AT&T to Officially Mandate Data Plans for All Smartphones
a little thing called CHOICE
some of you say well why buy a smartphone and not use it to its full potential. ok people, i believe someone used a car as an example. i shall do it the other way around. then why do people buy expensive ass cars and just store them all in a garage and never drive them? why dont th...
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"Effective September 6, 2009, an appropriate data plan is required to activate or upgrade to a Smartphone."
You only have to have data with a contract. So if you want to have your choice, then there it is.
Blackberry $500 retail
Blackberry $199 w contract and appropriate data plan.
I bet you want to pay retail then, don't ya.
ecycled said:
If you don't want data then pay retail.
"Effective September 6, 2009, an appropriate data plan is required to activate or upgrade to a Smartphone."
ACTIVATE!!!
So, I pay $500 retail for my fresh brand new Blackberry. Then Im told I can not ACTIVATE it on a new plan unless I get Data. What did paying Retail solve?
https://www.phonescoop.com/news/discuss.php?fm=m&ff= ... »
asLeepLessman said:...
Due to recent changes in the menu, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but, Unless you also get French Fries the kid at the register can not sell you a burger with cheese. If you
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so ecycled, lets say its $500 retail price so i dont have to get a data plan... i have to pay EXTRA money so i DONT have to get a data plan. again it all goes back to CHOICES. so your making me make a choice that either way sucks for me cause i dont want a data plan??? pay $500 or get a data plan... nice 🙄
If I have the option (CHOICE) to pay $500 AND NOT get data, then, that is a Choice. I can live with that.
HOWEVER, thats not the case. ALL NEW ACTIVATIONS AND UPGRADES! So this means that even IF I PAY RETAIL for a brand New phone, if its a new Activation, I STILL NEED DATA. So there was no choice. Pay $500 with Data required, pay $200 with Data required.
It kills me the people that complain about things like this when there are four larger carriers that you could go to and show your displeasure. Sprint had bad customer service and has closed their eyes and ears to it for years. They started listening when people started leaving the company in masses and then policy changed. Prices dropped. Customer service improved. If you don't like this particular rule, leave AT&T...
just like someone wants a smartphone and not want to have data service on it. saaaammeee thing.
and if you wanna say "well he has to get insurance on it or something like that..." well he has the CHOICE to get a cheap insurance with just liability (regular plan)... or a more expensive plan with everything that covers all damages (plan with data service).... doesnt he???
Choices....
To use the car, you are drive it.
To use the smartphone, you activate it.
To Drive a car, you must have insurance, there is no choice, it is law. You have the choice to have cheaper insurance but you must have coverage.
To use activate the smartphone, you must have a plan. you can choose a cheaper personal plan, or a more expensive corporate level plan but you still must get one of them.
You can keep an uninsured car in the garage and never drive it, just play the radio and adjust the seats.
You can keep an unactivated phone on your desk and just play with the calendar and maybe a game on it.
I understand the nee...
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PhonemanJ said:SO! why exactly are you (the car dealer) telling me that unless I sign up to your "Fuel Saver Program" I can not buy the car?
his car is going to run on a more expensive fuel (Data service)than a cheaper car.
PhonemanJ said:Yes!
Ok Pocket_Girl, lets go back to your original analogy. The person made the option to purchase the most expensive car he could(smartphone).
PhonemanJ said:His cost of owning that vehicle also goes up over having a less expensive car.Yes!
PhonemanJ said:His insurance on that vehicle is going to be much greater than a less expens...
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Go to sprint or verizon hell even t-mobile. and get a blackberry or a PDA phone, they will make you get the data. so... why are you talking about at&t?? other companies did it way before them.
Bin Laden was not the 1st Terrorist in the world. There was MANY Terrorist before him. Why do most people only mention him when they talk about Terrorist?
Because AT&T actually went the next step and Announced that it will become a Mandate. "All the other companies" as you put it, may very well be doing this but they didnt announce it as if it was ok to do. You know why? Because unlike a AT&T rep who as of Sept 6th will not have the option to sell you a smartphone without data, a T-Mobile rep, Verizon rep and Sprint rep can pull strings and STILL get you into that smartphone without data. Its not a Mandatory Requirement for them its a store policy that can be bent and/or broken.
