 
inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK
| yeah....more prepping for billing by the byte ATT of all people will be the ones advocating for billing by the byte. I mean, how else can they recoup their expensive data plans from people who get a cheap phone and the most basic $19 data plan then swap sims into a PDA.
ATT is more scummy than Verizon, and that is saying a LOT.
btw, go vote for the vaporware BlackJack WM6 upgrade on the Wired vaporware awards.
»blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/···vap.html | |
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dmeyer
join:2002-08-14
Austin, TX
| Re: yeah....more prepping for billing by the byte No one is holding a gun to your head and making you get a $60/mo PDA data plan. Anyone smart enough to use Google can figure out how to tether on a laptop on the unlimited $20/mo Media Works data plans and get unlimited net access on their laptops, no pricy data plan needed, or hack their PDA to do the same. Plus on the 3G you can tether and make voice calls at the same time. AT&T is clearly the lesser of two evils. | |
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inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK | Re: yeah....more prepping for billing by the byte I'm not saying you cant do it, I'm saying ATT will soon prevent you from doing this by making everyone pay by the byte. | |
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dmeyer
join:2002-08-14
Austin, TX
| Re: yeah....more prepping for billing by the byte So instead of billing by the kilobyte they are going to bill by the byte? That seems like a step backwards.
Unless they plan on doing away with the unlimited MEdia Net packages...I don't see how this is feasible. In the past my Unlimited plan has always been grandfathered, so they better not start billing me by the byte. | |
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inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK | Re: yeah....more prepping for billing by the byte As the fat lady said in Total Recall:
"GET READY FOR A SURPRISE!" | |
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| | | | | wierdo
join:2001-02-16
Tulsa, OK
 ·Future Nine Corpor..
·Teliax VOIP
| Re: yeah....more prepping for billing by the byte said by inteller  :As the fat lady said in Total Recall: "GET READY FOR A SURPRISE!" The surprise already dropped. People whose terms of service prohibit the use of MEdia plans with PDAs and data cards (mine don't) are getting letters and are being forced to switch to the appropriate plan.
They've been preparing for quite some time, making their systems more aware of what phone is actually being used, rather than just what is listed on the account. | |
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inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK | Re: yeah....more prepping for billing by the byte they only send out letters to those serious abusers. They have nothing in place to track what phone you have. it is virtually impossible because they would have to keep track of IMEI numbers for PDA phones they dont even sell. | |
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| | | | | | | wierdo
join:2001-02-16
Tulsa, OK
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Teliax VOIP
| Re: yeah....more prepping for billing by the byte said by inteller :they only send out letters to those serious abusers. They have nothing in place to track what phone you have. it is virtually impossible because they would have to keep track of IMEI numbers for PDA phones they dont even sell. That is no longer the case, sadly, although it was until recently. | |
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inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK | Re: yeah....more prepping for billing by the byte ok, whatever you say chief. I know what I'm seeing here and its not letters from ATT. | |
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| | | | | | | | | wierdo
join:2001-02-16
Tulsa, OK
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Teliax VOIP
| Re: yeah....more prepping for billing by the byte said by inteller :ok, whatever you say chief. I know what I'm seeing here and its not letters from ATT. I'm not, either, but I've been a customer long enough (and on the same plan long enough) that my terms don't prohibit using MEdia Works on any device I like. | |
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quetwo
That VoIP Guy
Premium
join:2004-09-04
East Lansing, MI
| The most open, huh? They apparently have never seen what T-Mobile or Alltel have been doing for YEARS. AT&T (Cingular Orange/Gold) has repeatedly prohibited people from bringing GSM phones from other carriers onto their network, and have forced people into special programming on their phones (to essentially lock them to their network). They also prohibit many of the applications Google is talking about -- such as open and unlocked browsers. Mind you, if you talk to the right person, you can often get overlooked, but I personally have been in the situation where a CSR has demanded that I get an AT&T sponsored phone in order to keep my account open.
T-Mobile and Alltel pretty much don't care, as long as your SIM card is theirs. I brought over my phone from Europe and had no problems with T-Mobile at all. In fact, I still use that phone today. | |
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| satellite68
join:2007-04-11
Louisville, KY | Re: The most open, huh? Still using the SIM card I purchased from T-Mobile in 2001 on my new Samsung SGH-T219. It's nice to migrate effortlessly from phone to phone. | |
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| | amejr999
Eric
Premium
join:2001-01-13
Fair Lawn, NJ
clubs: | Re: The most open, huh? T-Mobile will give you a phone unlock code pretty much just by asking. | |
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| | | | DannyZ
Gentoo Fanboy
Premium
join:2003-01-29
Erie, PA | Re: The most open, huh? yep, and T-mo will even unlock a prepaid with no fill-ups every 90 days for each line you have on contract... | |
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quetwo
That VoIP Guy
Premium
join:2004-09-04
East Lansing, MI
| Re: The most open, huh? Just because the phone work dosen't mean they don't support them, or endorse them. When you call customer service (for something non-related to your phone not working), have you ever been given a hard time about the phone you are using? I have, and have documented this. Mind you, this was back in the Cingular days, but the I'm sure the policies haven't changed -- only the name and PR. | |
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verolom
join:2002-03-23
Eagleville, PA
 ·Comcast
1 edit | Re: The most open, huh? why would at&t support a phone you bought and are using on your own? has at&t ever chopped up the capabilities of any phone they have provided you? has verizon? can you actually browse the web on an at&t phone? what about a verizon one?
