Posted 06/09/2010 - 9:15am by Julia M
AT&T announced that it will be ending its unlimited mobile data plans, going forward. We predicted this move recently after noting levels of data usage. Among AT&T customers, iPhone users, in particular, use an enormous amount of data, all out of proportion to other smartphone users. But it’s not just iPhone users who are causing the long-term problem. The rapid proliferation of all kinds of smartphones has put a strain on the nation’s mobile networks.
AT&T announced that current mobile data users with unlimited data plans ($30 a month) will be grandfathered in. But new customers will be offered plans starting at $15/month for 200 MB of data, and will be able to purchase additional increments. They’re also planning on offering a 2 GB plan for $25/month. Users will also receive text messages from AT&T as they approach the data limits.
These two thresholds (200 MB and 2 GB) for the new AT&T plans are actually quite large. In an informal survey of iPhone users at Pollack Media Group, we found that some of us use more than 200 MB each month, while others are little below that threshold. But no one has approached the 2 GB limit. That means that, theoretically, all of these uses would be better off signing up for the new plans, rather than paying $30 a month for unlimited plans. But, of course, that’s all based on current usage patterns. Who knows how our habits and usage will change over time.
The questions now are, who will be next, and which carrier (if any) will hold out? The conventional wisdom has been that once one of the carriers did this that the other majors would quickly follow suit. However, some have speculated that a carrier like Sprint, which trails the others in market share, could decide to continue to offer unlimited data plans as a way to get back into the game.
To read the full "Tech Trends" for the week of 6/7/20, click here.