I just sold a phone last night, ...
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still messed up. still sucks for customers. still WRONG. i can tell you in my area there are companies that will not force ANYTHING on you like this. thats why people leave companies like AT&T and come to us cause we dont force anything down our customers throats.
A new spartphone without data on verizon's network cannot SMS, MMS, Suffers from poorer signal than data activated smartphones,it will also frequently drop calls and the call quality (voice and connection) will be poor. I've seen a few phones where this was done, in every case, the customer ended up just buying a normal phone/getting the data anyway, because the costs far outweigh the benefits. (and a rep caught activating a phone this way risks their job).
So basically, you end up paying for a plan that rarely works, so that you can occasionally make calls on your PDA.
It is not a store rule, it is a Corporate requirement and Verizon did make a p...
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Am i missing how that is the same as AT&T?
If we simply jump ship as suggested, nothing is solved. STAYING SILENT WILL SOLVES NOTHING!
So for those who chose not to say anything or those who call what we are doing complaints, take your shoes off and relax. I will fight for you because I would rather lose my voice screaming; THIS IS WRONG! then lose my wallet crying; thats just the way it is!
You say jump to another Carrier but do you realize what 1 carrier does, the others usually do to? Take my McDonalds point for example
asLeepLessman said:...
Due to recent changes in the menu, I hate to be
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Don't like McDonald's? Go to Wendy's or Burger King or better yet, just cook at home (home phone).
I DO like McDonalds, but I can not have a Burger with Cheese without Fries. Thats the problem. You say I should just go to another restaurant like Burger King or Wendys but you didnt answer me as to what should I do when they pick up the policy?
1 more thing, we are talking about Cellphone Service here right? Ok, so what about the people who live in a area where AT&T is the best service provider? Should they go to another service provider too? So now Not only can I not get the phone I want without the service I Do Not want but Now I cant even get the service thats best for me. Your solution is not enough to please me. I would rather pay...
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I'm sorry you can't get everything you want for the price you want, but eventually, everyone needs to grow up.
2) If she's not going to use the data plan, her son got her the wrong phone
3) 50 isn't old, and chances are if she had the phone anyway, she would learn to love the data capability of it.
Do you have any idea how many smartphones reps sell to people 50+? a lot of people are getting them because all they really care about is email. Once someone retires, they can get a smartphone and always be in touch with their children/grandchildren without having to lug around a computer. Smartphones also are easier for p...
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I can see how you would think initial brand new service is an activation even at retail but I have yet to see a definition of that, and working for at&t indirect retailer until they give me that definition that is how I will operate.
Agreement including provisions = discount
No Agreement = no discount
The att terms and conditions state that any phone being activated after september 6th will require a data package. Thus it dosent matter whether you take the discount of a 2 year contract or purchase the phone out right with no contract extension, you will still have to have the data package.
They made the decision because they are taking a massive hit by selling smartphones below retail costs on contracts without a data plan, and considering most new smartphones have dozens of points of "live connectivity" it is becoming cost prohibitive to offer a block when they are making no profit on the plans anyway.
Not only doesn't it make sound business sense, but it's stupid. Non-smartphones are increasing in capability all the time, and the differences between them and smartphones is getting harder to distinguish in many areas. You have several non-smartphones to chose f...
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oh ok they changed and i have to except it? says who? AT&T does. oh ok then i am totally fine with that. you want to rub sugar in my eyes because you changed the way you do things? oh ok!! sure because you said so.
omg are you seriously going to think just because you put it that its stupid to have a smartphone with no data service and so that AT&T can be stealing more money out of their customers pocket that everyone wil just take it?
not choices have a cost to them. trust me. many choices in life are free therefore no cost to them. because i chose to buy a TV with no DVD player there is not co...
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And it's ATT's network. If they wanted to say that all phones activating on their network had to be pink, and the only acceptable ringtone was "Never going to give you up." they can do so BECAUSE IT IS THEIR NETWORK. The cost they pay is in lost subscriptions.
