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Tiered Data Plans Coming To the iPhone?
jfruhlinger writes "For years analysts have been insisting that Apple must introduce a cheaper iPhone, and soon. So, when Business Week heard that cheaper plans were coming, it reported the news in a positively giddy tone. But, I'm convinced that this is an under-the-radar move to shift to tiered data plans. Everyone who loves their all-you-can-eat iPhone data: enjoy it while it lasts."
I'm grandfathered into an unlimited 3G Data & SMS plan for $20/month. Now they have a tendency to call me and leave voicemails when I use too much data (telling me that I must "upgrade" to a different plan). But I just never call them back and don't run into an issue.
Unless the tiers are pretty low, it may not impact most users.
I just checked -- in the time since I had my iPhone replaced when the battery blew up (end of last August) I've transferred 1.1GB over cellular down, under 100MB up. I use it constantly for "normal" sort of stuff -- Pandora in my car once or twice a week, lots of e-mail. Lots of web surfing. Maybe 20% of the time I update or install apps when I'm not on WiFi.
That's barely 150MB of downstream transfer a month. There may be power users who use vastly more, but they probably should be paying vastly more. Even a 500MB or 1GB cap per month would be more than enough for the majority of users, I'd bet.
Hell, looking at my usage, a pay-per-minute phone plan and a 500MB per month cap would be fantastic if it cut my bill in half. I've got almost 5000 rollover minutes built up because of less than 50 minutes of month of voice usage. I hate being stuck on high voice usage / "unlimited" data plans.
What I would like to see is rollover data. Right now I'm paying $30/mo for an "Unlimited" data plan (which is really just 5GB/mo). My average cellular data usage is around 60-70MB/mo. 95% of my time is spent in places that have wifi coverage. If they would offer a 100MB plan for $10/mo with rollover data I'd be on it in a heartbeat.
If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?
"For years analysts have been insisting that Apple must introduce a cheaper iPhone, and soon.
i'm not going to read this story based upon the above quote. the iphone has been out for almost 2 years. you don't get to use the phrase "for years" when talking about something that technically isn't 2 years old. this is an attempt to make this story a bigger deal than what it really is.
As one who moved from the Netherlands to the US, I can say that not only are all plans twice as expensive, the call quality is half as good.
Back home, my only phone had been a cell phone for the last 8 years. Here in Chicago, it can't fully replace the old wired phone due to dropped calls and crippling quality of the cell phone network.
Don't get me wrong, it is not like it is unusable, but it definitely isn't perfect either.
I called an AT&T rep and they said that the $30 unlimited plans would continue next month. They don't see it coming to an end anytime soon. Why the hell did the article say that the $30/month plan for unlimited data is going to end? It's not.
Businessweek doesn't even say anything about that. It just says that AT&T is going to offer cheaper tiered data for $20 a month, but they won't do away with the unlimited.
Why do 3G data plans cost this much? Why are providers fighting to drop unlimited data plans whenever they've existed to go back to tiered models?
I was looking into purchasing a 3G data card to use as my primary Internet connection, since I primarily use a laptop anyway and frequently am traveling or otherwise on the road.
Verizon: $59.99/mo for 5GB (or $199.99/mo for 10GB, which is only available by request and not advertised.)
AT&T: $59.99/mo for 5GB
Sprint: $59.99/mo for 5GB
T-Mobile: Had trouble finding specifics for a standalone card, gave up looking.
So, there you have it: all the major carriers offering this service, offer the exact same product at the exact same price. (The product being wireless 3G data access, anyone who wants to mention the modulation differences is being pedantic.) Price-fixing and collusion, anyone? Sprint used to offer an actually-unlimited data plan, but as far as I know, that ended quickly and their pricing fell right in line with that of their "competitors." It would actually be cheaper for me to purchase multiple 5GB accounts than to just use a single device the entire time.
Why is it like this? Surely, the cellular networks aren't so much lower capacity than regular networks are. It's not like everyone would suddenly ditch their cable/DSL/fiber service and switch to 3G anyway: most people don't need or even want that. I'd be willing to pay about $100/month for true-unlimited 3G service, but I just can't find anyone willing to sell it to me.
I think the FTC and FCC should open some investigations on this subject. Especially with these companies spending billions to "upgrade their infrastructure" in a way that, apparently, provides consumers with fewer choices and more restrictions.
Hey, does anybody besides me realize that a cell phone company who charged on a "point" system would probably have customers flocking to them?
You buy a given amount of points per month. A text message costs the minimum 1 point. 3 points/minute for calls on prime time, 1 point/minute nights and weekends. 2 points/mb data prime time, 1 point/mb data nights/weekends. Buy your points and spend them as you like to meet your own needs. It could be a great deal on both sides.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."