AT&T's data plan cuts: Bad for customers?

Can less be more affordable? Thanks to AT&T's new "improved" pricing policy, iPad, iPhone and other smartphone customers will no longer be able to buy "unlimited" data for $30 a month. Instead, users can now buy 200MB of data for $15 per month or 2GB for $25 for more data-hungry clientele. Critics say AT&T is simply shifting the pressures of their "mediocre" service onto its customers, but some tech bloggers claim the changes are a genuine improvement. Who's right? (Watch an AP report about AT&T's new data plan)

No improvements here: This change is "cynical" and "evil," says Jeff Jarvis in Buzz Machine. Rather than fix its failing infrastructure and "invest in better ways to handle more customers," AT&T simply changed its pricing "to make us use its service less." Of course, AT&T is presenting this as a cost saving, "but in truth, they lowered the value" of their service.

"AT&T's cynical act"

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Customers will save money: "We're definitely mourning the death of unlimited data," says Chris Zeigler in Engadget, but mostly because "unlimited" just sounds good. Since 98 percent of customers use less than 2GB per month, "nearly all users ultimately stand to see a $5 reduction in their monthly bills." And besides, "the plans will feature automatic text and email alerts at 65, 90, and 100 percent usage of your monthly allowance," so it should be "easy" to make sure "you don't break the bank."

"AT&T makes sweeping changes to data plans, iPhone tethering coming at OS 4 launch"

...but customers will still gripe: Whether AT&T offers alerts or not, says Sam Diaz in ZDNet, AT&T has thrown "confusion back into the mobile business" by restricting customers' data usage. An unlimited plan gives users the "peace of mind" to use their phones without the threat of "surprise charges" appearing on their monthly bill. Don't expect people to stop maligning AT&T.

"AT&T's data plan pricing: Bringing confusion back into the game"