Internet killed the Texting Plan Star... AT&T SMS plans - Unlimited or NOTHING!

[SunnyD]

Courtesy of ArsTechnica It was really a matter of time, since the SMS cash cow has been abused literally to death.

A leaked document from AT&T shows that the company is planning to offer only unlimited and per-message texting plans starting August 21, according to Engadget. The only available plans will be $20 for an individual unlimited messaging plan or $30 for a family unlimited messaging plan; customers without one of those plans will pay 20¢ per text and 30¢ per multimedia message.

AT&T quietly axed two of its texting tiers in January of this year already, doing away with the $15/1,500 and $5/200 messages plans. In their place, the company offered one $10/1,000 messages tier, as well as the unlimited plan.

Given the "ubiquity" of data plans now, SMS is largely irrelevant since users can now shift to "less expensive" alternatives (for example, I exclusively use Google Voice for SMS).

Of course this also explains why your data plans are now mandatory, capped, throttled, and with high overages. All hail mobile data! The king (SMS/profits) is dead! Long live the new king (Data/profits)!

 

[poofyhairguy]

I wish there were more multi-platform compatible solutions.

 

[Anubis]

TBH it sucks. no one i know uses anything but texts and moving to an unlimitd plan is a 15$ price increase that i dont need or want

 

[Pliablemoose]

Google Voice is an awesome alternative, and it's free.

 

[pm]

Well this is annoying. I'll have to rethink things a bit.

Right now I pay ~$75/month on AT&T for my wife and I. We use ~100 minutes per month, send/receive about 100 texts each per month, and I use ~200MB per month of data and my wife is on a non-smartphone without data (and is happy). We have the $50 450 minute shared family plan, I'm on $15/200MB data, and then we both have $5/200 texts plan. So that's ~$75/month including the corporate discount that I get for my employer... which seems to cover taxes and fees. I'm about 4 months into a 2 year contract... but I can sell my iPhone 4 for about what it costs me to get out of the contact so the contract is mostly a speedbump.

My wife wants about 100 minutes a month and 100 texts.
I want about 100 minutes a month, 100 texts and 200MB of data.
We want to pay as little as possible.

So under the new scheme, I'd be paying ~$30 more per month ($10= two times $5/200 texts becomes $40 for the two of us).

So there's Google Voice... but my wife isn't on a smartphone. And I'm on a contract so I can't port my number... or convince everyone to text to a different number than my phone number... which didn't work the last time that I tried this because no one in my family (particularly my wife) seems to be able to grasp the concept.

So... what to do... I'll have to think about this. I can say one thing... I'm not paying $30 more per month. I'll sell my iPhone and will walk... somewhere.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Well this is annoying. I'll have to rethink things a bit.

Right now I pay ~$75/month on AT&T for my wife and I. We use ~100 minutes per month, send/receive about 100 texts each per month, and I use ~200MB per month of data and my wife is on a non-smartphone without data (and is happy). We have the $50 450 minute shared family plan, I'm on $15/200MB data, and then we both have $5/200 texts plan. So that's ~$75/month including the corporate discount that I get for my employer... which seems to cover taxes and fees. I'm about 4 months into a 2 year contract... but I can sell my iPhone 4 for about what it costs me to get out of the contact so the contract is mostly a speedbump.

My wife wants about 100 minutes a month and 100 texts.
I want about 100 minutes a month, 100 texts and 200MB of data.
We want to pay as little as possible.

So under the new scheme, I'd be paying ~$30 more per month ($10= two times $5/200 texts becomes $40 for the two of us).

So there's Google Voice... but my wife isn't on a smartphone. And I'm on a contract so I can't port my number... or convince everyone to text to a different number than my phone number... which didn't work the last time that I tried this because no one in my family (particularly my wife) seems to be able to grasp the concept.

So... what to do... I'll have to think about this. I can say one thing... I'm not paying $30 more per month. I'll sell my iPhone and will walk... somewhere.

Port your numbers to Straight talk... Pick up a traditional ST phone for wife, hack your iPhone.

http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...!-Everything-you-need-to-know-to-make-it-work!

 

[AstroManLuca]

I'm just glad I don't have to deal with this because I'm on Sprint and all data plans also have unlimited texting, but for people on other carriers it seems ridiculous to charge extra for SMS when you're already paying for data. Then again, paying for anything BUT data seems kind of silly since it's really all the same...

 

[SunnyD]

Well this is annoying. I'll have to rethink things a bit.
...

