dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
view:
topics flat nest 
Comments on news posted 2012-11-08 16:38:44: AT&T appears to be backing away from a controversial decision to force users to use one their shared data plans if they want to use Facetime over cellular on the iPhone 5. ..

Skippy25
join:2000-09-13
Hazelwood, MO

Skippy25

Member

Lame Excuse

Aren't data limits the entire reason for their lame duck excuse?

Why do they need to restrict applications if they are restricting the amount of data?

They caved because I am sure the FCC contacted them at some point and they were afraid if they continued the fines will be greater once the FCC does come down on them for this. Which I hope will still be the case even though the stopped.

The below pretty much says it all
"AT&T simply can’t justify blocking an app that competes with its voice and texting services unless customers purchase a more expensive monthly plan that includes an unlimited amount of those very same services."

Eagles1221
join:2009-04-29
Vincentown, NJ

Eagles1221

Member

Re: Lame Excuse

In some ways HSPA+ is more spectral efficient than LTE and 3G CDMA Heck I can even FT over 3G CMDA (it kinda sucks but it works).

jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA

jmn1207 to Skippy25

Premium Member

to Skippy25
There probably is no connection, but I'm a bit suspicious of the recent lawsuit that Apple just lost with regards to FaceTime.

»arstechnica.com/tech-pol ··· acetime/
Skippy25
join:2000-09-13
Hazelwood, MO

Skippy25

Member

Re: Lame Excuse

If I am not mistaken that company is suing hundreds of companies claiming they have all kinds of patents dealing with SSL.

IPPlanMan
Holy Cable Modem Batman
join:2000-09-20
Washington, DC

IPPlanMan

Member

What a load of crap...

AT&T is still full of it. Anything to get Unlimited customers to give up those plans.

Kudos to PublicKnowledge and Free Press for keeping up the good fight until the Deathstar is taken to the woodshed.

ilikeme
Premium Member
join:2002-08-27
Stafford, TX

ilikeme

Premium Member

Re: What a load of crap...

I can do without facetime. I am keeping the unlimited plan.
en103
join:2011-05-02

en103

Member

Re: What a load of crap...

Same here. I am still overly cautious on AT&T's app blocking.

Morac
Cat god
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ

1 edit

Morac

Member

They are only allowing FaceTime on the iPhone 5.

quote:
In the meantime, we are announcing today that we will support FaceTime, not only on our Mobile Share plans, but also on all of our tiered data plans with an LTE device.

The only LTE device is the iPhone 5 (and technically the iPad). So people with iPhone 4 or 4S won't be getting this, even if they are on a tiered plan. They'll still need to get the mobile share plan.

Even iPhone 5 users could end up not getting this. It requires being in an area with LTE.
chgo_man99
join:2010-01-01
Sunnyvale, CA

chgo_man99

Member

Re: They are only allowing FaceTime on the iPhone 5.

I wonder who uses facetime? Who is most common user? couples? My friend has iphone but we rarely even talk on the phone, most of the time we exchange text messages. And when this happens where I can't text (like on road) then I use Siri. Its still too dangerous hassle to use when driving and only use it when I am on complete stop (like at stoplight), otherwise I call back hands free or don't respond at all.

I have never used video chat except a few years ago with my sister on MSN messenger. We used it so my parents could see grandchildren. But now that we live close to each other we no longer need it.

I noticed now more companies are willing to make job interviews over conference calls. I haven't yet come across that does video over Skype but I heard a few already do that.

Morac
Cat god
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ

Morac

Member

Re: They are only allowing FaceTime on the iPhone 5.

I think people like grandparent's and people who travel overseas and the like.

Two examples:

1. My Mom bought an iPhone so she could FaceTime with my brother and his wife to see her recently born grandchild.

2. She FaceTimed me from her vacation in Europe since it didn't cost here anything (hotel had Wifi).
sam64
join:2006-07-31
Newtown, PA

sam64

Member

Re: They are only allowing FaceTime on the iPhone 5.

Who needs FaceTime.....I will continue to use Skype for all my video chats. It works well over WiFi and 3G and I do not have to think about the person on the other side having an iPhone/iPod Touch.

Regarding who uses video calling/chat -- people who travel overseas and want to be more than just a voice over the phone with their significant other/kids, parents, grandparents, tutors,...
I am sure there are others.

Morac
Cat god
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ

Morac

Member

Re: They are only allowing FaceTime on the iPhone 5.

said by sam64:

Who needs FaceTime.....I will continue to use Skype for all my video chats. It works well over WiFi and 3G and I do not have to think about the person on the other side having an iPhone/iPod Touch.

