Items tagged with Unlimited
When you’re the last place wireless carrier in the United States, and have a reputation for spotty coverage and service quality, you need to make some noise in order to get noticed. That’s just what Sprint is doing with its latest promotion, which provides one year “free” of unlimited service if you switch from your current wireless carrier. We put free in quotes, because you know that there’s rarely a completely free lunch when it comes to wireless carriers. You will still be responsible for paying for the SIM ($2.99), shipping and handling charges for the SIM (a rather ridiculous $10) plus taxes and fees associated with the monthly unlimited plan pricing. Your other out-of-pocket costs (with...
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When you are in fourth place among the America’s top four wireless carriers, you need to do something to stand out from the crowd. If you can’t best your rivals on speed, service quality or coverage, the best target to aim for is pricing. Sprint is doubling down on its “value” positioning today with the announcement of a new promotion that provides five lines of data for just $90 per month. That $90 pricing will get you unlimited data, calling and texting for each line. In order to take advantage of the pricing, you will have to sign-up for AutoPay for the first line, after which you’ll pay $50 per month. Adding a second person takes the total to $90 per month. Adding the third, fourth and fifth...
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It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease, and after Sprint announced a new "All In" unlimited plan that would restrict streaming video to 600Kbps, customers collectively made a squeak that Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure heard "loud and clear." As a result, Sprint has backpedaled on its streaming video cap and announced that it's removed it altogether. "At Sprint, we strive to provide customers a great experience when using our network," said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure. "We heard you loud and clear, and we are removing the 600 kbps limitation on streaming video." That's a win for consumers, though Claure left the door open to throttling speeds. "During certain times, like other wireless carriers,...
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Sprint is bringing out the big guns to promote its new All-In “unlimited” calling, texting, and data plans. The third-player U.S. wireless carrier has brought out none other than David Beckham to pitch All-In, but there are a lot of “gotchas” that you must take into consideration before you start jumping up and down for joy. For starters, at $80 per month with an included smartphone lease, All-In is actually $10 a month more expensive for iPhone users that were on Sprint’s old iPhone for Life program. But by upping unlimited plan pricing $10 (CEO Marcelo Claure is a man of his word), Sprint is hoping that it will garner more attention from potential customers by expanding the number of handsets...
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Nobody panic, T-Mobile hasn't said it's planning to yank its unlimited data plan. At the same time, don't get too comfortable thinking that the nation's 4th largest carrier never would make such a move. Mike Sievert, T-Mobile's Chief Marketing Officer, had some interesting things to say about unlimited data, which the company views as a "part of a larger value proposition." Sievert says that even though T-Mobile offers unlimited data, it's not the reason the company exists. The wireless carrier is much more focused on pitching itself as the "Uncarrier," and whether or not unlimited data always fits that persona, so be it. "A competitor bet the farm on unlimited, and that's all it is," Sievert...
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Most phone carriers these days are doing everything they can to hop off the unlimited data bandwagon. Both AT&T and Verizon have rolled out penalties for refusing to upgrade to their new shared plans; AT&T won't let you use FaceTime unless you've got a shared data plan, while Verizon is forcing customers to switch over if they want to keep their discounted phone upgrades. Now here comes T-Mobile -- moving in exactly the opposite direction. Starting next month, T-Mobile will offer Unlimited data plans, as opposed to Unlimited* data plans. The asterisk denotes the invisible limitations on these services. In T-Mobile's case, the existing restrictions are actually pretty good -- the company...
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Several months ago, AT&T notified customers that it would begin throttling network speeds for users who exceeded a certain threshold, with the definitive throttle point defined as an imprecise "the top 5% of mobile data users." The company has issued a statement clarifying this policy after irate customers with unlimited data plans demanded to know what the cap was and how the company determined who should and shouldn't be throttled. The magic number is 3GB, which conveniently happens to be the maximum amount of tiered bandwidth AT&T will sell you. "Our unlimited plan customers have told us they want more clarity around how the program works and what they can expect," AT&T said. "For...
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Well, it had to happen at some point, right? When things are just too good to be true, they rarely last. That's what has happened with Verizon Wireless' unlimited data plans. At the launch of LTE, it was possible to buy a smartphone and get unlimited 4G for the same price as 3G. Clearly, that was simply an introductory offer. Now, Verizon is planning to do away with that unlimited flat-fee plan for new customers, with the dream ending sometime this summer. A spokesperson for the carrier confirmed that they would be following the lead of other operators in America (they didn't name AT&T, but it's pretty obvious), and new tiered plans will be introduced in place of the unlimited bucket. An...
