Sprint now costs the average data user $10/month. Verizon wants people to may more when they upgrade. But AT&T? They just hate you and want your money outright. Today, today is a good day to be an AT&T customer — just kidding. The above slide contains but a small portion of the new pricing and policy changes that our coming to America’s favorite network in 2011. With so much good news, lets get the party started. First up: messaging plans. The old $5/200 messages and $15/1500 messages are gone. Replacing them are a new $10/1000 messages and the same $20/unlimited plans. Next up, iPhone/non-iPhone upgrades.
- Old iPhone upgrade: subsidized price + $200
- New iPhone upgrade: subsidized pricing + $200 only available for first six months of new plan. After six months, subsidized pricing is as good as it gets.
- Non-iPhone upgrades: $50 and $100 discounts on top of subsidized prices are no more (ala Verizon killing “New Every Two)
Family plans get the shaft as well with per-line activation fees rising from $10/line $26/line up to $36/line. Calling to Canada is rising from $0.29/minute to $0.39/minute. And we saved the best for last — AT&T’s network relief tool that customers have to pay for MicroCell. Once $149, this little device which is pretty much a 50/50 crapshoot in regards to actually functioning properly is rising to $199.
While all of the above changes certainly suck for consumers, it is the MicroCell change that is perhaps most infuriating. AT&T is asking us to pay more for a device that helps their broken network trudge along. Anyone have some choice words/thoughts? Internal change documents after the jump…
