Thursday
Mar042010
Will AT&T Move to metered Data Plans for iPad?
Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 6:47AM
So I have been hearing more and more chatter that AT&T is thinking of moving to metered billing for the data plan for iPhones and IPads. For those that don't know, currently the data plans tied to iPhones is unlimited usage, which is very nice. It has been widely reported that AT&T's 3G network is increasingly under stress as the iPhone gains popularity but more important, as more and more compelling applications are released in Apple's App Store.
If AT&T moves to a metered data plan of some sort, it will probably have an impact on the success of the iPhone. Individuals like the ability to surf the next, purchase songs, blog, tweet, and Facebook, all without having to worry about how many MB of data they have used in a month. Furthermore, it will already be painful enough to pay a data plan for an iPhone as well as an iPad (should you decide to get both). It is unclear if AT&T is going to potentially not meter the iPhone and introduce metered data plans for the iPad, assuming the data requirements and usage of the iPad will be greater than that of the iPhone user, primarily due to the larger screen of the iPad. One might assume the data usage patterns would increase since users of the large screen would pull down more content such as e-books and e-magainzes.
The wi-fi version of the iPad is due out this month and the 3G version next month; if I hear anything about AT&T's plans, I will post what I find.
If AT&T moves to a metered data plan of some sort, it will probably have an impact on the success of the iPhone. Individuals like the ability to surf the next, purchase songs, blog, tweet, and Facebook, all without having to worry about how many MB of data they have used in a month. Furthermore, it will already be painful enough to pay a data plan for an iPhone as well as an iPad (should you decide to get both). It is unclear if AT&T is going to potentially not meter the iPhone and introduce metered data plans for the iPad, assuming the data requirements and usage of the iPad will be greater than that of the iPhone user, primarily due to the larger screen of the iPad. One might assume the data usage patterns would increase since users of the large screen would pull down more content such as e-books and e-magainzes.
The wi-fi version of the iPad is due out this month and the 3G version next month; if I hear anything about AT&T's plans, I will post what I find.
Reader Comments (2)
I checked the Apple website today and it appears that Apple has done something interesting. They have a 250 MB plan as well as an unlimited plan for the iPad. The interesting point is that there is no contract required and you can activate the service right over the iPad. So, that means you can go month to month with the service and shut it down when you do not need it.
The unlimited data plan for the iPad is only $29.99 a month, so that is a pretty good deal in my opinion.
So for the iPads sold in the UK there is a choice of 4 carriers, which is nice, but not a choice for unlimited data. I wonder when AT&T is going to cave and try and come up with a way to not have unlimited data plans for the iPhone and iPad.