divefox join:2005-08-15 Huntsville, AL |
Those fellas at the freakin' FCCI hope the FCC shoves their foot up AT&T's rear end. "Pick one: Net Neutrality or Fair Billing."
Hah, not in this lifetime. |
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hmmWell, in light of this, I suggest those people that take issue with this decision find another carrier. |
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Verizon requires data plans on anything but dumb-phones now. Sprint requires a data plan on thier smartphones. T-Mobile requires a data plan on smartphones. |
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FFH5 Premium Member join:2002-03-03 Tavistock NJ |
FFH5
Premium Member
2009-Oct-21 6:21 pm
Question? - for subsidized smartphones or all smartphonesDo these rules apply to all smartphones - even those bought at full price and not part of a subsidized 2 yr plan?
For subsidized smartphones I can see the telcos point of requiring a data plan. But if you went and bought an unsubsidized smartphone somewhere for $800, I think you should be able to buy whatever services you want at a la carte rates. |
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to iansltx
Re: hmmYou can find a smaller carrier that doesn't force the data option, or you can get a different phone.
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1 recommendation |
to iansltx
Yes, so many choices. |
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As they like to say in some places . . .'the choice is yours' |
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b1gdr3I Blame Your Mother join:2001-07-28 York, PA |
b1gdr3
Member
2009-Oct-21 6:28 pm
I have an iPhone...and I don't appreciate that text messaging isn't included in this mandatory $30 data plan. It's not like it's costing ATT loads to process these messages. |
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KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little Guy Premium Member join:2000-01-17 Tulsa, OK Netgear WNDR3700v2 Zoom 5341J
1 recommendation |
KrK
Premium Member
2009-Oct-21 6:29 pm
Market fail. Regulation is only wayWhen there simply isn't enough competition to provide consumers with choices they want to make, it's only fair to come in and control the carriers via Government regulations.
And they have only themselves to blame. Abuse and false claims of "The market will self regulate" leads itself to the outcome the carriers least want. Greed is not good. Not for consumers, and not for the long term profitability of the carriers.
I will not cry for them one bit. |
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KrK |
KrK to FFH5
Premium Member
2009-Oct-21 6:29 pm
to FFH5
Re: Question? - for subsidized smartphones or all smartphonesLooks like all Smartphones, period. |
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to longstreet
Re: hmmClearly. |
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to longstreet
I already switched my phone service to a little juke and purchased an ipod touch for the wifi... I even blocked my data so i dont get mb charges just to look at the verizon online store!!! Never had a problem with verizon service or customer service but not staying when contract over. |
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to FFH5
Re: Question? - for subsidized smartphones or all smartphonesAn AT&T person told me I can cancel the data plan at any time since I'm grandfathered in, but if I were to signup with it again I'd be forced into keeping it "FOREVER". I said what if I "Downgrade" to a dumb phone (wink wink). I could then cancel the plan? She said, "Yes". I said I can then put my SIM back in my smartphone, and be without data. She said, "Well, I guess you could do that".
This seems so ridiculous. I can understand why they would force someone who is buying a subsidized phone, but it doesn't make sense to force someone into a service that brings their own equipment. The AT&T person said they do it for my protection to avoid the accidental high fees of pay per use. Again that is stupid, because if that was true they would just opt people out of data instead. |
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DaveDudeNo Fear join:1999-09-01 New Jersey |
Could i not have a voice plan ?If this is mandatory, couldn't i just use Google voice, or whoever, and not have voice plan ? |
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IT GuyOw, My Balls Premium Member join:2004-07-29 Las Cruces, NM Cisco ASA 5505 Cisco Meraki MX64
1 edit |
to iansltx
Re: hmmsaid by iansltx:T-Mobile requires a data plan on smartphones. That's not exactly true. I had bought a G1 off of eBay and while I was required to use T-mobile's data network to register my device with Google's server, the G1 support tech. told me I was not required to have a data plan, although it was recommended since many of the functions of the phone relied to some extent on having a data plan to update and if an update caused my phone to request that I register the phone to Google's provisioning server, I would have to call into T-Mo's G1 support dept. and have them temporarily add my phone to the data plan again. Regardless, I shelled out the extra cash for the plan, but in retrospect and after several factors including my data usage being very low vs. my Wifi usage and being stuck on EDGE with no idea when 3g will be available in my area, I'm having second thoughts about shelling out that extra money every month that could be better spent on other bills.. Edit: This was back in March, so I know it's quite possible that policy has changed. |
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nonymous (banned) join:2003-09-08 Glendale, AZ 1 edit |
nonymous (banned)
Member
2009-Oct-21 6:45 pm
Yep, and $30 is only the startFor $30 you get almost no data then a per unit charge for any overages. So do anything besides read a few emails and the $30 easily turns into more. Think of the CEOs golden parachute. The USA is only number one in overpaying money grubbing CEOs with no real ideas except how to make their paychecks bigger. |
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hmmIf they still offered al la carte services, i'm sure we'd hear 'oh these overages are such bs! it should be free'
At some point, you have to decide whether or not the service they provide is worth the money they are asking for. If it's not worth it to everyone, then everyone would call up and cancel
Obviously, Apple is enjoying record stock prices and iPhone sales, I don't see many people doing that. |
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Did wireless providers management contract the Swine Flu? Did the upper management of the wireless service providers contracted the Swine Flu or did some other force turn them into pigs? I wonder if the wireless service providers will refund the purchase price of smart phones to those customers that purchased smart phones and do not want to have the cost of wireless data plans shoved up their butts. It looks like a change in terms of service to me. |
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I wouldn't count on it, those who purchased a subsidized phone also signed a contract that basically let's AT&T do whatever they want.