The problem with Skype is it needs to be manually installed and setup (need an account, etc). FaceTime comes pre-installed on every iOS device as such if I want to contact someone who has an iPhone, iPad, etc, I don't need to call them up first and explain to them how to install Skype and set it up. FaceTime just works.

Not to mention that Skype on the iPhone,et al, drains the battery a lot more than FaceTime does since FaceTime uses Apple's push notifications to set up "calls", while Skype uses Apple's VOIP background service so it needs to be "running" to take calls. In other words Skype drains the battery even when you aren't using it. FaceTime does not.

ff1324
Everybody Goes Home
Premium Member
join:2002-08-24
On Four Day

ff1324 to chgo_man99

Premium Member

to chgo_man99
said by chgo_man99:

I wonder who uses facetime? Who is most common user? couples?

Anyone who travels or spends the night away from home that has kids.

Selenia
Gentoo Convert
Premium Member
join:2006-09-22
Fort Smith, AR

Selenia to Morac

Premium Member

to Morac
said by Morac:

quote:
In the meantime, we are announcing today that we will support FaceTime, not only on our Mobile Share plans, but also on all of our tiered data plans with an LTE device.

The only LTE device is the iPhone 5 (and technically the iPad). So people with iPhone 4 or 4S won't be getting this, even if they are on a tiered plan. They'll still need to get the mobile share plan.

Even iPhone 5 users could end up not getting this. It requires being in an area with LTE.

You are full of crap. Countless Androids on AT&T support LTE, including mine, and have since way before the iphone5 came out. I purchased my Pantech Burst in February 2012. Great phone at a good price. Sure, Facetime is an Apple thing, but there are countless ways to video chat on Android. SIP clients and Yahoo Messenger, just to name a couple. There are many more, but those 2 I personally use and can verify work nicely, even over HSPA+.
wingrider01
join:2006-07-25
Saint Louis, MO

wingrider01

Member

Re: They are only allowing FaceTime on the iPhone 5.

said by Selenia:

said by Morac:

quote:
In the meantime, we are announcing today that we will support FaceTime, not only on our Mobile Share plans, but also on all of our tiered data plans with an LTE device.

The only LTE device is the iPhone 5 (and technically the iPad). So people with iPhone 4 or 4S won't be getting this, even if they are on a tiered plan. They'll still need to get the mobile share plan.

Even iPhone 5 users could end up not getting this. It requires being in an area with LTE.

You are full of crap. Countless Androids on AT&T support LTE, including mine, and have since way before the iphone5 came out. I purchased my Pantech Burst in February 2012. Great phone at a good price. Sure, Facetime is an Apple thing, but there are countless ways to video chat on Android. SIP clients and Yahoo Messenger, just to name a couple. There are many more, but those 2 I personally use and can verify work nicely, even over HSPA+.

this is a discussion concerning facetime and use on the netwrok - last time I looked a android was not capable of running facetime, LTE or not - in the context of the subject matter, the iphone 5 IS the only LTE device that would qualify for utilizing FACETIME over a tieredplan

Morac
Cat god
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ

Morac to Selenia

Member

to Selenia
said by Selenia:

You are full of crap. Countless Androids on AT&T support LTE, including mine, and have since way before the iphone5 came out. I purchased my Pantech Burst in February 2012. Great phone at a good price. Sure, Facetime is an Apple thing, but there are countless ways to video chat on Android. SIP clients and Yahoo Messenger, just to name a couple. There are many more, but those 2 I personally use and can verify work nicely, even over HSPA+.

Fandroid much?

This is a discussion about AT&T allowing FaceTime over LTE. Which of the many Android LTE phones support FaceTime?

Selenia
Gentoo Convert
Premium Member
join:2006-09-22
Fort Smith, AR

Selenia

Premium Member

Re: They are only allowing FaceTime on the iPhone 5.

said by Morac:

said by Selenia:

You are full of crap. Countless Androids on AT&T support LTE, including mine, and have since way before the iphone5 came out. I purchased my Pantech Burst in February 2012. Great phone at a good price. Sure, Facetime is an Apple thing, but there are countless ways to video chat on Android. SIP clients and Yahoo Messenger, just to name a couple. There are many more, but those 2 I personally use and can verify work nicely, even over HSPA+.

Fandroid much?

This is a discussion about AT&T allowing FaceTime over LTE. Which of the many Android LTE phones support FaceTime?