If you don't like it you can leave and go elsewhere. That is your right as a consumer.
They are grandfathering in old plans/phones, so they are doing NOTHING TO YOU until YOU CHOOSE to do more business with them. If you do not choose to do business with them when you are out of contract, then you lose nothing.
-You do not own the network that the phones operate on, thus you have no say in said network or the requi...
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They are telling new customers this:
"We have a wide area of phones that are excellent for making or receiving calls, texting, music playing, even internet browsing and email that you can get with our basic plans.
If you need on the go email and plan on heavy internet usage, we also have several phones designed for those uses. Now, because they are capable of more, they cost more, but most customers find those features worth the cost, if you don't, one of our basic phones is better suited for you."
If a customer does not need/understand push email/internet browsing/other features of a smartphone, a smartphone is the wrong device for them, and their purchasing of that d...
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i'm glad that some people have sense.
whiner girl = SHUT UP. PLEASE. you don't even realize that you make no sense. it's tragic.
😁
Being selfish petty consumers != consumers who are in control.
i am being selfish for wanting something a certain way? damn i am sorry i want cheese in my hamburger, i want a BMW in my garage and not drive it, a TV with no DVD player.
i had no idea that AMERICA was not about FREEDOM and CHOICES. we should tell all those people being smuggled over that they might want to change their mind because you dont get to make the choices you want in America....
You are just throwing a fit because you can't get whatever you want.
As a consumer it is your "right" to chose the carrier that best fits your needs. It is wholly the carriers right to require (or allow) anything they wish on their phones and plans.
You keep whining about rights.. what about the rights of ATT to decide how they run their business? YOU are trying to force them to agree with your point ...
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I too an convinced that POcket_Girl is about 15 years old, because she is making hersel look incredibly bad and still doesn't understand.
Simple, like half of your comments.
That argument ceased to be relevant onces phones like the original EnV were released.
If you're not using data on a smartphone and still want to pay $199 for a $500 phone, then yes, YOU SHOULDNT GET ONE. Go get a dumbphone with a qwerty keypad.
The only people that are even pissed off about this are people that have phones they don't really need.
Smartphones are data intensive phones, and if you're not using data you should make a new CHOICE and go with a different device.
There are plenty of choices out there, you just have to pick which one you want to excercise.
Chris
Allowing people to purchase smartphones without the data plan is no longer profitable for ATT.
NO COMPANY will lose money to keep customers. You obviously don't understand this. You seem to think that as a consumer you deserve to have everything you want, when you want, one the network you want, for the price you want.
The only way you'll get that is to take a nice nap and dream about it. Companies in the real world cannot operate that way. Maybe once you understand a bit about business, or even what the word "rights" actually means, you'll understand that.
You are just being greedy and cheap. No one is forcing you to leave, hell they are even grandfathering people in that dont use data plans now.
This is the wave of the future, so get used to it. Between the price of gas, electric, cable, and phone increasing...cell phones are one of the few bills I pay each month that have actually gotten more features at pretty much the same price.
If you can't afford the data plan, or simply don't want to pay...then my guess is that you don't truly need it and different phone would be a better choice.
Pocket_Girl said:
some of you say well why buy a smartphone and not use it to its full potential.
The "full potential" of every device that I own is to do what its owner needs. I don't need to watch movies, check my bank account, or browse the Internet on my phone while driving. I, on the other hand, want to use voice-over-wifi in my basement, where tower signal is too weak.
I'm perfectly capable of paying, single-time and monthly - but only for things that I actually need.
What I want to do with my smartphone, is customize it to my needs. Disable everything that I don't need, to free the memory and prolong battery life.
I'll use...
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if u need a data phone for wifi for that purpose only youre an idiot.
Kryger said:
well if your signal is weak in your basement..go outside.
Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that? Thank you kind Sir, thank you so much!
On a completely unrelated note, do you by any chance work in customer support?
if u need a data phone for wifi for that purpose only youre an idiot.
Hmm, perhaps you used to work in customer support?
And you want to talk about choice? sure you have a choice, if you dont want to pay for data for a certain phone than you can go across the street to cricket wireless and get yourself a plan for...
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This forum is closed.