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Tiered Data Plans Coming To the iPhone?

Posted by kdawson on from the too-good-to-last dept.

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."

18 of 142 comments (clear)

  1. economics by RMH101 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Crap. It's just simple economics: if you want to lower the monthly charge for a phone on contract, you up the charges for calls and data. In the UK, if you want an iPhone on contract, you're looking at 30UKP a month plus the subsidised cost of the handset: this is a not-inconsiderable monthly charge. They'd sell to a whole additional demographic if they could push it out at 15UKP a month with a nearly-all-you-can-eat plan, with costs for going over your allowance - hell, I'd probably buy it myself - my 600 minutes and 600 texts a month gets barely touched, although I use the data a lot.
    It would also give O2 a way of offloading all the surplus 3G iPhones cheap in advance of the latest model getting announced in June...

    1. Re:economics by timeOday · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ...an iPhone on contract, you're looking at 30UKP a month plus the subsidised cost of the handset: this is a not-inconsiderable monthly charge. They'd sell to a whole additional demographic if they could push it out at 15UKP a month with a nearly-all-you-can-eat plan, with costs for going over your allowance... my 600 minutes and 600 texts a month gets barely touched

      You're a perfect example of why they don't do it, and why unlimited plans in general survive. You said it yourself, you'd spend half as much on a metered plan. You think that's what they want, for revenue from you to decrease by 50%? That's pure profit; at half the price they'd need 3 or 4 customers to make the same profit because most of the first 15/mo would is "wasted" on, you know, providing service.

    2. Re:economics by mcvos · · Score: 5, Informative

      I'm really surprised to read that an iPhone subscription in the US costs $70 per month. Do people really buy iPhones at that cost? I'm paying EUR 30 per month, and although the euro is worth more than the dollar nowadays, it's not that much more. $70 is hideously expensive, and $70 without thethering is just criminal.

      I'm glad to see a tech gadget cheaper in Netherland than in the US though. Must have been a first.

    3. Re:economics by bennomatic · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'm not sure I understand this argument against the iPhone, as it's not specific to that product. If you get Sprint's "everything" plan, it's $99/mo, which is just shy of $1200/year or $2400 for two years. This is without taxes, and without the phone.

      The cheapest plan I've seen with unlimited data is Boost's $50/mo plan, but I don't think you can get a smartphone through Boost, so you're using a less advanced phone with a smaller screen and a telephone keypad for browsing the web, sending emails &c. And that's still $600/year, or $1200/2 years plus taxes, plus phone.

      Is there any smartphone/unlimited data phone/plan combination that's significantly less than the iPhone's plans? If the main difference is an extra couple of hundred dollars for the initial iPhone purchase, *that's* what you should be railing against, not the overall cost, which is really really similar between smartphone plans, IMLE.

      --
      The CB App. What's your 20?
  2. I don't live in the US you insensitive clod by Norsefire · · Score: 4, Informative

    Everyone who loves their all-you-can-eat iPhone data: enjoy it while it lasts."

    In New Zealand on our iPhone plans,

    • the most expensive, $130/month, gets us 500MB.
    • The cheapest, $40/month, gets us 250MB.

    All only available on a 24 month contract. My heart bleeds you for America.

    1. Re:I don't live in the US you insensitive clod by Isaac-Lew · · Score: 3, Informative
      Live rates at 2009.05.19 13:55:38 UTC

      130.00 NZD = 78.1904 USD

      (According to www.xe.com)

  3. The psychology will be interesting... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    In observing iPhone users of my acquaintance, and in my vicinity, I've gotten the impression that one of the things that separates it from the touch, in their perception and use, is the "always connected" aspect of it. The being able to use the internet and internet related applications more or less without thinking about it, unlike the touch, where you have to be near a friendly AP.

    Given that, I'd be very curious to see how it would fare under a limited data plan. Having to think about the data you are using really crimps the casual and spontaneous nature of the use(just as, when I was on dialup, "being online" was a separate state from "being on the computer" even though the dial-in process only took a couple of minutes, tops. Once I got broadband, even crap DSL, the two became more or less synonymous). If there is a large population that just wants an iPhone for music and/or status, then this should be well recieved. It should also be popular, assuming the price is low enough, with anybody who currently has a touch and a carrier throwaway handset and wants to consolidate.

    Outside of those populations, though, an iPhone on a limited data plan seems rather unattractive. Strictly as a phone, the iPhone is merely OK, and pretty damn expensive for what you get. The charm is in what it can do with a data connection. Having to look over your shoulder at your usage all the time would seem to render that less attractive.

    1. Re:The psychology will be interesting... by tgd · · Score: 4, Interesting

      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.

    2. Re:The psychology will be interesting... by horatio · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Here's my issue with the idea that AT&T is complaining the iPhone is using too much data, so they have to scrap the unlimited data plan. Said "unlimited" data plan is already limited - just not in a strictly by-the-numbers bandwidth fashion. There are several things I know of that I'm not permitted to do while on the 3G network:
      • Apps > 10MB have to be done on the desktop version of iTunes, or over wifi.
      • The (new) slingplayer app only works on wifi (would have been useful to know BEFORE paying $30 for the app. Do the WinCE/crackberry versions have this restriction?)
      • Podcasts are limited to to those which the iPhone allows. You can subscribe in iTunes and sync, but you can't download podcasts > 10MB on 3G.
      • I'm sure the lack of flash is about Apple exerting control over the platform, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was also about bandwidth.

      I'm not suggesting that the iPhone should be a platform for fetching the latest Ubuntu ISO on the 3G network. But for AT&T to play like iPhone users have unlimited options to use as much bw as they like is just not reality.

      --
      There is very little future in being right when your boss is wrong.
    3. Re:The psychology will be interesting... by The+End+Of+Days · · Score: 3, Funny

      First the power users thought I should subsidize them, and I said "Fuck you!" because I don't see why I should do that. Then the power users tried to sway me with emotional pleas and slippery slope arguments, and I again said "Fuck you!" because it seemed like the right response.

  4. I just wish I could use my existing AT&T plan by Scyber · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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.

  5. Sometimes... by Bicx · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...I use my wife's iPhone to scrape ice off the windshield.

    It felt good to get that off my chest.

    1. Re:Sometimes... by mcvos · · Score: 5, Funny

      ...I use my wife's iPhone to scrape ice off the windshield.

      Doesn't surprise me at all somebody wrote an app for that.

  6. Rollover data by Algan · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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?
  7. Re:Bait and switch? by Richard_at_work · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As long as they make this plan change after your initial term is up, it isn't a bait and switch - no one is forced to provide the same service indefinitely, especially when the original contract has expired.

  8. a crap story by cornercuttin · · Score: 4, Interesting

    "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.

  9. Euro-Symbol by atrocious+cowpat · · Score: 3, Informative

    PS: Slashdot doesn't handle the Euro symbol properly. Looks like â.

    Apparently the HTML-Entity works, I saw it in another thread:
    & euro ; (withot the spaces) gives you: €.
    Viola. :)

    --
    sig? Oh, that sig...
  10. Re:economics-Need a Points System by Nom+du+Keyboard · · Score: 4, Interesting

    hell, I'd probably buy it myself - my 600 minutes and 600 texts a month gets barely touched, although I use the data a lot.

    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."