AT&T Puts a Stake in the Heart of Unlimited iPhone Data, Tethering Announced
It’s the classic “good news, bad news†scenario: iPhone users are about to get cheaper data plans and tethering (finally!), but AT&T is making good on their long-threatened plans to cap your data usage.Cult of Mac is reporting that new data plans are coming from AT&T on June 7 -- and new iPhone owners will no longer have an unlimited data plan (read on for details of what happens to existing customers). The telco announced Tuesday that iPhone and iPad users will now have the choice of two all-new monthly plans, neither of which offers unlimited 3G data.DataPlus is the entry-level plan which costs $15 per month for up to 200MB of data per billing cycle. “AT&T claims that, on average, 65 percent of their smartphone users use less than 200MB of data a month,†Cult of Mac explains. It’s clearly aimed at new iPhone buyers who have previously balked at paying $30 per month for data on top of their calling plan, but it will be interesting to see how many users actually buy into this option -- especially when it costs $15 more for each 200MB you go over your original allotment.DataPro will likely be the choice of most iPhone users, which will cost $25 per month and serve up to 2GB of data per billing cycle; once you exceed 2GB, you will be charged $10 for each additional 1GB of data consumed. AT&T claims that 98 percent of smartphone users use less than 2GB per month, which appears to be their justification for killing unlimited data and creating this new option.As Cult of Mac notes, these plans only affect 3G or EDGE data over AT&T’s network and not over a Wi-Fi connection; thankfully iPhone users will continue to get free unlimited data access from more than 20,000 AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots. Voice and texting plans remain unchanged.The good news in all of this is that existing iPhone owners will not be required to switch to the new plans, and can keep their existing unlimited data plans at $30 per month. (Whew!) If you’re insane enough to make the switch, however, you’re free to do so and no contract extension will be required.Last but certainly not least, AT&T has finally announced that tethering is indeed coming with the release of iPhone OS 4.0 “later this summer†(sure, guys… we heard that story last year!). That privilege will “only†cost you $20 per month on top of your existing data plan -- and we hope you have the DataPro plan, because you can burn through 200MB on the DataPlus plan via tethering in a matter of minutes!It’s a real Catch-22 for potential new iPhone owners -- you can buy an iPhone 3GS by next Monday and stay with unlimited data at $30 per month, or wait for the new hardware that’s sure to be available in the next few weeks and be stuck with these less-desirable data plans. Choices, choices…
http://www.maclife.com/article/news/att_puts_stake_heart_unlimited_iphone_data_tethering_announced