PagePlus Cellular. Verizon Network, BYOP, prepaid monthly plans.

"1200 Talk'n'Text" plan = 1200 Voice minutes, 1200 2000 3000 Texts, 100mb data per month
$29.95/month, including taxes and fees. Pins are stackable (I think 3 or 4 months at a time), buy from CallingMart when on sale for 5% off. ~$27.xx/month roughly.

You can activate ANY non-blacklisted Verizon phone - including Android phones (except for the iPhone and some Blackberries, and also not never-before-activated Verizon Retail Prepaid phones).

You would have to be a bit more frugal with your data usage, this plan would be overkill for your wife though. Total cost for you would be ~$56.xx month + the cost of phones up front.

 

[gorcorps]

They can't just drop plans... don't those of us on the tiered plans have to be grandfathered in? I am not paying them more money for texts I won't use.

 

[snikt]

They can't just drop plans... don't those of us on the tiered plans have to be grandfathered in? I am not paying them more money for texts I won't use.

Yes, I was originally on the $5/200 messaging plan when they got rid of it. When I recently changed to the $10/1000 messaging plan, the $5/200 plan was no longer available to select though.

 

[mammador]

Texts are too 2G/1990s-esque. and no, i'm not being facetious.

Since millions own smartphones can easily download IM applications and clients, why does one need SMS? it made sense when the feature phone was the dominant platform.

 

[gorcorps]

Yes, I was originally on the $5/200 messaging plan when they got rid of it. When I recently changed to the $10/1000 messaging plan, the $5/200 plan was no longer available to select though.

Okay then, that's what I figured but who knows with these phone companies these days. I may only be saving $5 a month at this point but they will pry it from my cold, dead hands!

 

[gorcorps]

Texts are too 2G/1990s-esque. and no, i'm not being facetious.

Since millions own smartphones can easily download IM applications and clients, why does one need SMS? it made sense when the feature phone was the dominant platform.

There are still plenty of po-dunk little areas people are in that don't get good data signal, so those wouldn't work well. Texts usually go through even when calls fail.

 

[airdata]

I got AT&T to credit me $25 in overages they gave me a few months back when my wife was in the hospital and we were texting back and forth with our unlimited data plan iphones... not including text messaging w\ the unlimited data is already ridiculous. Essentially billing me twice for each text between phones on my account is also ridiculous.

Some lady w\ AT&T actually tried telling me that SMS was a seperate technology, but my logic is that sending a few 1's and 0's via SMS should absolutely fall under my unlimited data plan where I stream HBOGO and Netflix all day over their 3G network.

 

[pm]

Texts are too 2G/1990s-esque. and no, i'm not being facetious.

Since millions own smartphones can easily download IM applications and clients, why does one need SMS? it made sense when the feature phone was the dominant platform.

My wife, my daughter, both my sisters and my father are all on non-smartphones. This group constitutes all of the people who send me text messages (plus my mother but she's on a smartphone). It may be so '90's but there's a lot of people out there without smartphones or data plans and texts are a handy way to talk to them.


Thanks, SunnyD and Pliable. I'll look into both of those. I appreciate the suggestions. I'd heard of pageplus, but straightalk is new to me. Thank you!

And, yes, Airdata, I agree. The who texting thing is a money-making scam... it costs them essentially nothing to send/receive them so this whole business of raising texting fees is nothing more than a moneygrab by the cell phone companies.

Edit:
I read the whole article again and now I see the last line says that only new customers will have to worry about this... so I'm grandfathered in... so I shouldn't have to worry about it... which is a relief... I don't particularly want to dive into things and change anything if I don't have to... although Straightalk is intriguing.

 

[Sheep]

Texts are too 2G/1990s-esque. and no, i'm not being facetious.

Since millions own smartphones can easily download IM applications and clients, why does one need SMS? it made sense when the feature phone was the dominant platform.

Smartphones are still a minority of all mobile phones.

 

[SunnyD]

Smartphones are still a minority of all mobile phones.

But are a significant majority of all new phones sold today.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Edit:
I read the whole article again and now I see the last line says that only new customers will have to worry about this... so I'm grandfathered in... so I shouldn't have to worry about it... which is a relief... I don't particularly want to dive into things and change anything if I don't have to... although Straightalk is intriguing.

Yep, I've been tempted a couple of times now, I see they have reconditioned e71 Nokia's on their web site for $100.

$45/month unlimited text/voice/web on an iP4 is pretty tempting...

The downside is paying for and keeping the E71 and paying for iPhones...

