AT&T Eliminating $10 Text Messaging Plan for New Customers • Hacker News Board

Re: AT&T Eliminating $10 Text Messaging Plan for New Customers

#31

Post by bokonist » Thu, Aug 18, 2011, 5:12 PM UTC

pacemkr wrote: post #27

dwiel wrote: post #25

I have a virign mobile plan here in the US: $25/month no contract 300 minutes unlimited texts 5GB/month of data(it gets slower but not stopped or overcharge after that) I use my phone mostly to coordinate hanging out, any long conversations happen at home where I have wifi and calls can be routed through gchat or skype on a laptop. I'm not sure why its not more popular. Oh and I can tether. NOTE: just checked and it…

Coverage seems to be the biggest problem/non-problem with Virgin. I had to dump AT&T after two iPhones, because the service turned to shit. I am on Verizon right now and coverage has been great. Prices, not so much (still less than AT&T!) Do you know which underlying network Virgin use? Surely they don't put up their own towers.

They use Sprint's network, the coverage has been pretty good for me, I haven't been anywhere where I expected service and haven't got it.

Re: AT&T Eliminating $10 Text Messaging Plan for New Customers

#32

Post by cooperadymas » Thu, Aug 18, 2011, 5:15 PM UTC

pacemkr wrote: post #27

dwiel wrote: post #25

I have a virign mobile plan here in the US: $25/month no contract 300 minutes unlimited texts 5GB/month of data(it gets slower but not stopped or overcharge after that) I use my phone mostly to coordinate hanging out, any long conversations happen at home where I have wifi and calls can be routed through gchat or skype on a laptop. I'm not sure why its not more popular. Oh and I can tether. NOTE: just checked and it…

Coverage seems to be the biggest problem/non-problem with Virgin. I had to dump AT&T after two iPhones, because the service turned to shit. I am on Verizon right now and coverage has been great. Prices, not so much (still less than AT&T!) Do you know which underlying network Virgin use? Surely they don't put up their own towers.

They use Sprint's towers. You don't get roaming with Virgin. I find the coverage is great in my area and the few areas I travel to throughout the year.

If you are on the road a lot, you might run into problems.

Re: AT&T Eliminating $10 Text Messaging Plan for New Customers

#33

Post by pacemkr » Thu, Aug 18, 2011, 5:16 PM UTC

cooperadymas wrote: post #29

pacemkr wrote: post #24

The ridiculous state of wireless data (tethering, sms) has finally driven me to get rid of my smartphone. Well done AT&T/Verizon. I am: * Porting my number to Google Voice. * Getting a voip "landline." * Getting a new number with the cheapest possible wireless plan + dumbphone. Sprint still not evil? * Routing my calls using Google Voice to the landline/dumbphone, depending on where I am. Frankly, I'm sick of paying…

You'll find contract free plans are the way to go, especially if you're not interested in the latest smartphone. Virgin Mobile's plan is $35 for 300 minutes a month and unlimited text/data. (Looks like they just raised this from $25). You will be hard pressed to find a contract plan for that cheap, even without data. Virgin Mobile runs on Sprint's network, so you'll have the same coverage you would have with Sprint,…

Thanks for mentioning that it's Sprint. This answers my question further down the page.

Virgin might be it for me. I was looking at them before, but was traveling a bit at the time. Verizon was really the only option.

Re: AT&T Eliminating $10 Text Messaging Plan for New Customers

#34

Post by jonknee » Thu, Aug 18, 2011, 5:19 PM UTC

gigawatt wrote: post #26

Does iMessage automatically determine if the receiver is on an iOS device and then send your SMS without using your phone plan? Or do you have to know beforehand and then use a different app/route for your message?

Automatically. It also lets you know what method is used so you can monitor your SMS usage somewhat.

Re: AT&T Eliminating $10 Text Messaging Plan for New Customers

#35

Post by dwiel » Thu, Aug 18, 2011, 5:19 PM UTC

pacemkr wrote: post #27

dwiel wrote: post #25

I have a virign mobile plan here in the US: $25/month no contract 300 minutes unlimited texts 5GB/month of data(it gets slower but not stopped or overcharge after that) I use my phone mostly to coordinate hanging out, any long conversations happen at home where I have wifi and calls can be routed through gchat or skype on a laptop. I'm not sure why its not more popular. Oh and I can tether. NOTE: just checked and it…

Coverage seems to be the biggest problem/non-problem with Virgin. I had to dump AT&T after two iPhones, because the service turned to shit. I am on Verizon right now and coverage has been great. Prices, not so much (still less than AT&T!) Do you know which underlying network Virgin use? Surely they don't put up their own towers.

yeah they use sprint without roaming. When I first signed up I considered also getting a prepaid verizon phone for the times when I am far out of town or otherwise in poor/no coverage areas, but its never been a problem so I've never gotten around to it.

