“AT&T announced on Friday that it will offer FaceTime over Cellular at no additional cost to customers who are subscribed to a Mobile Share plan,” Kelly Hodgkins reports for TUAW. “Customers who stay on a grandfathered unlimited plan or a tiered plan will be limited to using FaceTime over a WiFi connection. AT&T’s released the following statement to the media:”
AT&T will offer FaceTime over Cellular as an added benefit of our new Mobile Share data plans, which were created to meet customers’ growing data needs at a great value. With Mobile Share, the more data you use, the more you save. FaceTime will continue to be available over Wi-Fi for all our customers.
Hodgkins reports, “AT&T’s Mobile Share plans will be available on August 23 and will let customers buy a bucket of data that can be shared among multiple devices.”
More info and links in the full article here.
Related articles:
AT&T Mobile Share plans start August 23; pricing tool now available – August 6, 2012
Shared wireless data plans: AT&T vs. Verizon – July 19, 2012
AT&T Mobility unveils new shared data plans; ‘Mobile Share’ coming in August – July 18, 2012
Verizon Wireless kills voice minutes, makes data shareable among devices – June 12, 2012
Alright Verizon, whacha got?
No additional cost. Except the shared plan costs significantly more that the grandfathered unlimited. AT&T, keep it. Mofos.
Dear AT&T,
FUCK YOU.
Sincerely,
dinjin201
+1
we should all go leave such comments on AT&T’s facebook page 🙂 should be fun.
We’ve got three grandfathered phones and I have to flush that to get FaceTime? F u AT&T , next stop Sprint.
And if you wouldn’t mind sharing, what amount of data are you using now? At least in terms of the buckets for Mobile Share? I’m really curious whether AT&T is evaluating this impact properly.
Sometimes we use a lot, most months hardly any. We all inhabit Wi Fi environments most of the time. I just don’t want to start watching the clock. After 5years on AT&T we are leaving. Such bullshit.
Last month I used 18 gig with my mifi. VZ
so if you were constantly passing data over a 30 day period it would equate to .43MB a minute.
obviously you are one of those reviled selfish data hog boogiemen we should all hate on and ask to be rescued from with retarded data plans with stripped down features.
I think ther is growing justification to sue AT&T over this coraling of unlimited plans. They are defining features out of reach of these plans that have no impact on the original term unlimited data, making them very very limited.
You would be wrong. AT&T can terminate their plans at any time, but they have to continue yours as long as you continue under the same contract. When you enter into a new contract (say, when you buy a new iPhone 5), it is AT&T’s option whether to offer the same plan or offer different ones.
There is nothing in AT&T’s (or Verizon’s, or Sprint’s, etc.) contracts that requires them to offer unlimited data forever.
And don’t forget, Verizon cancelled unlimited data plans before AT&T did, I believe.
Legitimate question: How many people want or care about Facetime over 3G? I know I don’t.
I’ve used FaceTime maybe 3 times in the two years I’ve had my iPhone, and only once was the call not made jokingly.
The deaf community.
Great point.
I’m with you there. I’ve used FaceTime a total of three times, all for the novelty of it, but won’t care if it’s available on 3G or not. There’s always Wi-Fi to fall back on.
I for one use it weekly – I am divorced and use it at least every other day, if not daily to talk to my boys. I’m using the JailBroken feature right now, but come iPhone 5, AT&T can kiss my ass. I am not leaving my unlimited so they can charge me more.
I think many, many more people would use it if you could do so over 3G/4G and not just WiFi.
My parents live in Tennessee, I live in Texas. Grandma FaceTimes us all the time to see her grandkids. Sometimes I jailbreak my iPhone so I can use MyWi3G and FaceTime from anywhere.
Like I always say, they have a department dedicated to these ideas. They meet every morning around their $50,000 conference table, drinking imported coffee (beans flown in that morning), and they ask themselves, “How can we screw our customers today?” The AT&T way.
If you read their press release, I love the way they say that they will allow us to continue to use FaceTime over WiFi as if they had a say in that also… hell…. maybe they do.
Where is apple in all of this?
AT&T doing this because a lot of knuckleheads out there will go over there data cap each month using this feature, and AT&T will be raking in the overage money. What a crock of shit. I hope customers are smarter than that.
What a bunch of greedy jerks. You can already do Skype over 3g and hemroid phones can do this with a bunch of other products. Look people pay for bandwidth and service if they go over that number then they have to pay for it. Its that simple. To block these features make no sense as they are simply consuming bandwidth from a company who provides bandwidth.
Someone needs to stomp a mud hole on these cell phone companies and their insatiable need to fleece their clients.
