AT&T picks up the ZTE R225 for GoPhone
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Via Phone Scoop.
AT&T GoPhone gets two Samsung handsets
Via CNET.
AT&T changing GoPhone rates
Starting on October 3, AT&T GoPhone will offer new rates for its unlimited plans. They will keep both the pay-per-day unlimited plan and the monthly version, but will make changes to both. The per-day plan — Unlimited Daily Talk and Text — will now cost $2 per day, down from $3. Users will only pay the $2 fee on days they make or receive calls, use IM, or send a message. The monthly plan will remain a flat $60 per month, but will now offer the option to add 200MB of data for an extra $15 per month. It also looks like the basic rate is now 10 cents per minute, down from 25 cents. Previously you had to pay $1 per day to get the 10 cents per minute rate. It appears that is no longer the case.
You can get the new GoPhone rates on Sunday at an AT&T outlet or on AT&T’s website.
You can get the new GoPhone rates on Sunday at an AT&T outlet or on AT&T’s website.
A way to use prepaid data on an iPhone
There was a time when AT&T had the king of prepaid data plans. For the same $20 monthly fee it charted postpaid users, AT&T allowed prepaid users to hook up a smartphone and pay by the month. Not long after the iPhone’s release they discontinued it and came back with far less attractive plans: $19.99 for 100MB and $4.99 for 1MB. Still, for someone who wanted a quick data bundle it was serviceable. But then AT&T made it policy to not allow iPhones on prepaid. Thankfully, there is a way around this.
New Pantech handset, Pursuit, headed for GoPhone
AT&T adds LG Prime to GoPhone lineup
AT&T working to improve voice quality
AT&T, by most accounts, is not big on prepaid. They do recognize its prominence in the market, but as a market leader the company is more focused on postpaid data services. It’s tough, really, to think about AT&T without thinking iPhone at the same time. Problem is, the iPhone has caused massive traffic on AT&T networks, especially in urban areas, and apparently that has affected voice quality. (Though voice and data run on separate channels, the overall network can suffer when one part is overloaded.) Prepaid customers, however, care not for the iPhone users. They want voice services. So what is AT&T doing to remedy the issue?
AT&T offers expensive prepaid data plan
One of the saddest moments I can remember in the history of this site is when AT&T announced that it would no longer support its prepaid data plans, which included the $20 unlimited prepaid data plan. I knew plenty of people who used their unlocked GSM smartphones with this plan, but, as with any good deal from AT&T, it was not meant to last. The company first eliminated the plans, and then came back with a set of new, lower-limit plans. Now we learn, via PhoneNews.com, that AT&T will offer prepaid laptop data plans. It should come as no surprise that they’re quite expensive.
No more Pick Your Plan on AT&T prepaid
While other carriers are adding and modifying their prepaid offerings, AT&T GoPhone has discontinued its Pick Your Plan service (via PhoneNews.com. They will continue focusing on their pay-as-you-go options, including the $60 unlimited talk and text plan. This has already gone into effect, so if you want to sign up for AT&T prepaid it will have to be with their 25 cents per minute rate, a dollar a day for 10 cents per minute, or the $60 monthly unlimited plan.
As expected, AT&T adds far more prepaid than postpaid in Q1
Earlier in the week we presented some analysis which showed that both AT&T and Verizon would report adding more prepaid users than postpaid in the first quarter. We got the first confirmation yesterday, as AT&T reported its quarterly earnings. The company added a record 1.9 million subscribers in the first quarter, though only 513,000 were postpaid. That means, on net, AT&T added almost 1.4 million prepaid subscribers. That seems like a pretty significant number. While CEO Randall Stephenson continued emphasizing the company’s focus on postpaid, he admitted that prepaid will likely continue to outgrow postpaid going forward. Two years ago it was pretty difficult to imagine such a development.
