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T-Mobile upgrades its unlimited plan again to one-up AT&T
T-Mobile added HD video streaming and 10GB of LTE hotspot tethering to its unlimited One plan earlier this month, possibly as a response to Verizon's new unlimited data plan. Yes, the mobile carrier wars have been intense lately, and they're getting even hotter. Just hours after AT&T announced it was also adding 10GB of tethering data to its unlimited plan, T-Mobile fired back with another tweak to its One plan. Now, new and existing customers with two lines can get a third for free.
AT&T will offer unlimited data for all customers tomorrow
Well that didn't take long. Just a few days after Verizon announced it would start offering an unlimited data plan after years of selling capped data packages, AT&T will be doing the same. As of tomorrow, AT&T will let any current or potential customer buy an unlimited data plan; until now, only DirecTV customers were able to purchased unlimited data from the carrier. Just like Verizon, AT&T offered unlimited data back in the early days of the smartphone boom but moved to limited tiered data packages way back in 2010.
Verizon's new prepaid plans give customers even more options
More prepaid offerings are coming to Verizon soon. Today, the carrier revealed that two new plans will be available starting next week, on November 13th. The cheapest option includes 5GB of rollover data, unlimited talk and text in the US, mobile hotspot and international texting for $50 per month. If that's not enough for you, $70 gets you everything mentioned above plus unlimited calling to Mexico and Canada, as well as double the data (10GB).
T-Mobile agrees to pay FCC $48m over misleading data plans
T-Mobile has championed itself as a provider of "unlimited" wireless data -- but its plans have historically also come with a wide variety of caveats, be they throttling video data or slowing you down when you hit a data cap. The FCC has decided that T-Mobile isn't playing straight with customers, and today the agency announced a settlement: The Wireless provider will pay $48 million to address "inadequate disclosures" of its unlimited data plans.
T-Mobile One is the carrier's new unlimited data plan
T-Mobile has offered an unlimited data option for a while now, using it as a big differentiator between it and AT&T and Verizon. But now, it sounds like the carrier is going to do away with data buckets entirely and offer one plan that includes unlimited talk, text and data. It's called T-Mobile One, and it'll be available to current and new customers as of September 6th.
On T-Mobile, you can now stream music without hurting your data plan
Streaming music on your phone would be fantastic -- if it weren't for all those pesky data caps. T-Mobile's latest UnCarrier move addresses this particular pain point: Starting today, you'll be able to listen to all of your favorite jams on popular streaming music services without it counting against your data plan. The catch? It's limited to a few of the most popular offerings, such as Pandora, Spotify, iTunes Radio, iHeartRadio, Slacker, Rhapsody and Samsung's Milk Music. T-Mobile exec Andrew Sherrard explained that the aforementioned services encompass 85 percent of what users listen to, so the list covers the vast majority of the carrier's consumers. That said, Sherrard said that the company plans to reach out for feedback via a social media campaign, so make your voice heard if you're interested in getting services like Rdio or Google Play Music added to the list. If your favorite program is included, feel free to start filling up those playlists to your heart's content.
Sprint's Dan Hesse confirms unlimited data isn't going anywhere after Spark rollout
Of the four major national networks in the US, Sprint has been the most faithful in its commitment to offer unlimited data plans without restrictions. After this morning's announcement that the operator would be rolling out Spark, which promises 50-60Mbps peak speeds (with faster networks on the horizon as part of its Vision) to its users, it left us wondering if this rollout would come with any trade-offs. While he didn't speak to specifics on plans and pricing, CEO Dan Hesse reaffirmed his company's commitment to unlimited data, explaining that he wouldn't have offered Unlimited for Life to customers this summer if he didn't intend to keep the plans around for the foreseeable future. This will be great for the limited number of markets that can take advantage of the blazing speeds right away, but anxious folks in other parts of the country can at least take comfort in knowing that the plans won't have gone anywhere when Spark finally shows up in their hometown.
