The previously announced plans, dubbed "Mobile Share," include unlimited text, talk and a pre-set data plan for a single device at a fixed price. Additional devices can then be added to share the data plan for between $10 and $30, depending on the type of device.
For instance, a 4GB iPhone data plan ($40) with Unlimited Talk & Text ($70) and an additional iPad ($10) will run $120 per month, while a 10GB iPhone data plan ($30) with Unlimited Talk & Text ($70) ($120) and an additional MacBook Pro ($20) will fetch $210 per month.
And since it can be confusing to figure out just which plan may work best, the carrier has launched a Mobile Share Planner tool as a simple way to estimate your current usage on each device.
The planner calculates your total estimated usage and recommends the right Mobile Share plan, from 1 GB to 20 GB. The tool also shows you the estimated costs for that plan.
AT&T says that subscribers can adopt the new plan without modifying their contract but says subscribers must tie the plan to an active smartphone subscription, meaning the shared data plans won't be available for purchase without voice and text.
Unlike Verizon, however, the carrier says it plans to continue offering its existing mobile plans to customers.
48 Comments
Publishers take note. If you want to get away with Collusion, follow AT&T and Verizon's example.
... with per-device fees which make them largely immaterial for swaths of users.
The planner tool isn't at the link in the article, you have to search for it. It's also a very simple tool and would benefit a lot of current AT&T users if it were able to take current equipment and usage then show a comparison between our current plan and mobile share. Once this is done, we could modify or add equipment types to see what works best. I created a series of spreadsheets and found the cost/device doesn't necessarily drop when you add more data, it all depends on the type of equipment being added. As long as you have a non-smartphone, it appears you're going to pay more for mobile share than AT&T's traditional plans. (Yes, there are family plan users who still use "dumb" phones.)
So I pay $50 for 2Gb iPhone plan and $30 for 3gb iPad plan. Comes to $80 for 5gb. If i switch to shared price model, it is going to be $120 for 4gb or $135 for 6gb. FU AT&T!
Can't imagine how fast my teenage son would burn through a shared data plan.
AT&T, we need account-holder configurable quotas per device!