Over the last couple of years during its U.S. iPhone exclusivity, AT&T’s network has been brought to its knees by the demands of data-hungry subscribers. Sure, AT&T has been upgrading the network here and there, but CEO Ralph de la Vega said at an investor conference that they’re considering incentives for reduced data usage, and that there’s going to be no way of avoiding usage-based pricing in the future. Details are hazy, but de la Vega says there won’t be any usage caps (which can be bad news for end-users who don’t know their limits and could end up paying through the nose). Now, it’s a tough call – is it worth paying per kilobyte after X amount of megabytes for the luxury of never dropping a call? AT&T’s Consumer Reports rating amply illustrates just how bad their service is currently, and the weakness has been great leverage for competitors – AT&T really has to do something to get out of this rut, and usage-based pricing may be their most viable option right now.
[via WSJ]