AT&T’s CEO, Randall Stephenson, was speaking at an investor conference in New York last Friday. Of the many things he said, his prediction that an American operator would introduce a data only smartphone plan during the next 24 months seems to be getting the most attention. Why? Because chances are most of you are paying close to $100 a month for a bucket of minutes, a bucket of text messages, and you’ve also got a bucket of data. Get rid of the first two buckets and you’re bound to raise some eyebrows. We’d like to point out that you can already get data only plans from AT&T simply by getting a SIM card and opting out of paying for voice and SMS. Should you happen to get a phone call or a text message on that data only SIM, then you should be ready to get raped with fees, but it’s definitely possible to go data only today.
Why would operators want to push data only plans? That’s a good question. By using data for voice and messaging, chances are you’ll run through your data bucket faster. If you do that, then of course you need more data, which means you’ll pay more for an even larger bucket. We can’t really analyze Randall’s quote since it’s meaningless without any price points to compare and contrast, but knowing AT&T … they’ll likely find a way to screw you over.
Here’s the thing. Operators are still making a ton of money off phone calls and 160 character text messages, but that revenue is noticeably shrinking. Revenue from data plans is rising, but not fast enough. Put yourself in AT&T’s or Verizon’s shoes, what would you do?
Look, if you want to save money, then go with an operator like Straight Talk or Simple Mobile. You pay for a SIM, you pop it in an unsubsidized device, and you’re good to go. Every time you pay your AT&T bill you’re paying not just for accessing the network, but for the stores AT&T has to operate, the ads they run on TV, and the bloatware their developers have to write.
[Via: Engadget]