Re: AT&T Eliminating $10 Text Messaging Plan for New Customers

#36

Post by kragen » Thu, Aug 18, 2011, 5:21 PM UTC

joelhaus wrote: post #23

kragen wrote: post #19

Here in Argentina, I pay about US$10 for about 180 text messages per month. I say "about" because I'm on a prepaid plan; additional messages are about US$0.04 each. Until recently, I could pay about US$4 plus the US$0.04, but they switched the SMS credit to expire after a month instead of after six months, so I have to buy a new SMS card every month. (This also includes a limited amount of voice calling.) It seems to…

> in a competitive market in a country like the US With At&t and Verizon controlling 80% of the U.S. mobile market, I'm not so sure it's competitive. Is there only a single provider in Argentina or is it structured differently? Buenos Aires is definitely one of the most affordable cities I've been to (c. 2003), but I do recall being astonished at the prices for electronics.

Buenos Aires has four major providers: Claro, Personal, Movistar, and Nextel.

I think the economics here might be a little different (aside from possible collusion between the operators) because such a large fraction of the population uses only SMS. If the providers have to put up new cell towers to provide SMS to an area, the economics are a little different.

Argentina in 2003 had just collapsed. Things cost three times as much here now, or more. On the plus side, that means the taxi drivers can afford electronics and other imports.

Re: AT&T Eliminating $10 Text Messaging Plan for New Customers

#37

Post by pacemkr » Thu, Aug 18, 2011, 5:21 PM UTC

bokonist wrote: post #28

pacemkr wrote: post #24

The ridiculous state of wireless data (tethering, sms) has finally driven me to get rid of my smartphone. Well done AT&T/Verizon. I am: * Porting my number to Google Voice. * Getting a voip "landline." * Getting a new number with the cheapest possible wireless plan + dumbphone. Sprint still not evil? * Routing my calls using Google Voice to the landline/dumbphone, depending on where I am. Frankly, I'm sick of paying…

$120 a month??? I pay $25 a month from Virgin Mobile for unlimited text, unlimited data, and 300 minutes of call time, with a pretty good android smartphone. (It would be $32 a month if you amortize the price of the smart phone, which I had to buy up front). I use easytether to hook up my laptop, no problem.

300 minutes wouldn't be enough for me, but:

  $60 for 900 min
  $30 for unl. data (lucky me)
  $10 for 500 texts
  $17 in taxes (NYC)

Verizon. Pretty much the same plan was slightly more expensive on AT&T.

Tether might still work, for now: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011/08/verizon-blocking...

Re: AT&T Eliminating $10 Text Messaging Plan for New Customers

#38

Post by jonknee » Thu, Aug 18, 2011, 5:23 PM UTC

runjake wrote: post #15

madh wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Devil's advocate: Perhaps promoting unlimited SMS can mitigate the move to iMessage and equivalents? SMS at current prices is going to go. It can't compete with internet-based solutions like iMessage and BBM, especially in regions with many small countries like Europe or Asia where international fees can be quite restrictive. (This is why Skype became so popular in Europe.)

Perhaps promoting unlimited SMS can mitigate the move to iMessage and equivalents? iMessage still uses SMS whenever you send a message to somebody with a non-iOS 5 device. I don't know about you, but I communicate with tons of people who don't have iPhones or even data plans. This move is ridiculous gouging whatever way you look at it.

If Google and Apple weren't in a cold war perhaps they could work together and make an interoperable standard. Get RIM in on the mix and you have the big three bypassing SMS.

Re: AT&T Eliminating $10 Text Messaging Plan for New Customers

#39

Post by cooperadymas » Thu, Aug 18, 2011, 5:23 PM UTC

bokonist wrote: post #28

pacemkr wrote: post #24

The ridiculous state of wireless data (tethering, sms) has finally driven me to get rid of my smartphone. Well done AT&T/Verizon. I am: * Porting my number to Google Voice. * Getting a voip "landline." * Getting a new number with the cheapest possible wireless plan + dumbphone. Sprint still not evil? * Routing my calls using Google Voice to the landline/dumbphone, depending on where I am. Frankly, I'm sick of paying…

$120 a month??? I pay $25 a month from Virgin Mobile for unlimited text, unlimited data, and 300 minutes of call time, with a pretty good android smartphone. (It would be $32 a month if you amortize the price of the smart phone, which I had to buy up front). I use easytether to hook up my laptop, no problem.

I look at it a different way. I'm saving $35 per month over Sprint with my Virgin Mobile plan. The phone cost me about $140, so I essentially pay it off in 4 months savings on this plan. I could upgrade my phone every 4-6 months if I wanted to, at no extra cost from where I was with Sprint. Compare that to the 1-2 year upgrade cycle on a contract, assuming you're able to get a free phone with the contract renewal. If I did upgrade every 6 months, the old phone would still be new enough to fetch $50 on Craigslist, making it even more economical.

Just a different perspective. I'm not actually one to be particular about having the latest and greatest phone, and at most I will upgrade once every 18 months. Switching to Virgin Mobile was one of the steps I took while unemployed to cut down on bills. It's actually been the easiest and most effective way to reduce my monthly living expenses without much sacrifice.

Re: AT&T Eliminating $10 Text Messaging Plan for New Customers

#40

Post by sigjuice » Thu, Aug 18, 2011, 5:24 PM UTC

gigawatt wrote: post #26

Does iMessage automatically determine if the receiver is on an iOS device and then send your SMS without using your phone plan? Or do you have to know beforehand and then use a different app/route for your message?

iMessage is built into the Messages app. http://www.apple.com/ios/ios5/features.html#imessage