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The answer "because they want to make more money" doesn't seem particularly insightful. AT&T is moving from an all-you-can-eat data structure to one where the

by hugh3 16y ago

The answer "because they want to make more money" doesn't seem particularly insightful. AT&T is moving from an all-you-can-eat data structure to one where the people who consume the most network pay more. Of course this wouldn't be a problem if Steve Jobs hadn't made an implicit promise that you'd be able to get all-you-can-eat data from AT&T for $30 on an iPad, motivating many people to buy one. I almost bought one last weekend based on this assumption, now I'm glad I didn't. But does anyone know whether a high-bandwidth user really costs AT&T significantly more than one wandering around with their phone on downloading just a trickle of data. AT&T already paid for their infrastructure, right?

maukdaddy 16y ago
Marginally, a high bandwidth user would not cost that much extra than a "normal" user because most of AT&T's infrastructure costs are probably fixed. However, the opportunity cost of a high bandwidth user is much greater, because their use might be denying 100 other "normal" users access to the network. If 25% of those users decide to cancel because their service sucks, then AT&T has lost significant revenue. *Note I am not apologizing for AT&T at all, in fact I think they are evil.
- davidblair 16y ago
  The problem with the 100 "normal" users is the number of support calls they generate. It's a tough trade off to make. The way I see it is that you can plan for the increase in data usage and save lots of money on support staff. The commoditization of wireless access is happening and it seems like AT&T/Verizon are making it easy for someone else to enter the market. Clearwire & Sprint are quickly rolling out a 4G network in major metropolitan areas offering unlimited service for $30/month.
noelchurchill 16y ago
If you had bought one last week then you would have gotten the all you can eat plan for $30. I think that plan is still available until next monday, unless I'm mistaken and it ended last monday...
- ben1040 16y ago
  >If you had bought one last week then you would have gotten the all you can eat plan for $30. But you can't sign up for the unlimited plan and turn it off whenever you please, which is how Apple is still advertising the iPad despite these changes being announced. [1] At this point nobody can a new iPad and still get this old pricing, given that the iPad is backordered 7-10 days and the changes take effect in 4 days. [1] http://www.apple.com/ipad/3g/ http://www.apple.com/ipad/3g/
  - proee 16y ago
    How can they continue to advertise unlimited? This is downright lying.
- gte910h 16y ago
  The point (for at least the ipad) was to get the ability to get that plan only in the months you need it, not all the time.
- nnutter 16y ago
  What I've read is that as long as your plan is on auto-renew you can keep the $30/unlimited but it will not be available as a new package. In other words, if you stop auto-renew and then enable a package you will have to choose one of the two new plans.
imajes 16y ago
I'm still genuinely perturbed that people think the integrated 3g here is a good deal. I got the WiFi iPad, specifically so I could choose the right data provider and get on-the-go data for my MeFi. (which would also support my iPhone, my friend's iPhones, etc). I know integrated services are good, but i'm honestly not sure i want a device which packs several components each with a per unit cost of > $20. I'd much rather look for competitive deals. Same goes for GPS. Now, if we couldn't only get them to talk better to each other....

by hugh3 16y ago

maukdaddy 16y ago

Marginally, a high bandwidth user would not cost that much extra than a "normal" user because most of AT&T's infrastructure costs are probably fixed. However, the opportunity cost of a high bandwidth user is much greater, because their use might be denying 100 other "normal" users access to the network. If 25% of those users decide to cancel because their service sucks, then AT&T has lost significant revenue. *Note I am not apologizing for AT&T at all, in fact I think they are evil.

davidblair 16y ago
The problem with the 100 "normal" users is the number of support calls they generate. It's a tough trade off to make. The way I see it is that you can plan for the increase in data usage and save lots of money on support staff. The commoditization of wireless access is happening and it seems like AT&T/Verizon are making it easy for someone else to enter the market. Clearwire & Sprint are quickly rolling out a 4G network in major metropolitan areas offering unlimited service for $30/month.

noelchurchill 16y ago

If you had bought one last week then you would have gotten the all you can eat plan for $30. I think that plan is still available until next monday, unless I'm mistaken and it ended last monday...

ben1040 16y ago
>If you had bought one last week then you would have gotten the all you can eat plan for $30. But you can't sign up for the unlimited plan and turn it off whenever you please, which is how Apple is still advertising the iPad despite these changes being announced. [1] At this point nobody can a new iPad and still get this old pricing, given that the iPad is backordered 7-10 days and the changes take effect in 4 days. [1] http://www.apple.com/ipad/3g/ http://www.apple.com/ipad/3g/
- proee 16y ago
  How can they continue to advertise unlimited? This is downright lying.
gte910h 16y ago
The point (for at least the ipad) was to get the ability to get that plan only in the months you need it, not all the time.
nnutter 16y ago
What I've read is that as long as your plan is on auto-renew you can keep the $30/unlimited but it will not be available as a new package. In other words, if you stop auto-renew and then enable a package you will have to choose one of the two new plans.

imajes 16y ago

I'm still genuinely perturbed that people think the integrated 3g here is a good deal. I got the WiFi iPad, specifically so I could choose the right data provider and get on-the-go data for my MeFi. (which would also support my iPhone, my friend's iPhones, etc). I know integrated services are good, but i'm honestly not sure i want a device which packs several components each with a per unit cost of > $20. I'd much rather look for competitive deals. Same goes for GPS. Now, if we couldn't only get them to talk better to each other....