Opinion: Do We Need Unlimited Data for the iPhone 5?

[Guest]

Or, for that matter, do you really need unlimited data on any smartphone?

Opinion: Do We Need Unlimited Data for the iPhone 5? : Read more

 

[cumi2k4]

Do we need it? Absolutely not....not if we have the elusive "reasonable" price plan other than these "cut-your-throat-oh-and-we'll-also-like-your-firstborn-too" price plans.
If you want to cap it, we want to be able to rollover our "unused bandwitdh" too

 

[nebun]

what we need is Plans that start at $1per 1gb....it would be so much easier....look at redbox movie rental...it just works...and makes a lot of sense

 

[house70]

Of course, Gruener's iphone is years ahead of anything else... Coming from him, that does not surprise me a bit. The rest of the smartphone pack matters a whole lot less, as long as his iphone is "happy". Just look at the title....
As far as data plan goes, the rest of the civilized world has far better deals than what we get here. We have a lot of catching up to do.

 

[acadia11]

Uhmmmmm ... yes, unlimited data plans are great if they weren't and actually cost the carriers less money they would all be offering them instead of trying to get rid of them.

Stop thinking like a Republican making the good some how sound bad.

I.e. "Stimulus" became a dirty word, "Tax's on extremely wealthy people" became bad words, "health care coverage " became a bad term, I mean ... seriously now you are going to argue unlimited data plans are a bad thing? Oh the humanity.

 

[pjmelect]

It's all to expensive for me limited or not, I think that I will pass on this.

 

[wiyosaya]

I got one of Sprint's 3G/4G usb modems to test and this is my experience:

If wireless unlimited data, 4G only with Sprint, worked better than 3G in my area, I would dump Road Runner in favor of the Sprint 4G plan internet service in my home. However, 4G is less than half the speed at my home of 3G, and if anyone investigates Sprint's current offerings, 4G is unlimited, 3G is not.

So there is a caveat to the "unlimited" plan that the article does not mention, and that caveat is that 3G is not unlimited, where 4G is, and with Sprint, 4G coverage is not as good as 3G. Therefore, Sprint's "unlimited" service has some built-in limits to it that some may be not aware of.

So, if you are expecting "unlimited" with Sprint, make sure that you are in a solid 4G reception area; otherwise, their 3G service is subject to caps, and their overage charge is $0.05 / MB - that's MegaByte, Yes, MegaByte meaning $50 per GB - way more than other carriers are charging.

 

[g00fysmiley]

yes they do need unlimited on sprint... if they stopped thier unlimited plan then they'd have to say goodbye to alot of thier customers (me included). if they made tiered setups as an alternate thats fine for cheaper data btu as it stands I pay 64.95 per month (like 80 after taxes) for unlimited data and 450 min per month (free mobile to mobile so i rarely use more than 50 min)

basically I'm currently happy with sprint and them getting the iphone is probably really good for the company and will make them alot of money but if they chose to not keep the unlimited plan I can see them not getting nearly as many customers as they would otherwise get

 

[fball922]

I read a long article a while back talking about how capped data plans (this article in particular was referring to ISPs) are a load of crap that are essentially in place to prevent users from using data for competitor's products (Netflix is a huge competitor to VOD, in the case of cell phone providers they want you to require multiple plans to supply your bandwidth to multiple devices, such as blocking wireless tethering applications, but offering their own WiFi hotspot).

Anyway, saying they cap data to save costs is *mostly* erroneous. Once they install the capacity to supply the bandwidth, it costs them next to nothing to deliver it. Yes they have to recoup costs, but they certainly have no legitimate reason to cap data other than to rack up those overage charges and to coax people into buying more plans.

If they are looking to cap people for legitimate reasons, they would cap SPEEDs at peak usage hours because that is how they get billed higher up the internet tier.

 

[happyballz]

This guy's articles get weirder and weirder everytime. It's not a "perception" not everyone uses just 800MB, and by the time you pay 4 times for your "tierd 200MB" plan you could have actually afford the damn unlimited plan if it existed now. If you watch at least 2-3 semi-long videos in HQ you will easily go over the 4GB cap in a month. Not everyone lives in your world and thinks and acts like you, so maybe the best option here is to HAVE OPTIONS and let everyone choose what they want.
But any way you slice it, our choice of wireless carriers is very limited an their data optinos are grossly overpriced. For as many subsidies American telcos get they should have built 7G network covering all of earth at a cheap price by now.

 

[Guest]

The average consumer is not going to go to fully use unlimited data, but with the capability of smart-phones today we are going to be consuming data extremely quickly with Netflix, YouTube videos or downloading apps. If carriers want to improve the quality of their services they need to 1st allow people more flexibility with the current products people have already bought. If people want to tether within their current 2GB plan, do not charge them extra. It's just frustrating for consumers that the $/per GB is ridiculously higher with Carriers than with Cable providers.