i have three gsm sets that i can swap on the same sim every other minute, two are at&t provided, one is unlocked, they all fully always work. i use two of them as a dial-up bluetooth modem. try that with most verizon phones. so much for evdo. try swapping contacts, pictures, mp3 files with a verizon bluetooth phone. good luck. | |
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| | stufried
Premium
join:2003-10-13 | ATT has at least acquiesced in my Nokia E61 being on their network. It is noted and when I was on a Blackberry plan, they worked with me to get the Blackberry Connect software working. | |
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George_Still2
@pa.us
| Yeah, I guess that is why in my area when ATT Wireless sold to Cingular all users here were told they needed new phones.
Then when Cingular became ATT they were told they will be required to receive new phones again....
Meanwhile I laughed the whole time on T-Mobile... | |
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C0deZer0
Oc'D To Rhythm And Police
Premium
join:2001-10-03
Davenport, FL
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Re: The most open, huh? said by sharksfan3 :said by George_Still2 :
Yeah, I guess that is why in my area when ATT Wireless sold to Cingular all users here were told they needed new phones. Wrong. said by George_Still2 :
Then when Cingular became ATT they were told they will be required to receive new phones again.... Wrong. Try Truth. They do that shit here too, and I've witnesses who would confirm my testimony. | |
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| | | wierdo
join:2001-02-16
Tulsa, OK
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Teliax VOIP
1 edit | said by George_Still2 :
Yeah, I guess that is why in my area when ATT Wireless sold to Cingular all users here were told they needed new phones.
Then when Cingular became ATT they were told they will be required to receive new phones again....
Meanwhile I laughed the whole time on T-Mobile...
You are correct about the first part, but the second part is a misunderstanding on your part.
Even then, what I said was correct wasn't entirely true. To get a Cingular plan, you required a Cingular SIM, which required a new phone, since all the AT&T phones were locked and Cingular claimed to not have the unlock codes.
If you wanted to stay on the ATTWS plan, there was no issue. There are still plenty of customers on ATTWS plans, btw. | |
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| wierdo
join:2001-02-16
Tulsa, OK
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Teliax VOIP
| As someone else said. Horseshit. Only occasionally do I use one of their phones, yet they always fix my service problems.
Perhaps if I was stupid enough to call them up about a problem with a phone they don't sell expecting them to fix it, they might have given me a problem. Since I only call them to discuss service problems, I've never had any questions, regardless of the phone or where it came from.
Hell, I used TDMA phones they didn't sell, and they didn't care.
They were very stingy with the unlock codes for a while, but that's got absolutely nothing to do with what devices they'll let you use on their network.
Perhaps if you took a look at their developer's site sometime to see the massive list of devices they are willing to actively support, the list that goes far beyond what has or is generally available from them you might not say such misinformed things.
Not that they're the second coming of Christ or anything, but it's not exactly unexpected that there is at least one moron of a CSR working for them. One who probably previously worked for Sprint, given that attitude. | |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| said by quetwo :AT&T (Cingular Orange/Gold) has repeatedly prohibited people from bringing GSM phones from other carriers onto their network, and have forced people into special programming on their phones (to essentially lock them to their network). Wrong.
said by quetwo :They also prohibit many of the applications Google is talking about -- such as open and unlocked browsers. I was able to install MiniMo, Opera, Google Maps, Pocket Yahoo and iGuidance on my HTC 8525.
said by quetwo :Mind you, if you talk to the right person, you can often get overlooked, but I personally have been in the situation where a CSR has demanded that I get an AT&T sponsored phone in order to keep my account open. I find it hard to believe that AT&T would want to give up paying customers.
said by quetwo :T-Mobile and Alltel pretty much don't care, as long as your SIM card is theirs. From what I've read, and I could be wrong, Alltel does not use SIM cards as they are a CDMA carrier like Verizon and Sprint, which also do not use SIM cards.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. | |
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Piggie
I Actually use Windstream
Premium
join:2005-11-23
Orange Springs, FL
 ·HughesNet Satellit..
 ·Windstream
| Re: The most open, huh? I use Alltel, they don't use SIM cards as CDMA doesn't use SIM. They don't lock anything on their phones. They will attempt to activate any Alltel phone you have that has GPS and doesn't have a balance or reported stolen. CS wise I am very happy with them after dealing with the huge so "wonderful" big boys.
Piggie :@)
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| Speedstream 4200 Modem - 3m/384 plan | W98-W2KSP4-XPSP2 - All AMD | Buffalo WHR G54S with Tomato 1.13 | 3 downstream switches feeding 6 total clients (no wireless) | Including the Data port on the side of my neck | | |
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moonpuppy
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD | The press with kid gloves again Why won't the press do some research and actually confront these companies?