I have 2 iPhones, so i'm at nearly $150 + a month.
If I go to any other large provider and nearly any other smartphone, it's the same price.
I'll ride my contract out another 4 months and go with a smaller, local company that offers basic service and keep my wifi. |
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to longstreet
Re: hmmI need a national carrier (school is 900 mi away from home) and want a carrier that has a decent network. |
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NOCManMadMacHatter Premium Member join:2004-09-30 Colorado Springs, CO |
NOCMan
Premium Member
2009-Oct-21 7:05 pm
Doing a StudyI have seen family bills and my own for 9 iphones and our average data usage is about 350megs a month. I find it bull that we have to pay 40 dollars a month when were not using any more than the 30 dollar plans are getting. |
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batterupI Can Not Tell A Lie. Premium Member join:2003-02-06 Netcong, NJ |
batterup
Premium Member
2009-Oct-21 7:05 pm
This is the way you people wanted it.Ma Bell is dead and yet the people bitch. |
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Zoder join:2002-04-16 Miami, FL |
to dwhayden
Re: Question? - for subsidized smartphones or all smartphonessaid by dwhayden:The AT&T person said they do it for my protection to avoid the accidental high fees of pay per use. Again that is stupid, because if that was true they would just opt people out of data instead. If that was their real concern they could cut you off after a set amount of overages kicks in or allow customers to set caps. |
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Data plans not necessary for everyone.No dataplan on my smartphone. I run a lot of apps on it, I do my media on it, and I look for wifi when I need net access. When I'm overseas, I use VoIP over wifi to make calls. The data plans are not worth it to me. |
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to nonymous
Re: Yep, and $30 is only6 the startBasically if you want to sidestep and not have to deal with this, start buying your own phones.
I can't recall the last time I owned an AT&T (or any other vendor's) phone, nor can I recall the last time they had one that interested me, so I'm not too concerned with the new policy, although I do think it is completely and utter bullshit.
Fortunately vendors tend to stay lightyears behind any of the devices I find myself buying. My last AT&T device was a Razr V3, and this is only about a month after they became popular, lol. |
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Gbcue Premium Member join:2001-09-30 Santa Rosa, CA |
to DaveDude
Re: Could i not have a voice plan ?said by DaveDude:If this is mandatory, couldn't i just use Google voice, or whoever, and not have voice plan ? That's not how GV works. |
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Gbcue |
to b1gdr3
Re: I have an iPhone...said by b1gdr3:and I don't appreciate that text messaging isn't included in this mandatory $30 data plan. It's not like it's costing ATT loads to process these messages. Messages are included in my $24.99 data plan from T-Mobile. 400 messages. With the $34.99 plan, you get unlimited messages. |
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The Limit Premium Member join:2007-09-25 Denver, CO |
These are my thoughts and experiences thus far...My sprint bill is right at $80 atm, of course that doesn't come with unlimited voice minutes, but I can call anybody's mobile number on any carrier and the minutes are free for that, provided that I'm doing this in the sprint network, which surprisingly seems to be a lot better than verizon's network. My gf has verizon, and I constantly compare my signal to hers, and I get better service out in the sticks than she does. Not only that, but my browsing speeds are way faster than what I was getting on verizon's network.
I have to say, I'm impressed with Sprint's performance thus far. I haven't had to really call customer service, and from what many say here, Sprint's customer service is not great. Yet, at the same time, it seems like billing isn't run by a bunch of monkeys either. This month's bill is correct; Verizon didn't even get my bill straight the first month. On top of that, I have called customer service about questions regarding the palm pre, and the technician I spoke with was very nice, and honest about sprint's network. She knew that Verizon's coverage was better in other parts of the states, and she didn't deny it at all, but the pricing is right, and some people really underestimate Sprint's network in terms of coverage. On top of that, the csr I spoke with before I spoke with the technician didn't try to sell anything to me; she was polite, and didn't badmouth other carriers like I've witnessed in Verizon stores.
Not only that, but Sprint has roaming agreements with Verizon. Big deal that you roam on 1x, but at least you still have voice services. Wifi is also available at many locations, so if you are roaming, then if you have a wifi-capable phone (which I do), then I can access wifi.
PS: Sprint does offer unlimited data for the phone. The only service that's capped is the data card. The technician I spoke with said that Sprint's 5 gigabyte cap is a softcap; I can tell you now, I haven't even gotten close to this cap on my phone, let alone if I decide to tether, unless I start downloading large files.
I do agree with this article though. It would be nice if I had the option to pay per gigabyte, but is that really going to happen?
How do I go about letting the higher ups know about how I feel in terms of paying by the byte? I'm sure it would be a heck of a lot cheaper if this were to happen. |
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ArrayListDevOps Premium Member join:2005-03-19 Mullica Hill, NJ |
to Karl Bode
Re: hmmespecially with verizon. there is just sooooo much crap to choose from |
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Draytek Vigor2860Vac EnGenius EAP600 Obihai OBi100
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to iansltx
said by iansltx:T-Mobile requires a data plan on smartphones. No. I have 3 WinMo phones (only one was bought from T-Mobile, and without a contract) and one S60 phone (bought while vacationing in Asia), and 2 lines with T-Mobile, only one of which has a data plan. If I attempt to use GPRS/EDGE/3G on the line with no data plan, I am prompted to subscribe to a data plan first, but I can still connect to WiFi APs. I have never been forced to get a data plan. |
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