“AT&T’s newly revised service plans may sound like a good deal, but a closer read of the fine print reveals hidden price hikes on its most popular data plans,” Marguerite Reardon reports for CNET. “”
“AT&T announced a new pricing structure Thursday that the company claimed in its press release will “make it even easier for customers to share data and save money” on AT&T’s network,” Reardon reports. “But a closer look at the tweaked service plans shows that for most consumers, these new plans are unlikely to save them money. And in some cases, it may even cost them more cash than what they would have paid under the company’s old plans. Still, AT&T’s new pricing structure can offer savings for customers willing to hold onto their smartphones a bit longer and for those on either the low-end or the high-end of data usage.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Caveat emptor.
Not any different from other mobile service providers. You always have to read the fine print, and examine plans that fit your needs. Service providers want $XX/mo. from you, and they’ll get it one way or another.
Indeed, no different – bend over and squeal.
What?!? It might actually cost many customers more?
Why am I not surprised. AT&T tells us why we should thank them for screwing us again.
On last iPhone purchase I opted for buying it outright unlocked, and switch to one of those PAYG MNVO’s. This will save me more than $1200 over the next 2 years vs ATT’s plan. Could have saved more on one of the cheaper plans, but wanted to make sure data was sufficient and on the latest networks.
It reminds me of cutting the landline and cable – save a ton of $$$ and flip off the big corps at the same time.
Just waiting for a critical mass of us to do it…
Would you please tell me how to do this, exactly? I have wanted to do this, but don’t know where to start. Any seasoned advice would be very much appreciated.
I’ve been trying Airvoice Wireless for about a month. They offer several plans. I am now paying $10 per month for 250 minutes of phone service. If I need more minutes, I can just buy more. See this link: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/10/11/our-new-10-00-per-month-iphone-plans/ There may be others.
Basically, first you order a SIM card from Airvoice Wireless, which will be sent to you by mail and you should receive it in a few days. Cost of the SIM card: $4.99. If you want to keep your existing phone number, you must then go online to ask your existing carrier to release your number. This will basically cancel service on your old network. I am on AT&T, and it took just a few days. When your old phone service stops working, do the next step. (Or proceed to this step if you are not carrying over your old phone number). Now go to the Airvoice Wireless and activate your account.
There are a few quirks in the instructions and website, so you’ll just have to figure it out. You will not get a monthly bill, but your phone will show your balance after each call. You lose visual voicemail, but you do get traditional “voicemail machine”. It was no big loss for me. The quirkiest thing is having to toggle off cellular data access even when using your own Wi-Fi. Apparently, even if you are on Wi-Fi, the phone might register as using the carrier’s cellular system, so the company advises turning off cellular service when using Wi-Fi. This is a hassle. But for the savings, I am willing to keep trying my experiment. It sounds to me like an anti-competitive feature designed to frustrate people, and push them to the carrier’s higher-priced plans.
Airvoice Wireless uses the AT&T phone network, so that is your coverage area. (Who knows: Airvoice Wireless could even be owned by AT&T? Like the big pharmaceutical companies that, it turns out, also own generic drug manufacturers. Yes, they’d rather sell you high priced branded drugs, but if you insist, they’d rather sell you generic drug than nothing at all!)
Good luck.
How is the call quality and the data speed?
Tell me how you did this and what mnvo you used. I think this a great idea. I plan to buy a unlocked phone from apple for my Xmas present to myself
How is this a savings? According to the new price plans it will cost me $60 a month more for the same plan I have now.
They’re going to have to pull my unlimited data for $20 a month out of my cold, dead hand.
One word to the wise: Virgin Mobile.