Coming up with new ways to force people out of their grandfathered in unlimited plans is nothing more than them screwing their clients again. The problem is all of the cell phone companies suck. Apple needs to make these guys obsolete. Imagine a world without the restrictions and an internet connection of 50MBs could be done over the air for TV, Cell and home phone.. LTE anyone? They could do it. they could unshackle the internet, cell phones and communications.
Cell Phone companies may your business become irrelevant may your profits continue to fall may technology remove the need for you to even exist.
I will have a party for you..
I debated for several months whether I would renew my contract with AT&T and finally did SOLELY because my unlimited plan was grandfathered. Unfortunately, I have 20 more months to see what other carriers have to offer in this area. I will be closely observing the handling of the data plan issue. If another company offers something comparable, I may even decide to leave AT&T simply because they do not respect their customers and clearly think that we are stupid. I suspect a lot will be different in 20 months.
Fuck you AT&T. That is all.
+1 Getting out of AT&T asap. This is bs. It’s my data. I should be allowed to use it as I please.
Sick…when is data not data? When we can charge you differently! Nickel and dime feature charging is a way to stiffle the iPhone.
Data has never been not data. AT&T only charges for 1s – the 0s are free.
Always the the shell game they play…
I posted this on their Facebook page…
“F*** YOU, AT&T!
“AT&T will offer FaceTime over Cellular as an added benefit of our new Mobile Share data plans, which were created to meet customers’ growing data needs at a great value. With Mobile Share, the more data you use, the more you save. FaceTime will continue to be available over Wi-Fi for all our customers.”
I have grandfathered unlimited data plans (from our old iPhone 3GS units) on our iPhone 4S units. You are saying that my unlimited data is different from the data in the Mobile Share plan? Try again you incompetent bastards! I am a computer expert – DATA is DATA! There is NO difference! There is only one reason why you want to do this – you don’t want these pesky grandfathered data plans hanging around any more.
You are going to “allow” me to continue to use FaceTime over Wi-Fi? Wow! Since when do you have control over MY Wi-Fi router? I am the master of my Wi-Fi router – I will use FaceTime over Wi-Fi when I want, not when you tell me I can.
You know what? As soon as Sprint comes out with the iPhone 5 on LTE I will be switching us over to them because of you continually screwing with your customers who don’t fall for your utter stupidity. I hope your company eventually goes bankrupt – you deserve it.”
You fellas & fellass’s need to stop complaining. Us here in NZ have the most overpriced limited plans in the world!! Vodafone and Telecom have us by the balls – basically what AT&T and Verizon are bringing in now is what we have had from the start.
Basic Smartphone plan over here: 60mins talk time, 500mb-1GB data and 5000 text messages! Yay!!! (sarcasm) and the data charges once you go over your limit 10c -25c per mb!! yes you read that right… $100 per Gb!!!
They recently updated them to a whopping(wait for it)… 1Gb-2Gb per plan, but you still only get a slight discount on ya phone.
Yes we have ‘free’ tethering and Yes we have WiFi but its completely useless to consider using most of the features cool features of an iPhone over here …. HELL we still DON”T HAVE VISUAL VOICE MAIL!!!! they’re still charging us 17c to listen to our messages…
Grrrr
So its a competition now, you just to try to up one better.
Listen up Kiwistar….
Why would try and prove a point by what you just posted, it’s the same me to attitude Samsung did to Apple in court last week and it’s pathetic.
Facts are we are getting screwed, and we are talking about USA, don’t try to change the topic by speaking of something you have no idea or clue about, I’m sure in NZ you have it bad, but deal with it when a topic comes up about your country’s issues in wireless. I feel for your problems but it doesn’t have any bearing on what AT&T has done to all of its customers that have made it what it is today, they need to be stopped,
Done.
ok… Um was kinda being sarcastic and also empathising :-/
Actually trying to say we’re both being screwed ! Lol
But ok… No offense intended. 😛
Shared data plan… What about those folks who don’t have a share plan, but have friends or relatives with whom to use the feature?
It should be available for all plans like Verizon and Sprint. ATT shared plans are a RIPOFF!!!
GREED!!! I’m tired of hearing you have to please the shareholders. I’m a shareholder and I don’t expect all companies to outperform every quarter… A fair profit is ok, but most companies are greedy and want more!!!
Correct me if I’m wrong….with a AT&T grandfathered in unlimited data plan with next iPhone release…. if I want to upgrade to it I will have to agree new contact that most likely will force me to get rid of my unlimited plan…
You now understand!
I just switched to a 15GB plan with 8 iPhones and 2 iPads for $417 ( tax). I thought it was pretty good. Bonus: wifi hotspot is now included! Unlimited Talk and text.
I just wonder how much data FaceTime eats up…
pretty good?!
…only a true sucker would think that.
The cost of my iPhone plan with unlimited data went up a few months back. Even so, at $60.99 a month, I really can’t complain.