National media outlets, like USAToday, need to get tougher with actually confirming what people say and not just do a public relations piece. | |
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| roady1
join:2003-11-13
Cleveland, OH
| Re: The press with kid gloves again said by moonpuppy :Why won't the press do some research and actually confront these companies? Because it's easier to directly quote the AP instead of doing some legwork!!! | |
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LiamJunket
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Ocean City, NJ
·Comcast
| Re: The press with kid gloves again said by roady1 :said by moonpuppy :Why won't the press do some research and actually confront these companies? Because it's easier to directly quote the AP instead of doing some legwork!!! The USA Today article wasn't an AP reprint. It was done by a USA Today reporter.
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Internet News
My BLOG
My Web Page
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| guardfrog
join:2004-08-27
Dallas, TX
1 edit | Um...which reporter broke the AT&T/NSA scandal?
Hint: it wasn't Karl (who DOES write headlines like "AT&T Plans To Buy Echostar"--Oct. 16). | |
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| nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD | most of the main stream media are just stenographers for politicians and big business.
it's work being a journalist, why strain when you don't have to? | |
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| ggultra2764
join:2007-09-13
Cambridge, NY
 ·Verizon Wireless B..
| Because mainstream media outlets are owned by corporations who can freely restrict or censor any bit of information on a news story that they see fit. Corporations have regulated what comes out in mainstream media since the 1970s when the government wanted control over the information the media received after Washington was humiliated by the media's expose on what really went on during the Vietnam War (the fact we weren't 'winning' it as they claimed). If these corporations and the government are in a working relationship with each other to monitor what information is leeked to the public, then any bit of information reported to the public could seem limited or would fail to address certain questions on the issue that some folks want.
In the case of this story, it seems more like a PR stunt from AT&T than a serious story since they claim to be more open now than ever before. Anyone who fails to deeply look into the issue from alternative angles besides the mass media could find themselves duped into thinking they could finally get something better than Verizon.  | |
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TMMerlin
The Devil made me do it
join:2003-06-19
Oxford, MI
·EarthLink
| This is great news and fantstic for the consumer Finally ..an open and no strings attached alternative for a cellphone..Google scared the crap out them to get thier mind right !
This is what we should have had from day-1 ...! There will be an obvious "downside" to this. pricing will change and the "unlimited" is history. They may top out at a high price for unlimited ..but..now you will get what you pay for.. no more free rides as a result of being "locked in" and having a free phone.
AT&T is giving us consumers what we asked for. If one does not like the "price" ..then shop around till you find what you want,
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Some people hear their own inner voices with great clearness and they live by what they hear. Such people become crazy but they become legend. | |
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| jvanbrecht
join:2007-01-08
Bowie, MD
| Re: This is great news and fantstic for the consumer I am not sure whether you are being sarcastic.. or serious. Although ATT is not exactly an upstanding member of the business society, and they ahve some pretty shitty practices, the nework has always been open, by extension of the GSM spec. Sure the phones you bought from ATT are locked to the ATT network, but you have always been able to use any GSM device on the network, you did not even have to tell them. Some store operators may push you to purchase a phone through them, but it was never required, and they would still be more then willing to sell you a sim car and setup an account after you say no a few times to their pressure sales tactics.
This pr/story about ATT is nothing more, pr, they are not doing anything new that they were not doing since the inception of GSM in the US. What may change hopefully is their policy on unlocking their sim locked phones, which is akin to visitng the dentist for multiple root canals. | |
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TMMerlin
The Devil made me do it
join:2003-06-19
Oxford, MI
·EarthLink
| Re: This is great news and fantstic for the consumer Being a little bit of both but mostly serious. I desire for not only AT&T but all the US carriers "to get their minds right" and open up the airwaves to "what I want" without a song and dance. I concur with what you said about GSM.
As for the PR ..but of course ! Right, wrong or indifferent Google was the Big Dog to push the carriers completely over the edge and start the real beginning of the end to the "dictatorships".
Alas, I am not naive enough to believe this will turn to a "bed of roses".
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Some people hear their own inner voices with great clearness and they live by what they hear. Such people become crazy but they become legend. | |
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batterup
I Can Not Tell A Lie.
Premium
join:2003-02-06
Netcong, NJ
clubs: | Google? Oh yes Google will show those nasty network builders how it should be done. 700 MHz for all.
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benc
Premium
join:2007-06-17
Glen Carbon, IL
·Charter Pipeline
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Callcentric
·AT&T Midwest
| Cingular Never Denied It I once went to a store and asked about just getting a SIM card and the plan to go with it. And they never denied it.
However, if you got it you're still stuck with a one year contract, and the monthly charges aren't any cheaper. I didn't ask but I suspect that the only data option you could get would be the PDA Max, which is the most expensive.
But, I don't suppose there's anything to stop someone from getting a qualified phone for a cheaper unlimited data plan, swap the SIM card, unlock the unused phone, and selling it.
They also don't advertise the fact that they use GSM, and SIM-card swapping is possible. In essence, the customer just has to know, which can't be said for many people. | |
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tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Floral Park, NY | open huh..? one word iphone | |
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AT&T: We Are The Most Open Wireless Company