AT&T to offer increased data plans for business
AT&T has announced that it's rolling out new, large data plans meant for businesses. Starting on March 22, businesses will be able to sign up to data plans covering either 30, 40 or even 50 GB of data per month, which can be shared across a number of phones on one plan. There is a standard charge per month for each tier, and then AT&T charges per phone on the rest of the plan. If you'd like, the business can even sign up other tablets or devices like laptops to the plan, allowing one plan to cover all of the devices your company uses. In addition to the new plans for businesses, there are also new data only plans for customers, which you can hook up to tablets, laptops or other devices, without paying extra for any phone charges. And finally, for businesses that need more than these larger plans, there's a Business Pooled Nation plan, which allows for up to 10 GB per device if you indeed need more bandwith or more devices than the standard plan allows. The limit is 25 devices for a 50 GB plan for businesses, or 10 devices on any of the plans for customers. But then again, if you have more devices than that, you're probably using more data every month anyway, right? The new plans, again, will go into effect on March 22. [via iMore]
Verizon to offer new 3G-only prepaid plans beginning today
Verizon's got a new set of prepaid plans for smartphone users that are hoping to keep costs down. The monthly plans, which appear to be restricted to a small number of phones unable to access Big Red's LTE network, both offer unlimited talk and text; on the data side, the $60 plan grants you 500MB while $70 bumps that ceiling up to 2GB. Head below to the sources to get all the necessary info.
Hands on with FreedomPop's free data for your iPad and iPod touch
FreedomPop's free data pitch is aimed at the thrifty consumer: put down a refundable deposit on a USB dongle or MiFi-style router (iPod touch cases are also an option) and receive a monthly 500 MB bandwidth stipend for life. For free. If it sounds too good to be true, well, it might be. But before I get to that, let me give you a general idea of where FreedomPop is coming from. Plans FreedomPop is currently a Clearwire 4G WiMAX rebundler (they will be moving to Sprint in 2013). You can use FreedomPop's equipment in any area that Clear currently services. You choose from three plans: Free 500 MB - US$0/month for the first 500 MB and then $0.02/MB after. That's $20.00/GB. This is the bottom feeder plan that many consumers will choose. Casual 2 GB - $18/month ("for a limited time") for the first 2 GB, and then $0.01/MB after, or $10/GB. Premiere 4 GB - $29/month ("for a limited time") for the first 4 GB, and then $0.01/MB after, the same $10/GB as Casual. Leaving family plan sharing aside, the Casual and Premiere data compare well to major carriers. AT&T's 250 MB/month plan costs $15 and $30 for 3 GB. Sprint offers 300 MB/month for $15 and 3 GB for $35. Verizon's offerings include 1 GB for $20 and 2 GB for $30. As you can see, FreedomPop's paid plans are competitive. What's more you can share this data among multiple devices if you select the Freedom Spot hotspot. It supports up to 8 devices at once, and offers up to 6 hours of use according to FreedomPop's marketing text. Penny Pinching Data Usage My concerns surround the Free 500MB plan. I suspect most users will choose this plan. I don't see how this loss-leader approach readily extends towards a revenue stream to ensure the company's health and longevity. That's because frugal users will likely disable FreedomPop's automatic top-off feature. In its default configuration, user accounts for the free plan auto-renew to paid $20 top-offs after 400 MB of bandwidth is used. Users can easily switch this feature off. (Set Billing > Billing Settings > Automatic Top Up > Enabled to No.) So where else can FreedomPop earn from its free users? It provides a low-rent data-for-completed-offers program. Sign up for clubs, mailing lists, surveys, etc. and FreedomPop extends your free data with one-time boosts. I honestly think users would probably prefer to pay $5 or $10 a month for the same 500 MB data plan and ensure the company's long-term health than see it try to make a go of it with this kind of low-end "sell your consumer information" approach. That's because unbundled data is a precious commodity, and one that's hard to find frugal solutions for. Ever since AT&T killed their data feature plans back in April, it's been something that many users have done without. As a point of comparison, Clear's unlimited data plans cost $35 and $50 for basic home and mobile use. These provide excellent alternatives for the high-end data consumer. It's the low-use, on-the-go consumer, who lives in areas with plentiful Wi-Fi who struggles to find an affordable solution for filling coverage gaps. Tony Miller, FreedomPop's marketing VP, has given hints that the company will try to build additional revenue streams by adding services like VoIP. I'm not convinced that this