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AT&T's 'shared data' plans are a ripoff, but not as bad as Verizon

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Jul 2012 3:41 User comments (11)

AT&T's 'shared data' plans are a ripoff, but not as bad as Verizon AT&T will give users the chance to sign up for shared data plans starting this August.
Dubbed the "AT&T Mobile Share" plans, new and existing users can choose to move to the new plans where they can share a "bucket" of data, minutes and texts across multiple devices.

Moving to a shared contract is not mandatory but can be done without extending your current contract length.

Each plan can have 10 devices attached and each comes with tethering and unlimited texts and voice calls.

"We offer customers a broad choice and the best lineup of plans, now enhanced by Mobile Share," said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility. "With these new plans, the more you share, the more you save. They'll be a good fit for a variety of new and existing customers. But if customers want to stay on their current plan or choose from our existing plans, they can do that, too. It's their choice.

"Today we think of people's smartphones and tablets sharing a bucket of data. But in the future we'll see health care monitors, connected cars, security systems and other devices in the home all connected to the mobile Internet,"
said Christopher. "Our Mobile Share plans are simple, easy and a great value for individuals or families with multiple mobile Internet devices."



The plan:

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11 user comments

119.7.2012 16:34

Is it just me or is this more money than everyone having their own data plan? Especially since I alone would about 2gb of data.

219.7.2012 17:17

This is terrible lmao

319.7.2012 19:30

This is just another attempt to screw the customer over

419.7.2012 19:58

"But in the future we'll see health care monitors, connected cars, security systems and other devices in the home all connected to the mobile Internet"

I really want to switch from AT&T to Verizon to get the new Samsung Galaxy S8, but I am hesitant having another surgery to replace my Pacemaker so it will work on Verizon's network.

519.7.2012 21:18

Lets do a price comparison

family Talk 700 $70
Unlimited messaging and mobile to any mobile $30
3gb data $30x2
add line $9
$169 plus taxes for 2 people


New Plan
6gb plan $90
Lines x 2 $70
$160 plus taxes for 2

Who this benefits depends on how many lines plus how much data usage. Somebody with no smart phones or with little data usage the family talk is best but then the scales tip when high data usage and multiple lines are in play. The is just there business account made available to the public. Truth be told there will be no real monthly savings because they are out to make money. Long term is where your savings start to show and I'm sticking with Sprint for now.

620.7.2012 08:19

I didnt know verizon charged for the data usage on the 2nd phone? Hence the words shared plan?

I thought that i read that it was, for example, 2 gb shared across the board and 10.00 per gb over? Where is AT&T getting 30.00 for the 2nddata line?

720.7.2012 08:42

Sick of ATT................

820.7.2012 11:26

As someone who has been looking to get away from T-mobile due to lack of service I agree that these plans are absolute rip-offs. I pay 100$ less with t-mobile than I would with verizon for the SAME stuff except unlimited talk. Verizon has even more balls because they charge for just about every phone in stock while the other two give you somewhat of a deal. I would rather pay 100$ less each month and drop a call here and there than join either of these shared plans

920.7.2012 12:59

All of the providers are out to rip you off, the only difference is how good or bad the service is for your particular situation. AT&T has coverage problems where I live. And Sprint and T-mobile are much worse. So I'm sorta stuck with Verizon.

1020.7.2012 14:03

The savings in total cost is negligable at best unless I do a decent amount of tethering.
Currently on 1400 share
3 Smartphones (Unlimited data) ($45 business data after discount is about $28)
2 Standard Phones + data $10
Unlimited text with mobile to mobile unlimited
Total bill about $250
Average use of all phones would be about 8-10 GB so that puts me on the $120 setup but I loose the data cushion, but gain tethering.

$120
30x5 (smart and non smart, so maybe upgrading those 2 dumbs to smarts would make it work better)
150+120=270 however I would get a discount which would knock about $40 off.
So the total would be about $230.

So I would save a little bit, but lose my unlimited data on the smartphones.

Not sure I would loose that really since my average usage is about 2-4gb, 1 of the smarts use less than 400MB, and the last uses about 2-4gb.

So I would save a little but not really much at all, not enough that I would really notice it.

1120.7.2012 18:46

Originally posted by ruff469:
Lets do a price comparison

family Talk 700 $70
Unlimited messaging and mobile to any mobile $30
3gb data $30x2
add line $9
$169 plus taxes for 2 people


New Plan
6gb plan $90
Lines x 2 $70
$160 plus taxes for 2

Who this benefits depends on how many lines plus how much data usage. Somebody with no smart phones or with little data usage the family talk is best but then the scales tip when high data usage and multiple lines are in play. The is just there business account made available to the public. Truth be told there will be no real monthly savings because they are out to make money. Long term is where your savings start to show and I'm sticking with Sprint for now.

Also the plan includes tethering which is a separate charge per phone in the other individual plan is it not?

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