 

[sm625]

But are a significant majority of all new phones sold today.

Do you have any numbers to support that?

 

[sm625]

PagePlus Cellular. Verizon Network, BYOP, prepaid monthly plans.

"1200 Talk'n'Text" plan = 1200 Voice minutes, 1200 2000 3000 Texts, 100mb data per month
$29.95/month, including taxes and fees. Pins are stackable (I think 3 or 4 months at a time), buy from CallingMart when on sale for 5% off. ~$27.xx/month roughly.

You can activate ANY non-blacklisted Verizon phone - including Android phones (except for the iPhone and some Blackberries, and also not never-before-activated Verizon Retail Prepaid phones).

It doesnt mention this on their site. It gives you the impression that you have to choose one of those crappy prepaid phones. Is what you claim a stated policy or is it a loophole that could close at any moment?

Can I buy this used Droid 2 and use that plan with it? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorola-Dr...0837592406?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item3cbb21cd56

 

[Sheep]

But are a significant majority of all new phones sold today.

Are they? The only stat I know of indicates that around 30% of mobile phones are smartphones. There are lots of people out there who either don't want/need a smartphone or don't want to pay the exhorbitant contract fees associated with them, and I doubt that group is going to change their minds unless smartphones and their contracts get cheaper (that might happen when pigs fly out of my ass).

 

[Red Storm]

Texts are still a nice way to get in touch with someone (besides straight up calling them directly) who either:

Doesn't own a smartphone.
Is on a different IM service than you are (Google, Yahoo/MSN, AIM, etc.)
Doesn't have an all-in-one IM app (annoying to setup all your accounts, the app itself could be crappy, etc.)
Even if they do have IM apps, not everyone is signed in/online 100% of the time.

In other words, text messaging can still be very useful. I do hope Verizon doesn't follow AT&T...

 

[Pliablemoose]

Are they? The only stat I know of indicates that around 30% of mobile phones are smartphones. There are lots of people out there who either don't want/need a smartphone or don't want to pay the exhorbitant contract fees associated with them, and I doubt that group is going to change their minds unless smartphones and their contracts get cheaper (that might happen when pigs fly out of my ass).

Yep, I'm concerned that the adoption rates will be killed by the greedy carriers. I think we're actually getting close to the peak in the US...

 

[AstroManLuca]

Texts are still a nice way to get in touch with someone (besides straight up calling them directly) who either:

Doesn't own a smartphone.
Is on a different IM service than you are (Google, Yahoo/MSN, AIM, etc.)
Doesn't have an all-in-one IM app (annoying to setup all your accounts, the app itself could be crappy, etc.)
Even if they do have IM apps, not everyone is signed in/online 100% of the time.

In other words, text messaging can still be very useful. I do hope Verizon doesn't follow AT&T...

It's also extremely useful for keeping in touch with someone who can't answer their phone at work or for some other reason. Leave a message, it'll get to them when they have a chance to check on it, and there's a written record of it so you don't forget.

If I have to get groceries and my wife thinks of seven more things I need to get, I'd rather she text those to me than tell me over the phone and hope I remember.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

People mention alternatives but with Google Voice you need to give 2 #s. You need to launch a separate app. What about MMS?

With other apps like Kik, Whatsapp, Kakaotalk, Pingchat, you need to get people on board. You force people to talk on the same platform. It's the same discontinuity between AIM, MSN, GTalk, etc. Furthermore, people associate AIM, MSN, etc with computers. Gtalk is more and more mobile, but the rest is still computers. People will initiate conversations to you from their computer. Sometimes you just want to ping a message across. It gets annoying when you have a mobile and desktop client logged in. The messages get scattered. The same goes for GTalk when you use it on your phone AND laptop. Sometimes I end up going to my Chats folder to find that message I completely missed. What's worse is on the iPhone, syncing Gmail doesn't sync the Chats folder. You have to go to the damn web version of gmail to pull it up.

So in the end SMS is still very useful. When I need to get ahold of my friend for dinner, I text him or call him. While we have a Whatsapp going and a Huddle going with various other friends, it's just pointless. Some of us actually turn off Whatsapp notifications because there's idiots who are on the east cost who send out a message at 8am EDT and it's still 5am here on the west coast so we're still sleeping.

SMS is like the backbone phone call. You can use any messaging technique to replace the phone call, and even VoIP, but it will STILL be useful at the end of the day.

I think AT&T made a terrible decision today, but oh well. They're gonna rake in cash for this.