones needing only data plans to use a Google Voice like interface to make all calls. If carriers cap data rates NOW it makes it a tougher implementation for Google. Even so I never see carriers unbundling data and allowing data only plans - but I guess devices like the iPad are essentially that.
 
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I would welcome a reasonably priced tiered system, but they need to make it automatic instead of having to guess how much you'll need each month. They could just charge a set amount for different ranges of data use: 0-1G = x$ 2-3G=x$, etc. That way you wouldn't have to worry about paying exorbitant overage charges or about monitoring and changing your plan monthly. Do it in chunks of 2G or 5G or whatever, just don't make me have to deal with it on a monthly basis.
 
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