If you haven’t already heard about the planned changes to AT&T’s data plan for phones, they are doing away with their unlimited data plan for the iphone. Check out their press release:

http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=30854

At&t is touting this as a way to make data plans more affordable to the public... but they’ve removed the unlimited plan completely.

AT&T’s data plan change is a step back, not a step forward. It’s like monitoring your dial-up internet usage. Even if you got to keep the higher speeds, would you be ok if your internet company (ISP) suddenly told you there was no longer an unlimited option?

As someone else pointed out, it changes your behavior if you have to worry about it. Heck, I bought the unlimited texting plan because I don’t want to have to worry about it even though I don’t use it that much. I do use it in ways I didn’t plan on using it since it’s unlimited though.

If the change doesn’t affect 95% of AT&T’s users as they claim then why change it?

I’m guessing it has to do with tethering (cough cough – making money and price gouging.)

It looks like they want you to pay an additional $20/mo. just to use that 2gig allotment for tethering. It looks like you wouldn’t get an extra 2 gig for that $20, just be able to officially use your phone like a modem and consume even more bandwidth on your data plan. People would definitely rack up more that way. I’m not alone in this thought.

Thinking about switching cell phone companies makes me sick to my stomach.

• Verizon: I had bad experiences with Verizon long ago (customer service and signal … but that was way back and signal has probably improved). I don’t even remember the exact details. I just remember being lied to.
• Sprint: I had VERY bad experiences (plural) with Sprint. Always with customer service, never with the signal… They actually made me cry in the store once. And if you know me, I don’t cry, especially not in public. I was lied to on many an occasions and it wasn’t my imagination. I started trying to gathering paperwork and in at least one instance I probably should have sued them. I need to be more litigious.
• AT&T: I’ve only been with AT&T a little over a year and though I haven’t had anything horrific happen like with the other two, I think they’ve become greedy and complacent because of the iphone contract. I’m not particularly happy in that respect. They’re making  money hand over fist (unless I’m somehow reading that wrong.) Upgrade your tech already, add some more towers (it’s not as bad as Verizon wants you to think but they could always improve), and what about faster speeds (4g?) or expanding 3g coverage where there’s still only edge?

It’s like choosing the lesser of the all the evils.

Eventually they’ll overstep their bounds and/or people will give up on them and figure out some alternative.

And don’t think there won’t be an alternative to cell phones if the companies get bad enough.

• I got rid of my landline almost 10 years ago because I got fed up with the telephone company. More and more people are going with cell phone only these days (though maybe to save money, not because they are mad at their land line provider.)
• I got rid of cable tv because they didn’t know how to fix their own dvrs and it had started glitching so bad it was pointless (and I was tempted to open it up and run spinrite on the hard drive but resisted that because I wasn’t sure how much they would charge me for the device if they found I had voided their warranty.) So I started watching hulu when it was still beta.
• I won’t get another credit card and haven’t had one for over 7 years because of the crazy contracts. They “can change anything they want at any given time” does that not sound like the cell phone contracts too? I think recent legislation changed that some but I’m still not getting another card. I’ll used my debit card processed as a credit card thank-you-very-much.
• Haven’t bought a cd in who knows how long but I have bought mp3s from amazon and itunes.

There is a next step with all forms of communication and media … I might sound a bit crazy here, but I’m hoping there’s something good on the horizon for replacing the cell phone companies. I don’t mean voip. Skype is my cellphone fallback. Google Voice is my Skype fallback fallback. Free wifi just isn’t quite prevalent enough yet. I can’t answer a skype or google voice call in my car without the cell phone network to connect to.

I understand the need to make money but I’m tired of the attitude these companies have.

As for my data usage on the iphone? I’m not sure. My phone logged 923mb of data in the last 2 days. AT&T’s site says I’ve never used more than 170mb (How to check your usage on justanotheriphoneblog.com.) But it also says I used 0mb last October which I know is not correct. Someone said that “if they’re using the numbers on the site to charge me, then I’m golden” but I pointed out “if it’s not the actual amount used and then suddenly they correct that problem? Like the gas company misreading your meter, they aren’t likely to pay for that mistake, you are.”

So I’m going to reset the data usage tracking on the phone and keep a close eye on it this month. I may be grandfathered in to the unlimited data but I feel like the way the contracts are worded they could change that at any point in time without repercussion.

Sure, some people are looking forward to the option of a slightly cheaper data plan. I’m not, are you?