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AT&T Retools DataConnect Plans with Pay-As-You-Go Option

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The world is going prepaid

ecycled

Nov 23, 2009, 1:31 PM
No more subsidies, prepare USA. Soon your phone will be triple what it is now with a 2 yr contract.

Beware the prepay, beware the prepay.

OOOOooooOOOOOOOooooooOOOOO
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Azeron

Nov 23, 2009, 1:42 PM
I love the idea of no subsidies.
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AndroidRules

Nov 23, 2009, 1:43 PM
Azeron said:
I love the idea of no subsidies.


Do you love the idea of paying $500+ for a cell phone? Doesn't bother me much since I like to get unlocked phones from eBay and other venues but still to the average consumer (especially Americans) it wont go over well.
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kingstu

Nov 23, 2009, 2:16 PM
I love prepay. You get what you pay for with prepay and if you manage your phone usage you can save a lot of money. My postpaid data line has almost $20 in taxes and fees on top of the base rate. Prepaid doesn't have that. It is 100% consumable with no high priced overage charges. No restrictions on what phone you can use or being forced to use buy an expensive data plan with your phone if you don't want to.

No carrier crippled phones. No need for expensive roaming costs--just get a local sim wherever you are. Plus prepaid means it is easy to buy a "disposable sim" so no one needs to know your main number. Prepaid is awesome.
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Azeron

Nov 23, 2009, 2:50 PM
I am on the record in many places on this forum and others. This thing is broken. Carriers love to discount phones to lock consumers into contracts, but the consumers devalue the equipment and even have a sense of entitlement. Cell phone manufacturers should sell directly to consumers and perform all trouble shooting and repairs. Then you wouldn't have liars calling in trying to get exchanged from a Tour to a Droid when there is no problem with their handset.
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flagrantmisuse

Nov 23, 2009, 4:00 PM
Azeron said:
Cell phone manufacturers should sell directly to consumers and perform all trouble shooting and repairs. Then you wouldn't have liars calling in trying to get exchanged from a Tour to a Droid when there is no problem with their handset.



bringing the truth!!
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AndroidRules

Nov 23, 2009, 4:31 PM
Azeron said:
I am on the record in many places on this forum and others. This thing is broken. Carriers love to discount phones to lock consumers into contracts, but the consumers devalue the equipment and even have a sense of entitlement. Cell phone manufacturers should sell directly to consumers and perform all trouble shooting and repairs. Then you wouldn't have liars calling in trying to get exchanged from a Tour to a Droid when there is no problem with their handset.


True. Everybody wants a free iPhone. No doubt about that. I get it all the time.
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sugarb85

Nov 23, 2009, 6:09 PM
LoL...I do too. Some consumers are a trip...I like having subsidies but I don't bitch and moan when the newest phone comes out and I want either...If I want it I pay no contract pricing for it...no matter how much it hurts the pocket...This is what I wish I could tell some consumers when they chew my head off for not dropping the price.
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Jayshmay

Nov 23, 2009, 8:20 PM
Heck, people can get an Iphone for #99, that's certainly not a price to complain about that's for sure.
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Jayshmay

Nov 23, 2009, 8:15 PM
Consumers being binded to a company with a contract is a business model that never should have existed in the first place, not just in the wireless industry, but I think DirecTv binds it's customers also.

I believe in EARNING a customer, is a customer is binded by a contract, a company has no motivation to keep that customer happy.
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muchdrama

Nov 23, 2009, 5:56 PM
Azeron said:
I love the idea of no subsidies.


While I do mind the idea of no subsidies (c'mon...everyone loves their free phone), I surely do not mind the idea of no contracts. It's more more appealing to just go where you want.
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Jayshmay

Nov 23, 2009, 8:24 PM
The thing though about as you saying the option of going where you want, though I do have an unlocked/unbranded Nokia N95, the 3G will only work on ATT. All these carriers have different frequencies, it frinkin irks me.

I'm kinda curious when LTE comes around, for ATT it'll be much further in the future though, but since LTE will be 700mhz on both ATT & Verizon, if there will ever be handsets that will be able to be used on either carrier with 4G.
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muchdrama

Nov 23, 2009, 8:40 PM
Jayshmay said:
The thing though about as you saying the option of going where you want, though I do have an unlocked/unbranded Nokia N95, the 3G will only work on ATT. All these carriers have different frequencies, it frinkin irks me.

I'm kinda curious when LTE comes around, for ATT it'll be much further in the future though, but since LTE will be 700mhz on both ATT & Verizon, if there will ever be handsets that will be able to be used on either carrier with 4G.