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AT&T managed to ruffle a few feathers when they announced the end of their unlimited data plan. For most customers -- up to 98 percent, according to the wireless carrier -- the new 250MB and 2GB monthly data plans will actually save users money in the long run, but for those who ordered an iPad 3G in hopes of not having to worry about data consumption, some of you are in luck. According to a report in The New York Times, iPad 3G tablets purchased before June 7 are still eligible for the $29.99 unlimited data plan. For everyone else, you'll have to make do with the new 2GB plan for $25/month. That isn't such a big deal for iPhone customers, where 3G data usage tends to be lower, but could...
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Unlimited plans seem to be all the rage these days, particularly with wireless carriers. But we've always viewed them as things that should be treated with skepticism. "Unlimited" sounds great in theory, but the high prices that accompany them mean that you best be taking advantage of that "unlimited" allowance.Over a year ago, Sprint shook up the wireless world with their "Simply Everything" plan, which allowed smartphone owners to access unlimited data, texting and calling for a flat $99.99 per month. The great news is that you always know what your bill will be, but the bad news is that you're paying $100 per month for services you may not really be using.Earlier in the month, both AT&T...
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Recession got you down? Thinking of canceling that cellphone contract? Need a bailout in order to keep that texting habit alive? Virgin Mobile USA is looking to make the most of a bad situation (not to mention rival Boost Mobile's completely attractive $50 unlimited plan) by offering up a $49.99 Unlimited Plan that's sweeter than most similar alternatives. It should be noted that this particular plan doesn't include any data whatsoever, and furthermore, no text or multimedia messages are included. In other words, this plan is strictly for talking, but considering that there's no contract attached (it's prepaid with no activation or roaming chargers), it's still a solid deal. The plan will become...
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I never use up my cell-phone plan minutes, do you? The cheapest plan gives you more than I'll ever need. But it's still always in the back of your mind when you're talking on the phone: Don't go over. Time Warner Cable wants to put "don't go over" in the back of your mind, too, when you're uploading or downloading stuff on your cable Internet connection with them. They're introducing monthly allowances on bandwith use, and will levy fees for going over your limit. Metered usage is common overseas, and other U.S. cable providers are looking at ways to rein in heavy users. Most have download caps, but some keep the caps secret so as not to alarm the majority of users, who come nowhere close to...
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On Monday Skype, announced new subscription plans that allow flat-rate unlimited calling to 34 countries. It should be noted that for Skype defines unlimited as 10,000 minutes / month; after that standard fees apply. Of course, 10,000 minutes equates to about 5 hours a day, so what the heck?The company said it was offering unlimited calls to landline and cell phones in the U.S. and Canada for $2.95 a month.It also offers unlimited calls to phones in 34 countries including Australia, China, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom, for $9.95 per month, it said.Skype users in Europe can choose from unlimited plans ranging from 2.95 euros to 8.95 euros a month depending on the destination of...
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Put this in your rumor bucket for now, but the Financial Times says Apple is in discussion with the music industry over a possible "all you can eat" music plan for iTunes.Apple is in discussions with the big music companies about a radical new business model that would give customers free access to its entire iTunes music library in exchange for paying a premium for its iPod and iPhone devices.The “all you can eat” model, a replica of Nokia’s “comes with music” deal with Universal Music last December, could provide the struggling recorded music industry with a much-needed fillip, and drive demand for a new generation of Apple’s hardware. It very much seems out of character for Apple. Apple...
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Verizon Wireless started a price war on Tuesday by announcing a $99.99 unlimited calling plan across the United States. The ink barely had time to dry on the press release before AT&T matched the offer.Verizon Wireless introduced an unlimited calling plan for $99.99 a month on Tuesday, a move that was quickly matched by AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile USA and weighed down stock prices for all U.S. mobile carriers.Verizon Wireless was apparently the first major carrier to make an "unlimited" plan available nationwide with no domestic roaming or long-distance fees. Its announcement was all but five hours old when AT&T announced its own unlimited plan.Three hours later, T-Mobile followed...
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Apple is expected to announce a movie rental service at Macworld. Hoping to reduce some of the impact, Netflix is going to expand its streaming movie service. Formerly users could only watch a limited number of hours based on their subscription tier, but beginning Monday, all but the lowest tier will have unlimited access to streaming video.The Associated Press has learned the change will become effective Monday, on the eve of Apple's widely anticipated move into the movie rental industry. Although Apple hasn't confirmed anything yet, Chief Executive Steve Jobs is expected to make it official during a presentation Tuesday in San Francisco.Netflix is gearing up for the increased competition by...
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