AT&T strong on prepaid adds
AT&T was the first major cellular operator to announce its third quarter results, and with good reason. They exceeded most analysts’ expectations, adding 2 million wireless customers for the quarter. Pertinent to our niche, 641,000 of them were prepaid, or 32 percent of the total. That’s particularly strong for AT&T, which isn’t known for its attractive prepaid plans. They did add a $60 unlimited talk and text plan, but that didn’t come until this month, so it wasn’t available for even one day of last quarter. With this new plan, combined with the normally expected sales boost in the fourth quarter, AT&T could see even bigger prepaid gains from October through December.
AT&T GoPhone adds unlimited talk and text plan
AT&T just got serious about unlimited prepaid. The company previously offered unlimited calling for $3 per day with its GoPhone service, but at roughly $90 per month it was far more expensive than competitors. Starting today, the plan will become more comprehensive and less expensive. The GoPhone unlimited plan will include unlimited voice, plus unlimited text, picture, and video messaging for $60.
Too bad AT&T discontinued prepaid unlimited data
A little over a year ago, AT&T decided to remove its unlimited prepaid data option. It’s a service which attracted all types of users, but apparently AT&T wasn’t making enough off them. This becomes a bigger shame as we learn of AT&T rolling out more 7.2 Mbps networks. If only they had just raised the price to $25, or even $30, rather than completely eliminating it. Oh well.
Pantech C180 likely headed for AT&T GoPhone
AT&T gains latest victory against cell phone traffickers
One issue which deeply affects the prepaid cellular industry is the presence of mobile phone traffickers. While they’re not moving narcotics in and out of the country, they’re certainly undermining a system which has proven — if not beneficial, then at least preferable to consumers. Big box retailers like Wal-Mary have prepaid phone packages, which are normally very cheap. This is because the company subsidizes the cost in hopes that they make back the money as the user buys more minutes. However, when traffickers buy these packages and bulk, unlock them, and resell them for a profit, the carrier takes a hit. Enough hits, and the system goes kaput. We’ve seen a number of carriers take on these traffickers lately, the most recent of which is AT&T, which just won four injunctions against traffickers.
AT&T finished with iPhone on GoPhone?
A while back, we asked whether the iPhone can GoPhone. Ever since AT&T GoPhone eliminated their $20/month unlimited prepaid data plans back in November, the answer has been “kind of.” In that, you can probably get it to work, but that paying per kilobyte for a device like the iPhone just isn’t economical. However, there are some customers still grandfathered into the data plan. Among them is Erica Sadun of The Unofficial Apple Weblog. After receiving an odd text message from AT&T regarding iPhone upgrades and service, she found out that she might be out of luck come today.
Could prepaid data plans help carriers?
Once upon a time, AT&T GoPhone had the most attractive prepaid data plan in all the land. It was just $20 per mont for all you can eat data. AT&T soon realized, of course, that people were catching onto this steal, and decided that they weren’t making enough money off it. So they discontinued the plan. Earlier this year they introduced new data plans, but the news wasn’t good for prepaid users. The new system was to be on a per-KB basis, with Pick Your Plan customers afforded a couple of bundles, neither of which is particularly attractive. Yet given recent comments by Glenn Lurie, president of national distribution, it appears AT&T thinks prepaid data plans can fuel the industry.
AT&T GoPhone releases Samsung A167
AT&T drops QWERTY Samsung a117
From Engadget Mobile.
AT&T officially unveils GoPhone Unlimited plan
When we first heard about AT&T’s unlimited prepaid plan, there wasn’t much in the way of specifics. We knew it was $3 per day and included unlimited voice minutes, and that it was being tested somewhere in Florida. On Friday the company made the official announcement that the AT&T GoPhone Unlimited will be available nationwide starting today (May 11). Like the Unlimited Talk option on GoPhone’s Pay As You Go package, the fee will only be charged on days you use the phone.
