AT&T offers unlimited iPhone data to would-be defectors

By on Jan 26, 2011 at 2:20 PM
mobile January 26, 2011

The Associated Press reports that AT&T is quietly offering unlimited iPhone data plans to some iPhone customers despite having killed off its unlimited plan last year. AT&T discontinued its unlimited smartphone data plan this past June and switched to a capped structure, offering users 2GB of data each month for $25 or 250MB of data for $15. At that time, customers with $30 unlimited data plans we’re allowed to keep their plans or switch to one of the new, less expensive plans. According to the AP report, customers who opted to switch from the old unlimited plan to a new capped plan are now being given the option to switch back — presumably as part of a larger effort to dissuade would-be defectors. Verizon Wireless will release the iPhone 4 next month, and the carrier confirmed its plans offer unlimited data for a limited time at launch.

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  • http://twitter.com/Davva360 David Moore

    I still have my unlimited plans grandfathered in but I think it makes sense for AT&T. Most people don’t use 2GB per month or even close to that so they get the extra $5 for nothing. I usually use about 1.2GB to 1.5GB and my wife, who uses Pandora all the time uses about 2GB to 2,5GB. You really have to use streaming a lot to hit the 2GB limit. Having said that it is nice to have the piece of mind.

  • Anonymous

    isn’t competition great!

  • Drew

    Bullshit hypocrite bastards…!! They’re reaching for the bottom of the barrel now. Why haven’t you offered these plans/incentives (free MicroCell to customers with coverage issues) before?? Because you’re full of shit!!

    • AT&T

      AT&T has offered the free micro cell to customers before the iphone with Verizon was even launched. and they have had the unlimited plan so what are you talking about. get your facts strait before you make a fool of yourself. they sent out a letter to the top 7.5 % of customers that had the worst coverage last year and they just offered it again this year. and trust me AT&T isn’t reaching for the bottom of the barrel.

      • Drew

        Don’t be ridiculous… Everyone knows AT$T had/has an unlimited plan (grandfathered) but they don’t offer that anymore….. Hmmm, until NOW. Why dumbass?? Everyone knows they had the MicroCell before but your 7.5% BS that you pulled out of your ass was for customers who’s contract was about to expire. Are you that naive?? How dare you try to defend these clowns and their botched practices. And what is this anyway, an outright admittance to SUBPAR network service. No other carrier is doing this. Seriously, they’re reaching for the bottom of the barrel…

  • Rocker

    Just Got it added to my plan and I didn’t have it before.

    • http://twitter.com/rizzojerky Mark

      How? What did you say? How long have you been with AT&T? Do you have a lot of extra features on your account you pay for each month like GPS, familiy locator?

      • Rocker

        Just asked how much my eft was(Iphone, vzw has it blah,blah,blah), been with them only since Late November. They offered it to me without me even saying it. Called retentions for it.

  • Anonymous

    People are still using their phones to make phone calls? People just send me text msg., email or tweets I don’t answer voice calls anymore and if you get my voice mail, it’ll just tell you to send text msg.

  • Fasttaxfl

    At first the girl acted like she didn’t know what i was talking about. I told her i read it online at several sources including here and the Wall Street Journal. She put me on hold again and then came back and said she was transfering me to the department that could do that for me. The next person confirmed that i was me and said that would not be a problem. He put me on hold again to take care of it. When he came back he told me again how it was not something they usually do but that they would do it anyway. Done deal. Thanks for the heads up.

  • Noneofyourdamnbusiness

    Spell check for crying-out-loud!! We’re is “we are”. What you meant was were. F7, moron!

  • John

    I spent an hour on the phone with them. Spoke to the initial girl, then retention, then retention supervisor and none of them would do it for me. I also explained that they increased the federal universal service fee last month and as a material adverse change to my contract it allows me to cancel my account without ETF. They didn’t budge and offered to credit me $0.28 or to cancel my contract on the spot and I would have to fight for my ETF with claims.

    • H3llain3

      Keep trying! Maybe a different customer service agent will give you different results. Good luck!

  • John

    Also, I have previously had the unlimited plan.

  • JMD

    So,..let me ge tthis right! One only needs to threaten AT&T that they will defect to Big Red,…and they’ll instantly upgrade their data plan to “unlimited”! Duh! It seems to me that AT&T should be more pro-active and upgrade all iPhone users to an unlimited data plan,…if not everyone with a smartphone. Though I just came back to AT&T,…(via a free 9800 from Best Buy last month,…had the Verizon iPhone been 4G capable,…I would suffer the ETF and be at the V-Store in line for an iPhone 4″G” instead of posting this message). JMD

  • http://twitter.com/jrcrow79 EK

    god I hope them going 4G will fix deadzone areas!

  • H3llain3

    I *just* called customer service and was able to receive the unlimited data plan. It may have been easier in my case because I had an iPhone 3g for two years and had the unlimited data plan on that phone. Last June I switched to Sprint and then switched right back to AT&T. In my case, I didn’t have to threaten to leave, I just asked them if they would reinstate the unlimited data. They did so, no problem. Good luck to anyone else interested in this!

  • Highlandchef

    I still have unlimited data; what will they offer me?

  • http://twitter.com/j_nathaniel Jason

    This is amusing.

  • http://twitter.com/Syk0Matik420 Beefy McBigDick

    what AT&T fails to realize is that unlimited data is usless on a crappy, slow, network. they should focus more on customer service and actually making a network that presents SOME SORT OF competition. Its easy to make commercials saying you’re the most reliable but when thousands of independent studied prove otherwise, your commercials mean jjack $h*t. AT&T sucks and if they werent the only iphone carrier for the last 4 years, I would say they wouldnt even be on the radar. juuuunnnnkkkkkk

  • http://twitter.com/Syk0Matik420 Beefy McBigDick

    but seriously, the truth is, they do have decent network in metropolitan areas but the other 90% of the world doesnt live in the stinky, smog filled, ghetto infested cities.

  • Chibears0177

    I think that ATT will let you add that option if you spend enough money each mouth with them. Some people are able to switch and some are not. This is probably one of the determining factor.

  • Anonymous

    Um how bout our NON IPHONE USERS AT&T ONLY CARE BOUT IPHONE INSTEAD OF OTHER DEVICES SO SAD.

  • Bmartz25

    so just to have a run down of how to get them to offer me this unlimited plan, what is it exactly I need to tell them?

  • Fasttaxfl

    As i said before they did move me back to the unlimited plan. I had it before on a windows mobile HTC Fuze and only lost it when I got an iphone 4 and renewed my contract. I have been with AT&T since 2007 with 5 phones on a family plan. Not sure if any of that made a difference or if i just got lucky with my CS rep. I never had to say I wanted to cancel my contract though.

  • Fasttaxfl

    Almost forgot…I told the guy I only wanted it back on my line but when I checked my account online I could see where he had changed it back to unlimited on all my lines with a data plan.

  • http://twitter.com/duvalCS tabhacker.com

    I can confirm this, called last tuesday threatened to leave if we weren’t moved off the tiered plan and Art Johnson denied us at first on the phone but 5 minutes later caved in, without me even raising my voice! Quote the BGR article and shove it in their face for added fun!

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