Archive for: data
- January 19, 2012 11:14 pm
AT&T seemingly stole the show this week with the announcement of new data plans. And while they go a little ways towards making heavier data users happier, it is T-Mobile pulling out biggest surprise.
On January 25th the carrier will quietly launch two new promotional, “premium” and “ultra” data plans. Get ready for it — 5GB and 10GB data plans with tethering/mobile hotspot for free. In total, you’re looking at a solid ~$20 in savings. Oh, and the best part is that new and existing customers can get in on the fun.
We’re a bit disappointed T-Mobile isn’t broadcasting the upcoming data plans on every possible medium. Both plans are leaps and bounds better than any other major carrier. At the same time, we can understand the carrier wanting to protect their network. A bajillion people jumping online at the same time thanks to the crazy promotional data plans could bring things to a halt.
T-Mobile. Come on. Brag about this!
In case you hadn’t heard, details regarding AT&T’s upcoming data plan revamp were leaked last night. For those that didn’t see it:
Smartphones
- 5 GB – $50/month (With mobile hotspot + tethering)
Tablets
While we’re slightly upbeat that we can now pay $5 more every month for 3 GB of data instead of $25 + $10 when we go over, it’s hardly a vicotry. What most people will gloss over is the fact that AT&T just made it $5 more expensive to own a smartphone on their network…
The 3G/4G tango VZW (and pretty much every other LTE operator) must endure is reportedly coming to an end, according to sources of Light Reading. By “early 2013″, Verizon will begin rolling out nationwide VoLTE (Voice Over LTE) across their LTE network. The beauty of this: No more data/cellular (SMS + Voice) separation. Everything will effectively be transmitted and counted as data.
The same sources also say that VZW is currently doing wider scale testing in two U.S. cities.
The above report is somewhat disappointing depending on how you look at it. On one hand, 2013 isn’t really that far away. Conversely, previous VoLTE rumors involving Verizon claimed the carrier would begin rolling on said service in the 2H of 2012.
We’re eagerly waiting for the day that we can go into full data mode and drop the stingy minutes thing.
Sprint’s plans to cap (literally) mobile hotspot users have been known for quite a while now. Mobile data card users, however, were thought to have escaped unscathed. Too bad they didn’t. A new chart from Sprint has leaked, showing that the current awesome deal of capped 3G and unlimited 4G will soon be replaced by the now standard (and terribly priced) data tiers in 2 GB, 5 GB and 10 GB flavors — no grandfathered options. Going over your allotted bandwidth will cost you $0.05/MB.
Now that hotspot and data card users are getting neutered service it’s only a matter of time before Sprint makes the same changes to smartphone data. Despite promises to the contrary, unlimited data won’t be around on Sprint’s network much longer. On a separate note, Sprint’s network has never been anything to write home about speed wise (on 3G). With the recent launch of the iPhone 4S and the certain flogging iPhone users are putting on Sprint’s network, we can’t imagine things have gotten any better.
Considering one of Sprint’s few redeeming qualities is their unlimited data options, will the drying up of said feature(s) cause people to move elsewhere?
Overall, killing off unlimited data and not giving current unlimited users grandfathered plans isn’t likely to win over anyone.
That’s a wrap, folks! Verizon’s $30 unlimited plan is gone (likely forever). In its place are overpriced tiers offering a pittance of data at their respective price levels. If you managed to squeak into Verizon yesterday solely for the purpose of keeping a grandfathered data plan, we congratulate you.
While we are critical of Verizon’s new data plans we do have to give them some credit. While Verizon is allowing you to keep your unlimited data plan moving forward, they’re also allowing you to receive new phone upgrade discounts and tack on the $20/month 2 GB or $30/month unlimited tethering plan on top of your existing unlimited data plan. AT&T on the other hand refuses to allow those with grandfathered unlimited data plans add any tethering packages to their accounts. In turn, AT&T customers have to decide if they want unlimited data or the ability to tether — with plans that are also grossly overpriced.
If you weren’t on Verizon prior to the ending of their unlimited data plan, are you now? As it stands now, Sprint and T-Mobile are the only players left in the “unlimited” race. T-Mobile throttles data speeds after you surpass 5 GB while Sprint offers 5 GB/unlimited data depending on their 3G and 4G networks respectively.
The tiered VZW data plans and their too high pricing have been rumored and leaked a couple of times over the last several weeks. But it is only today, a mere 2 days before the official July 7th launch date, that we finally receive some concrete evidence.
Exhibit A: VZW brochures that clearly lay out the new data plan tiers and pricing above.
Unlimited data plan users can still keep their data plan as long as they sign up before the 7th. After July 7th VZW is doing AT&T one better by allowing contract changes and phone upgrades while continuing to allow customers to keep their unlimited data. New lines added to your account after July 7th, however, will no longer have the unlimited data option.
Overage charges come in the form of $10/75 MB on the lowest tier to $10/GB on the higher tiers. 3G tethering will cost $20/2 GB and the recently leaked 4G tethering plan will come to market at $30/Unlimited 4G/LTE data.
Again, old news. But it’s confirmed old news.
Did you know that in 2011 the people of the world will have created/replicated over 1.8 Zetabytes of data (1,800,000,000,000 Gigabytes) and that by 2015 that number is set to rise beyond 7.9 Zetabytes? According to the inforgraph put together by EMC claims each single gigabyte we store can create up to a Petabyte (1,000,000 Gigabytes) of transient data — wireless signals, landline signals such as cable, etc. All in all, the digital world is exploding. Literally.
Check out the full infograph in all it’s 539 x 9973 glory after the break…
Verizons upcoming data plan shake-up is now confirmed for July 7th thanks to a mountain of material leaked to Android Central. Pricing for the lowest data tier now starts at 2 GB for $30/month and climb to $80/month for 10 GB of data. Hotspot access will set you back an additional $20 for 2 GB of data allotment while overages are a flat $10/GB. Pricing is the same for both 3G and 4G.
In short: These plans suck. Majorly.
But don’t take our word for it. Hop inside for the fate of unlimited plans as well as a rather lengthy internal Verizon Wireless email that will probably answer any and all questions you may have…
While the major U.S. carriers embark on a race to see who can screw U.S. customers over the most, fastest, T-Mobile has sat by relatively uninfluenced. But we’ll be honest. The writing is on the wall. It isn’t a questions as to if the nation’s 4th largest carrier will implement data plan tiers and do away with unlimited plans, but when. It’s a sad fact, really.
But maybe it isn’t quite as bad as it seems. A new leaked slide detailing what are claimed to be T-Mobile’s upcoming data tiers actually look pretty decent.
Even more reason for AT&T to not acquire T-Mobile is that T-Mobile simply throttles your data speeds after you go over your designated data cap to mere “2G” speeds. Seems to us that T-Mobile is still one of the best deals in the wireless world. What do you think: Are T-Mobile’s claimed tiered data plans “fair”?
**For the record: We have a T-Mobile card in house that we use religiously. And while we hit our current 5 GB cap mere days into a month-long billing cycle and in turn receive a throttled connection, we’re still getting a solid 1-2Mbps connection. Our average, un-throttled connection is up around ~4Mbps.
