Sunday, June 13, 2010

New iPhone 4G data hogs will be forking over more bacon

AT&T’s new data pricing goes into effect June 7, and those who use the most bandwidth will feel the pain. The old $30 per month unlimited plan is gone, and has been replaced by a new plan that charges more if you use more. A $25 plan gets you 2 gigabytes per month, and an additional $10 for each gigabyte used after that. They will also offer a $15 per month plan that comes with a scant 200 megabytes of data.

Current users will have the opportunity to be grandfathered into the unlimited plan, but any new customers will have to pay based on what they use. Not coincidentally, the new plans go into effect right as Apple CEO Steve Jobs is planning to announce significant upgrades to the iPhone, so new customers attracted by the expected 4G capability will be forced into the new tiered system.

AT&T stated that about 98 percent of its smartphone customers use less than 2 gigabytes per month, and two-thirds use less than 200 megabytes per month. The company has also had to deal with a barrage of complaints in high-traffic areas of the country, prompting many to speculate as to when other carriers will be allowed to take some of theiPhone business. But as applications allow for more complicated functionality, video content improves and entertainment options accommodate an increasingly-mobile world, it’s likely that iPhone users will find their data needs growing. If that’s the case, they can expect their phone bill to increase as well.

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