Hey, spectrum is finite. That can't be changed.
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Jayshmay

Nov 23, 2009, 9:03 PM
Yeah, I know. It just makes it that much more difficult if a person has an unlocked/unbranded phone and wants to take it to another GSM carrier, 3G won't work. Only EDGE.
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muchdrama

Nov 23, 2009, 9:08 PM
Jayshmay said:
Yeah, I know. It just makes it that much more difficult if a person has an unlocked/unbranded phone and wants to take it to another GSM carrier, 3G won't work. Only EDGE.


Pick your carrier carefully, Padawan.
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kingstu

Nov 23, 2009, 9:05 PM
They could make phones that work on AT&T and T-Mobile 3G frequencies. There is the unlocked Pharos Traveler which can work on one of AT&T 3G frequencies as well as T Mobile 3G. The technology is there for it work on CDMA and GSM and rumor has it the new iphone will have that capability. It is just that telcos are what the phone makers try to please and it appears in the USA that they don't want a device that will work on their competitors 3G network. But if Apple does that then maybe others will start to follow. For WCDMA it is not that hard to have a phone that could work on both TMobile and AT&T 3G frequencies.
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Jayshmay

Nov 23, 2009, 10:45 PM
I hate it that phone manufacturers consider wireless carriers their customers and not US, the people who actually USE their devices. Nokia seems to care more about the consumers than the carriers, but that's about it.
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dave73

Nov 23, 2009, 11:21 PM
kingstu said:
They could make phones that work on AT&T and T-Mobile 3G frequencies. There is the unlocked Pharos Traveler which can work on one of AT&T 3G frequencies as well as T Mobile 3G. The technology is there for it work on CDMA and GSM and rumor has it the new iphone will have that capability. It is just that telcos are what the phone makers try to please and it appears in the USA that they don't want a device that will work on their competitors 3G network. But if Apple does that then maybe others will start to follow. For WCDMA it is not that hard to have a phone that could work on both TMobile and AT&T 3G frequencies.


I looked at the Pharos, and it doesn't have AWS on it. So it won't work for T-M...
(continues)
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kingstu

Nov 24, 2009, 8:38 AM
I was referring to the Pharos with T-Mobile 3G and it also works on 1900 3G for ATT. Most of ATT's 3G coverage is actually on 1900 but they are starting to add 850 coverage. It should work on both 3G's if you are in a location with both. It is just an example of what could be done if the phone makers wanted to.
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Azeron

Nov 24, 2009, 1:34 AM
It depends on the execution of voice. LTE at its base is for data. I am in a minority that favors Verizon keeping its 1x network for voice and thus commissioning 850/1900 CDMA/700LTE handsets. However the majority of persons are supporting either Volga or One Voice so that handsets can be made that will work on all carriers. I do not think it is fair that carriers like AT&T are going to launch LTE two years later and in all likelihood only cover large metro areas and then roam off of Verizon in smaller cities.
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Jayshmay

Nov 24, 2009, 9:30 AM
In all likeliness you will be right about ATT only deploying LTE in large metro areas, and subburbs also. It's sad that ATT isn't as proactive as Verizon it really is. But from a business point of view, isn't it cheaper not to roam and have more usage on native network.
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STEELRIK

Nov 23, 2009, 2:23 PM
Yes, reality hurts,I use prepaid & the rest of the world too.(60% I suppose)
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ecycled

Nov 23, 2009, 4:51 PM
STEELRIK said:
Yes, reality hurts,I use prepaid & the rest of the world too.(60% I suppose)


Liar. Your on postpaid. Most ppl don't use prepaid.
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STEELRIK

Nov 23, 2009, 5:31 PM
Sorry man I buy prepaid credit (like reboost) to make calls. And I KNOW the difference between postpaid & prepaid, also I worked for postpaid & prepaid companies.
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CS2006

Nov 24, 2009, 11:44 AM
who sees the benefits for the customer in signing a contract? I sell T-Mobile (as well as others)We could sell the Even More Plus plans which require no contract but they make no sense for our customer. If you want to buy a My Touch on the unlimited plan the handset would cost $500. The $20.00 per month you would save over two years still leaves you $20.00 short of breaking even. Then you probably want another handset so you shell out the money again. It makes no sense. So now you want to leave but the handset has a subsidy lock. And then your only choice is to go to AT&T.
Not to mention that the carrier can do what they want with rates like cable companies do now. A contract protects you from all of that.
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STEELRIK

Nov 24, 2009, 12:12 PM
Well prepaid & postpaid is perfect for people who doesnt have a stable income (or doesnt want a contract)& for those income wont go unstable like million years later or gets paid constantly (or have good income) are always those who can go to a contract. This is how I see it.
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