will work. Performance It's not hard to beat AT&T's 3G (aka "4G") data service if you live in Denver. As you can see from the SpeedTest.net screencap that follows, AT&T's service is just awful. And yes, I live in a supported area. Interestingly enough, I live outside the supported Clear zone. I'm in one of their "partially covered" rather than fully covered locations. (This translates to light green vs dark green on their service map.) FreedomPop's Clear-powered WiMAX data absolutely smokes AT&T, both at home and around town. Here's a typical test from my iPad, when connected through the Freedom Spot. Be aware that each test consumes a fair portion of your monthly allowance, so you don't want to be running many of these tests unless you're doing a write-up for a blog. Steve Sande, who lives about 10 miles south of me, uses Verizon on his 3G iPad. He regularly sees data numbers equal to or better than these while around Denver. Steve is in the middle of changing his iPhone AT&T service to Verizon for exactly these reasons. I may follow next year, when my current AT&T contract is up. FreedomPop will be switching from Clear's WiMAX network to Sprint's LTE next year. Conclusions As much as I love the budget data FreedomPop is offering, I do have concerns about the company's long-term health. Their low-end Free plan doesn't seem fully thought out to me. If you sign up, keep that in mind. At the same time, I've developed respect for Clear -- a service I never had an opportunity to test before. A quick Google search revealed mixed experiences with Clear customer support, but after this test, it's a service I'd consider using. I think it might work particularly as an alternative to my current iPhone-as-primary-data-consumer lifestyle, especially now that Apple offers the iPad mini. I'm holding onto the FreedomPop for a while, to continue testing. Here's hoping the company can make it work. I'm just not convinced it can.
T-Mobile drops 200MB smartphone data plan, 2GB now the new standard
T-Mobile silently killed off its $10 per month 200MB data plans, a leaked document reveals. A company spokesperson verified the news with Fierce Wireless. This decision is most likely due to the growing demand for mobile data as smartphone applications continue to evolve. Grandfathered customers will not be affected by this new policy, but will need to pay full price for a device and sign up for a "Value" plan when upgrading in order to maintain their existing service plan. T-Mobile now requires its smartphone customers to have a minimum data plan of 2GB or higher, which starts at $20 per month. While this change may make sense for most smartphone users, existing customers who are light on data and heavy on savings might have a different perspective when it's time to buy a new phone. Check out an extreme closeup of T-Mobile's document after the break.
Mobile Miscellany: week of August 20th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week was a bit slow, but we've managed to dig up a couple interesting MeeGo tidbits, along with an excellent utility for Nexus 7 / OS X users -- something to help you in the pursuit of slack. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of August 20th, 2012.
AT&T Mobile Share plans to be available beginning August 23rd
AT&T announced Mobile Share, its shared data plans, a couple weeks ago with the promise that they would arrive sometime in August. The carrier has finally confirmed the specific date: August 23rd. To catch up on exactly what these plans entail, read our lengthy analysis and see if it makes sense for you to move over.
AT&T and Verizon shared data plans compared
With the introduction of AT&T's Mobile Share this morning, the two largest mobile operators in the US (the other one, of course, being Verizon) have officially embraced the idea of pooled data plans. The concept is simple: bundle talk, text and data together in the same family plan, instead of forcing each individual member to pay a separate fee if they want internet access. With the announcement of these plans, we were instantly curious to find out if these new options will save customers money on a monthly basis -- and which company offers the best value. Determined to get some answers, we've broken down AT&T and Verizon's plans and will highlight the pros and cons for you after the break.
C-Spire debuts pre-paid tablet and hotspot plans
As far as regional carriers go, C-Spire is a pretty big deal. Which makes it all the more surprising that the company hasn't offered standalone pre-paid data plans until now. The southern cellphone network now has three tiers of pre-paid access for your tablet or Mi-Fi, beginning with a $15 100MB package that expires after a week. $30 nets you 300MB over two weeks, while the top tier grants you a whole month's access and 1GB of data -- but will set you back a rather steep $50. Of course, there's always post-paid solutions for the more demanding, that start at $20 for 1GB per-month and go up to $50 for 5GB. For more, check out the PR after the break.
