AT&T shared data plans coming late August

[Rawvega]

http://www.att.com/s...C0000PP100000JD

 

Looking pretty similar to VZW's plans, not surprisingly. A few more options than VZW. A bit more expensive than VZW in some scenarios, a little less expensive in others.

[iansltx]

Saw that. I should make a quick web app that will allow comparison between the two providers for a given data allotment/line count.

 

AT&T's wrinkle of a sliding scale for smartphone pricing is...interesting. But in order to get the cheaper smartphone rates you'll be paying a lot on the data side. A *lot*.

 

Oh, and you have LTE in a lot of places on Verizon that doesn't have LTE on AT&T.

[ericdabbs]

LOL. I would like to see how AT&T customers defend these ridiculous AT&T plans. The only differences I see between the AT&T and Verizon shared data plans are that

 

1) AT&T still has the individual plans which offer the typical a la carte options for voice, data and text at a reasonable price alongside the new shared plans. Verizon on the other hand forces everyone to use the shared data plans which makes individual plans ridiculously expensive.

 

If this is true, this is the biggest difference between Verizon and AT&T. I hate the fact that Verizon kills individual plans with these shared data plans. I would have rather had Verizon just offer these shared data plans to replace the family plans while still offer the individual plans the old way a la carte.

 

2) No mention of those who are grandfathered into unlimited data on whether they will have to pay full retail price of smartphone to maintain unlimited data on their plan. Verizon has said customers can maintain their unlimited data if they pay full retail price of the smartphone otherwise if they get subsidized smartphone they will have to opt into the new shared data plans.

[iansltx]

My guess is that AT&T will do the exact same thing with individual plans that Verizon did once they launch their version of Share Everything. If you want a reasonable individual plan, you'll need to use a prepaid provider if you want service on AT&T or VZW.

[WiWavelength]

Since VZW and now AT&T have announced their shared data plans, I have wondered if individuals will form wireless cooperatives to take advantage of the volume discounts built into the higher tiers. Under AT&T shared data, an account holder who qualifies for, say, eight lines could sign up for those eight lines plus a 20 GB data allotment, then sell the remaining seven lines to other people. Cost per person for a smartphone with roughly one eighth of 20 GB would be $55 per month. However, I am not sure that the cost savings would be worth the likely logistical headaches of administrating the lines of potentially that many unrelated individuals.

 

Thoughts?

 

AJ

[Rawvega]

Since VZW and now AT&T have announced their shared data plans, I have wondered if individuals will form wireless cooperatives to take advantage of the volume discounts built into the higher tiers. Under AT&T shared data, an account holder who qualifies for, say, eight lines could sign up for those eight lines plus a 20 GB data allotment, then sell the remaining seven lines to other people. Cost per person for a smartphone with roughly one eighth of 20 GB would be $55 per month. However, I am not sure that the cost savings would be worth the likely logistical headaches of administrating the lines of potentially that many unrelated individuals.

 

Thoughts?

 

AJ

 

That is interesting. I've known people who have done something similar with DirecTV & Dish....Anyway, if I'm understanding AT&T's plans correctly, such an 8 smartphone plan would come to $440 plus taxes & fees so a little over $55 per line. Each line would get 2.5GB of data per month. That scenario, admittedly, ain't half bad. The rub is in the bolded part, of course. Whoever is the one that sets up the account is ultimately on the hook for everything. So one or more people could go hog wild on the data or go overseas and rack up a huge international roaming bill. What recourse would the account holder have? I suppose instead of total strangers one could do this with friends and extended family, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Of course, doing business with friends and family is often perilous in it's own ways. I wonder if there will be anything in the T&Cs that specifically prohibit strangers from forming these kinds of wireless co-ops.

[themuffinman]

Since VZW and now AT&T have announced their shared data plans, I have wondered if individuals will form wireless cooperatives to take advantage of the volume discounts built into the higher tiers. Under AT&T shared data, an account holder who qualifies for, say, eight lines could sign up for those eight lines plus a 20 GB data allotment, then sell the remaining seven lines to other people. Cost per person for a smartphone with roughly one eighth of 20 GB would be $55 per month. However, I am not sure that the cost savings would be worth the likely logistical headaches of administrating the lines of potentially that many unrelated individuals.

 

Thoughts?

 

AJ

 

I think this would be a great idea and if I had already left sprint I would probably consider doing the same. Literally, everyone in my immediate family uses at&t except for me. But like what Rawvega said, the account holder will be on the hook if something goes down and the agreement goes south. It may not even be worth the additional savings in the long run since the account holder may have to spend a lot of extra time micromanaging cell phone usage for multiple users each and every single month.