AT&T Changes Up Text Messaging Plans for New Customers

[Jeff Campbell]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.appletell.com/technologytell/article/new-att-customers-soon-to-be-limited-in-sms-plan-choices/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+appletell+Appletell&utm_content=Google+Reader' target='_blank'>http://www.appletell.com/technology...t=Google+Reader</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"AT&amp;T is now seriously restricting their SMS plan offerings for new customers. They have just confirmed that as of this Sunday (August 21st), all new AT&amp;T customers will only be able to choose between an unlimited SMS plan (starting at $20/month), or a pay-per-text plan instead."</em></p><p><img height="285" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1299211621.usr105634.jpg" width="600" /></p><p>Saying they are "streamlining" their text messaging plans, AT&amp;T has done away with all the mid range plans (1,000 texts, 1,500 texts, etc etc) for new customers. All they are being offered now is unlimited plans or a pay as you go plan. I never like companies limiting choices, but I can understand wanting to streamline things. I personally have always had the unlimited plan (teenage daughter, you know the drill) on our family plan and it works pretty well. What are your thoughts on this new limitation?</p>

[Brad Adrian]

Well, which is less expensive for AT&T to do, count everybody's SMS usage, calculate monthly bills and deal with overage disputes, or simply charge every SMS customer the $20 and be done with it?

[djdj]

All texting plans are ludicrously expensive. There is less data in a text message than there is in one single second of voice communication. But the going rate for voice is about $0.0013 per second, and texts (if not sent on a plan) are $0.20 each. Nearly two hundred times more expensive.

It's crazy we as consumers are willing to be extorted like this.

[Dyvim]

I bet this is more about the upcoming iMessages in iOS 5 threatening their SMS revenue than any "streamlining". I'm sure they're more than happy to count text messages. They already eliminated my $5/200 texts plan a while back.

It's ridiculous that they get away with charging these texting rates and not including them as part of mandatory smartphone data plans. When it's far cheaper to send email than a text, something is not right.

[Sven Johannsen]

What are your thoughts on this new limitation?
Makes me wonder what the point of the wonderful multi-carrier competative environment is doing for us. We, as Americans, have this love affair with competition and free market, and in the telecom space, what has it got us? Two different schema, GSM and CDMA, devices that don't work across carriers, locked in contracts, phone choices limited by who supports what, and no real benefit. Look at the pricing structures of the big four and they are hardly distinguishable.

I know it is herasy to suggest we should have one cell carrier, and blasphemous to suggest it be heavily regulated, even hurts to type that, but damn, everytime you turn around you get less for more money from one carrier, and the other three hop right on board.

(If you are from some country being raped even more by your carrier, don't bother to whine. I feel for you. Bums me out that you Europeans pay for a liter of gas what we pay for a gallon too, but that isn't the issue. When what we have is going in the wrong direction, it's irritating.)