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AT&T 'Working On' Shared Data Plans

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getting to the point where some may say "just forget about data"

tether

Jun 3, 2011, 12:00 AM
I had been with TMO for 10 years. This data thing is getting to me. First, with them, data was unlimited, then "unlimited" was capped at 10GB, then "unlimited" was 5GB, now "unlimited" has a 2GB cap on many plans. Now 2GB & 4GB is what I had to look forward to with AT&T? Verizon's breaking my heart dropping unlimited data too! Guy at VZW retail store said they may not "grandfather" unlimited data plans. My last choice is Sprint & I just dumped my 2 lines of TMO for Sprint's Boost. Boost promises unlimited data (for now) & so far has been great. If Sprint/Boost/VM drop unlimited to a ridiculous amount like 1GB or 2GB, I think I'll just leave them too & go to whomever has the cheapest unlimited phone/text plan & the heck with data.
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T Bone

Jun 3, 2011, 9:04 AM
Let's be clear about that okay, mobile broadband is a FINITE resource, you cannot possibly promise that everyone gets an infinite amount of it.

How long would McDonalds stay in business if they tried to implement a 'everybody gets unlimited Big Macs' pricing model?

The only fair way to apportion a finite resource is to make the people who use more of it pay more, i.e. a tiered plan.

You can't promise unlimited usage of a limited resource.
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tether

Jun 3, 2011, 12:43 PM
How do buffets stay in business? Golden Corral both here in Albuquerque & where I used to live in Chicago are always constantly packed with people. Does that mean they are going out of business soon?
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PaulAlcohol

Jun 6, 2011, 3:53 PM
That's seriously the dumbest analogy I've ever heard. First off... food is in constant supply for a buffet. SO, you can promise ALL YOU CAN EAT. And most buffets will kick you out if you have been there longer than 3 hours. So, your analogy fails on two levels.
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tether

Jun 3, 2011, 12:50 PM
Also, with this logic, it seems Sprint must have an "out of this world" stellar network because they offer unlimited & MANY subscribers use 5, 10 & I have even seen 40-50GB of data per month with no problem. Seems "unlimited" on there network is "all you would like to use per month". WHAT A CONCEPT!! Here in NM, I get 1.3 MB download speeds with Sprint/Boost. Was getting .5 with T-Mobile (on their totally awesome 4G network, lol) & .7 with Verizon's "rule the air" 3G. Seems Verizon & AT&T have to start hiring some Sprint Engineers to find a way to enable unlimited & high-speed data usage on their inferior networks or tiered pricing works too!
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Versed

Jun 3, 2011, 9:43 PM
T Bone, McDonalds and the Mobile Phone industry are two different business models. Different resources for consumption. Maybe unlimited data isn't good, but 2 gb a data isn't either. I can see doing something after like 25 or 30gb. Problem is they complain about a very small minority are abusing the system. Well go after those who are, and leave the rest of us along.
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Phoner

Jun 6, 2011, 2:25 PM
T Bone said:
Let's be clear about that okay, mobile broadband is a FINITE resource, you cannot possibly promise that everyone gets an infinite amount of it.

The bandwidth is already limited by the connection speed, and by the number of days in a month. If a device can handle 2MB/sec, it's limited to 2x3600x24x31=5.4 GB/month.

Now, 3G max data rate is closer to 20MB/sec. Which means, if you start selling 3G devices, you better have a network that can handle the traffic. But nobody has such a network, and 😢 poor AT&T really, really needs the money...

So they use every trick they can to get the as much money as they can - including selling the high-speed devices their network can't handle, charging...
(continues)
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aejaneczek

Jun 4, 2011, 8:11 AM
You switched to Boost with unlimited data huh? You know why Boost has unlimited data, cause it runs at less than 1 mb/s, you aren't going to use very much data running at that speed, not to mention most Boost phones are not smart phones, Boost just got it's first Android like a month ago. Honestly though, I understand why someone would want "unlimited" data, it comforating to not have to worry about overages, but about 1% of smartphone users use more than 2GB of data during a billing cycle. Unless you're streaming Netflix or YouTube constantly you'll have to be on your phone like 10-11 hours a day using data. I use my phone for about 5-6 hours a day and general and don't touch 2GB. I think TMO is doing it the smart way making it unlimited an...
(continues)
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freekazoid88

Jun 4, 2011, 1:12 PM
this is th second boost android phone (samsung galaxy prevail)
the fist one was the I1
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