T-Mobile brings out new mobile data plans mainly for the suits and ties, makes overage optional
T-Mobile just updated its prepaid data plans a month ago, and now it's the corporate crowd's turn for a shakeup. The new (and quite frankly daunting) array of primarily business-minded plans is based around whether or not you'd rather face throttling or overage fees if you push past a set cap. Overage Free plans for subsidized (Classic) and unsubsidized (Value) devices are largely self-explanatory and slow down that bandwidth cap-busting hotspot, modem or tablet until the next month. The High-speed plan range costs lower as a matter of course, but you'll be dinged to the order of two to 10 cents for every megabyte over the limit. That said, there's some bargains to be had versus other carriers, especially with the 5GB and 10GB plans. Provided you're happy with T-Mobile's coverage, it may be worth signing up to eke out a few extra dollars in savings every month.
Verizon's Share Everything data plans go live June 28th, let you add family (or a tablet) for a little extra
Verizon has been promising shared data plans for awhile, so it's with some relief (and trepidation) we can say they're here. Share Everything, as it's called, starts off with the assumption you'll want unlimited voice and messages and then bolts on shared data along with a maximum of 10 individual devices: a core plan starts at $50 per month for 1GB of data and requires that you tack on $40 a month for every smartphone, $30 for basic phones, $20 for hotspots and $10 for tablets. Of course, Verizon will gladly let you pay for more data if your family loves to stream Netflix on 4G all day, up to $100 for a common pool of 10GB. A stiff price, but it also includes tethering or hotspot creation support on any device in the mix. The new plans will be ready to tempt you away from your unlimited data on June 28th.
T-Mobile launches new contract-free, data-only plans
Not all of us want to be locked into a long term contract with a wireless carrier. Especially when it comes to data-only devices that might not get used on a regular basis. For those that want to grab a 4G dongle or a mobile hotspot and go, without the need sign their life over, T-Mobile is launching four new pre-paid data options. The 4G passes start at $15 for 300MB over the course of a week, all the way up to 5GB for $50 over the course of a month. The plans are available on the Sonic 4G and plain ol' T-Mobile 4G mobile hotspots as well as the Rocket 3.0 laptop stick, but tablet users can also hop on the bandwagon. The Galaxy Tab 10.1, 7,0 Plus and SpringBoard are all eligible for the No Annual Contract mobile broadband passes. You can start topping off your megabytes instead of your minutes on May 20th. For more details check out the PR after the break.
Verizon CFO says grandfathered unlimited plans on the way out
Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo shattered many a hopes and dreams today speaking at the J.P. Morgan Technology, Media and Telecom conference. During his address, Shammo indicated that customers who have been grandfathered in to the unlimited data plan may soon find themselves pushed into tiered territory, with the debut of the carrier's shared data plans. "Everyone will be on data share," Shammo said, clarifying that, "a lot of our 3G base is on unlimited... [and] when they migrate off 3G they will have to go to data share." Obviously, with many customers clinging desperately to their truly unlimited usage in the shift to LTE, such a move would ruffle more than a few feathers. It's not clear if this will affect customers who have already made the leap to LTE devices or if it will be limited to customers migrating from 3G phones after a particular cut off date. We've reached out to Verizon for comment, but so far Big Red is keeping mum. We'll just have to take Shammo at his word for now. We hope you like data caps. To hear the comments in full hit up the source link. Update: We just finished listening through the entire webcast (we're still waiting for the transcript) and found the quote that is going to make most customers shake their fists in anger: "LTE is our anchor point for data share. So, as you come through an upgrade cycle and you upgrade in the future, you will have to go on to the data share plan. And moving away from, if you will, the unlimited world and moving everyone into a tiered structure data share plan." Doesn't get much clearer than that, but we're still hoping Verizon will come back and say Shammo was speaking out of turn... fingers crossed.
Two-thirds of Americans unwilling to spend over $50 a month on mobile data, says Parks Associates
In a recent report titled Mobile Data and Applications, research outfit Parks Associates found that a large chunk of Stateside consumers aren't willing to pay more than $50 per month for a mobile data plan. What's also interesting here -- but not surprising -- is the study shows nearly 50 percent of smartphone users are completely oblivious to the amount of data they're consuming every month. Parks Associates says this highlights the "risk" networks like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are taking by making the transition from all-you-can-have to those tiered data plans we're so fond of. The firm's Mobile Research Director, Harry Wang, sees this as a necessity for carriers, though, expressing that "moving mobile users to usage-based plans will be difficult and painful, but changes are necessary for operators to maintain revenues." So, are you part of the two-thirds keeping bits under 50 bucks? Let your voice be heard in the comments below.