 

[AIstudio]

As people consume more and more data i personally think thre is a ned for a TRULY unlimited data package.
Before all these restrictions came in i was on an unlimited data plan and used to stream music from my server to my phone every day. I paid for the software to do that but weeks later the provider decided to put limits on its unlimited plan!!!
Its ALL one way traffic with these providers and it sickens me!!!
example: You pay for 500txts per month and may only use 200 in one month. You have paid for them but do you get reimbursed NO!! you go over your 500 the following month and get slammed with charges!!!! Same with air time and same with DATA plans............
Its ALL one way traffic and it sucks!!!!!

 

[daekar]

I'm with practically everyone else: The existing plans are overpriced, and the lack of unlimited plans is ridiculous. In fact, one of the things that I am totally convinced of is that if I somehow lose the unlimited plan I have with Verizon on my DroidX, I'm just ditching the smartphone altogether. There's really no point in having one if you can't stream video or music... what am I going to do with that large screen otherwise? I frequently exceed 5GB/month on my current unlimited plan, and it irks me to no end that there is even a question that I would have to adjust my usage because they don't offer a plan to fit my needs. What the heck kind of market is this? "We're not going to market what you want/need, we're going to market what we want and you're going to adjust to it" - that's not customer service. Yes, they're in business to GET money, I understand and applaud that, but they're NOT in business to EARN their money. Concern about giving the customer the best product they can and pride in service is nowhere to be found.

 

[Netherscourge]

Considering that all Smartphones use your data connections even when you are not actually using your Smartphone, it's pretty stupid to not offer an unlimited data plan.

AT&T, Verizon, etc... when you have your data connection turned on (non-Wifi data mode), the phone is sending and receiving small amounts of data constantly - even if you aren't doing anything with it. All your apps use the notification tracker to constantly check for new updates and to track your current location.

It uses your monthly data allotment and you're still paying for that stuff.

Sprint will probably be the only carrier with an unlimited plan and I hope they make a FORTUNE off it - just to get AT&T and Verizon back into competition for it.

...and maybe bring down the ridiculous pricing for them.

 

[thently]

Last few months I have used 14 gigs on my iphone I am still grandfathered in to ATT unlimeted plan so I dont even see a plan for me once the unlimited goes away unless they make a 15 or 20 gig plan...

T

 

[halcyon]

I certainly don't need it and if having unlimited data would degrade AT&T's service further, than "NO" thanks.

I would be nice to start seeing appropriately priced data plans however.

 

[thrasher32]

First off, I don't need anything for the iPhone, especially the iPhone. I'm sorry, I'm just not a brainless sheep.

But the real question is do we need unlimited data for smartphones. I dunno, how much will it cost me? I would say unlimited data would be nice, but I'm not going to pay more than, say $25-30 a month for it, which, IMO is still a major ripoff since I can get all the cable internet I want (since I'm with Bright House) for $50 a month at many times the speed of any mobile phone data network.

So, let's talk free texting (it doesn't cost the phone company ANYTHING), unlimited data for $15-20 a month, and $200 or less for a new phone with a 2-year contract, all bringing my total cellular bill down to around $50USD a month, and I'll reconsider dumping my cell phone and going with an ISP-based solution when my current contract is up. Or go to T-Mobile like everybody else.

Verizon & AT&T, are you listening??

 

[jacobdrj]

Virgin Mobile's 35 dollar pre-paid unlimited data plan is looking better and better (with unlimited texting and 300-400 minutes talk time)... As does Boost Mobile's 55 dollar pre-paid completely unlimited plan for Android (and that price goes down every 6 months by 5 dollars) and Blackberry.

Why do people keep sticking with contracts? It makes no sense to me at all.

The competition is there, people are just not opening their eyes to the available options.

I will never get a contract plan: They are a complete waste of money.

 

[wiyosaya]

[citation][nom]thrasher32[/nom]Or go to T-Mobile like everybody else.Verizon & AT&T, are you listening??[/citation]
T-mobil claims unlimited, but there is also a "gotcha." Go over the limit for your plan - 5GB or 10GB, and they slow your connection speed. I am not sure by how much, but that is their advertised "gotcha."

Anyone out there with T-mobil experience care to comment on this?

 

[bustapr]

no, i dont think we need unlimited bandwidth for phones. dont need to be all day on internet on my phone and dont need to download anything either. And most of all dont need to empty my pockets for that. However I would like unlimited plans for laptops. Traveling, working, and occasional gaming on a laptop with unlimited 4G would be good.

nice trolling on the last line gruener. Also cant not stare at the black guy with funny hair