As if Facetime is the only way to do video. If the iPhone block is over the network(sounds like it since people been using it over wifi), a vpn will take care of that. I doubt apple would let AT&T disable the ability within the phone, unlike several stock Androids with mobile hotspots(bypassable via external tethering app+Openvpn(for those nasty DPI spies at your telco) or custom ROM+Openvpn). Failing that, there are a million alternatives, even on iphone. Only iSheep can not see that. Not saying what AT&T is doing is right. Just saying easy to thwart and not the end of the world, yet.
chgo_man99
join:2010-01-01
Sunnyvale, CA

chgo_man99

Member

Re: They are only allowing FaceTime on the iPhone 5.

get off your high horse i-wolf (as u seem to think all iphone fans are isheeple), have u owned iphone yourself? on att network? Att doesn't block anything over the air, they simply push OTA upgrade that either enables/disables functionality on your phone depending on which plan you subscribe too.

For tethering, etc jailbreak is a good remedy but its not available yet for iphone 5.

Selenia
Gentoo Convert
Premium Member
join:2006-09-22
Fort Smith, AR

Selenia

Premium Member

Re: They are only allowing FaceTime on the iPhone 5.

Only iPhone fans that think Apple invented everything are iSheepie, not all iPhone fans. Does jailbreaking automatically enable tethering or do you have to do 1 of the 2 things that can be done about AT&T disabling it on Android, which is root(sorta like jailbreaking, but more akin to root under nix, which Android is based upon but does not need hacks to access on a nix PC) then install an app that invokes masquerade, iptables, and dhcpd to provide a virtulal nat and bypasses the blocked native feature altogether? Or does it actually unblock the native feature? Just curious. Since there are no custom roms like Android(unmolested by AT&T though I tend to slowly mod a rooted stock to avoid unforseen issues these days). I am rather surprised Apple would give anyone(even AT&T) direct control over any of their OS features. Android, not so surprising as Google left it up for others to modify, including manufacturers, modders, and carriers(a double edged sword that gave us some beautiful ROMS, but many ridiculously locked down phones by default, some with horrible API implementations). As a power user, I am unimpressed with the iPhone. But, it is a good consumer device that I have bought for a couple family members and sold mine to a friend. Those that want some conveniences of a smartphone, but does not want to tear at its guts and push it to its limits. The iPhone is more friendly for them die to the lack of Android's fragmentation issue touched upon above.
chgo_man99
join:2010-01-01
Sunnyvale, CA

chgo_man99

Member

Re: They are only allowing FaceTime on the iPhone 5.

TetherMe app on Cydia unlocks tethering functionality on all carriers and it also lets you change APN settings. But other apps like PDANet mywii only just turns your wi-fi into broadcast AP.

phones are not only devices where manufacturers give control over them to service providers that use them, for example cable providers can lock/unlock dvr in your set up box, cable/dsl modems get pushed config files that set max speed parameters, siriusXM radios will have some channels unavailable if you switch to a cheaper plan, etc

Cya
@comcast.net

Cya

Anon

Bye

Bye AT&T 7 years of loyalty. To AT&T CEO bye dumbo loose another 2 billion.
wingrider01
join:2006-07-25
Saint Louis, MO

wingrider01

Member

Re: Bye

said by Cya :

Bye AT&T 7 years of loyalty. To AT&T CEO bye dumbo loose another 2 billion.

highest profits for the year, lowest churn rate in the industry, 4 million plus Iphone 5's sold dpes mpt support your statements

Cya
@comcast.net

Cya

Anon

Re: Bye

"The company reported that third-quarter net income was essentially flat at $3.64 billion, or 63 cents a share, compared with $3.62 billion, or 61 cents a share, in the period a year earlier. Revenue was also flat at $31.46 billion." Would have been better with 2 BILLION more. Yes losing that money was dumb.
en103
join:2011-05-02

en103

Member

How much revenue did At&t's caution generate?

This was more about having iPhone users move to shared plans and make more money than it was about saving the network, in my opinion.
Now that both Sprint and TMobile have large corporations to back them, and that wireless is appearing saturation... At&t is more at risk of losing their subs to another carrier. At&t's saving grace is that it still has traditional plans, unlike VZW.

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

Just paid $700k..

AT&T just paid $700k in FCC fines for forcing customers off unlimited data plans, yet they continue to restrict facetime to unlimited data users, unless they switch to a shared or metered data plan -- does this make sense?

fuziwuzi
Not born yesterday
Premium Member
join:2005-07-01
Palm Springs, CA

fuziwuzi

Premium Member

Open standard?

I remember when Jobs introduced Facetime. He proclaimed he was going the next day to offer it as an "open standard" so that it could be used by the whole world. We're still waiting, Apple.

Bill Neilson
Premium Member
join:2009-07-08
Alexandria, VA

Bill Neilson

Premium Member

Keep up the pressure....it blows my mind

how many tech sites seem to be applauding AT&T for doing what we all saw as something basic