AT&T testing unlimited GoPhone plan
We’ve seen a number of prepaid unlimited calling plans pop up over the past year or so. These have mostly been MVNOs of one type or another, or in the case of Cricket wireless and MetroPCS, regional carriers. The majors haven’t really gotten in on the action…until now. AT&T GoPhone is now testing an unlimited plan in “limited markets in Florida.” Details after the jump, but as a teaser: it’s cheaper than their current postpaid unlimited plan.
End of week note: AT&T adds 325,000 prepaid
MetroPCS really jumped out ahead of the pack in reporting their Q1 results, and with good reason. They added 684,000 customers, something to brag about these days. It was more than T-Mobile added total. Clearly, Metro won’t top AT&T any time soon. The nation’s second largest carrier added 1.2 million subscribers in the first quarter, so they’re still ahead of the game. Yet 325,000 of those were prepaid, a solid number. Yet that’s not as good as last year.
Motorola EM330 ready to go at AT&T
Via Electronista.
AT&T phasing out 2G phones?
This is not good news for AT&T GoPhone customers. According to a BlackBerry News tipster, AT&T is planning an exit strategy from their 2G network. Since many, if not most GoPhones operate on AT&T’s 2G spectrum, this could be particularly bad for non-contract customers. We learned earlier this year that AT&T had migrated its 2G network to a less optimal spectrum, and it appears that this latest management directive furthers this plan.
New AT&T data plans coming for prepaid
It began with the removal of unlimited prepaid data form AT&T’s MEdiaNet plan. It’s now ended with the abolition of MEdiaNet altogether. AT&T has nixed their fancy-sounding media service in favor of a simpler, more straightforward data program. They’ve even gone and dropped some of the prices for postpaid customers. Engadget Mobile has a fact sheet on the new plans. There’s a prepaid option on there.
AT&T pays $2 million to settle customer privacy suit
It’s been a year and a half since AT&T acquired Dobson Communications. Since then, they were ordered to divest a number of their wireless licenses which overlapped with their acquisition. This included rural areas in Kentucky and Oklahoma. They did that, but the problem was that they apparently didn’t take enough measures to protect consumer privacy, failing to rid their own records of confidential consumer account information. So the Department of Justice has ordered they pay $2 million in a settlement. Bad AT&T.
New AT&T Pick Your Plan experimental pricing
If you live in the Northeast and Texas, you might notice that AT&T GoPhone Pick Your Plan deals might be looking a bit different. That’s because the nation’s No. 1 carrier is experimenting with some new pricing schemes. Phone News has the scoop. As you’ll see in the table below, not a whole ton has changed on the surface, other than reducing the number of plans from five to four. However, the big changes come in the fine print.
AT&T’s GoPhone advertising more acceptable this year
Last year at this time, I was a bit miffed at some of AT&T’s advertising practices for Go Phone. As you can see in the screenshot that follows, they claimed unlimited talk and unlimited text front and center, while only making the true claim in the fine print. Yes, you can talk for as long as you want, as long as it’s to an AT&T customer. This year, however, things look a bit different.
AT&T plans to buy Centennial Wireless
It’s not quite Alltel, but AT&T will acquire Centennial Wireless, a regional provider with a rural focus. They cover the Midwest and Southeast regions. The deal will cost AT&T $944 million, but will bring them 1.1 million subscribers. It won’t give them more than Verizon-Alltel’s 80 some-odd million, but they won’t be far behind.
AT&T eliminates unlimited MEdiaNet for Go Phone Pick Your Plan
Earlier this month we learned that AT&T will eliminate their $20 unlimited MEdiaNet option for Pay As You Go subscribers. Chris from Phone News came along and corrected a mistake, noting that this only applied to Pay As You Go subscribers, while my screenshot was taken from the Pick Your Plan screen. Well, as if it was an omen, AT&T has cancelled the $20 unlimited data plan for Pick Your Plan subscribers. That’s just no fun.
A while back, we asked whether the iPhone can GoPhone. Ever since AT&T GoPhone eliminated their $20/month unlimited prepaid data plans back in November,
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