AT&T Boss Predicts Data Only Plans Within Two Years

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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According to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, over the next several years, the pricing structure for cell phones will be going through a great experimental stage with plans inevitably moving from voice to data based pricing within the next two years.

Stephenson stressed that pricing changes, namely increases, are being driven by a spectrum shortage in the industry. When capacity is constrained, prices go up, he explained -- it's Economics 101!
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Hope they like a mass exodus of customers then.

It is NOT "economics 101", it is.. we are too lazy and money hungry to upgrade our aging network since we can just price hike prices and claim that is the only way to do thing.

Idiots.
 
I think the next line following the one you quoted is the big one people need to focus on - specifically the FCC:

Not surprisingly, he sees the solution to this problem as more industry consolidation...
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AT&T's continued pushing of "The only way customers can win is if we're a monopoly or part of a duopoly" needs to be addressed in a quick and painful way. The US wireless communications system is so broken and fractured that we're missing out on some great opportunities for advancement.

My ideal market would have us buying phones direct from the manufacturer or through a phone-centric retailer, then purchasing the plan/coverage we want from the wireless providers. No more crapware, bloatware, locked bootloaders, late updates, etc... Qualcomm would make a killing with their system-agnostic Gobi radio chipset that opens up portability across GSM and LTE systems.
 
I would love to be able to get a prepaid mobile hotspot. $XX up front for the device, then purchase prepaid cards at like $10/GB for your data use, no monthly fees.
 
IMO its already price structured for data. wtf is he talking about?
 
Capacity is constrained?
- The people who sell them space on the backbones
- The people currently not building internet infrastructure and communications lines because they along with the other cartel criminals aren't ordering any
 
like any telco ceo.. isn't he just saying...

"we can't milk ppl for their money on voice plans now so we will now milk ppl for their money on data plans instead"
 
McG2k1 said:
IMO its already price structured for data. wtf is he talking about?
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People are glancing over this one key part of the article.

Apps-based pricing.

I'm sure AT&T will be cool with offering data only, as long as they can add a surcharge for using skype, or whatever VOIP service people use. He's already said several times before that their goal is to make sure that they are compensated for the use of their network by everyone involved in the process. I would say that this is a reason to not give AT&T your business, but this is the endgame of everyone in the business. At least at time's hes been bold enough to say it. Still can't stand the guy however.
 
Yep. They make sure to teach you economics in school so from then forward they can claim a shortage of everything in order to charge you more than it is worth.

That's ok, when devices become that advanced we won't need phone carriers. Just an internet connection.
 
So basically they're saying they want to screw you over every way possible and further gouge all their customers.
 
"When capacity is constrained, prices go up, he explained -- it's Economics 101!"

What about when that capacity is intentionally constrained? At&t, like every other cell provider, is sitting on unused spectrum, it's just more profitable to pretend it's all used up than to actually use it

Don't run a cartel and then act like it's "Economics 101". I'm pretty sure those economics classes didn't tell you how to run a monopoly and collude with your "competitors"
 
Sounds like Mr Douchebag CEO wasn't happy with his bonus this year and is making sure he gets more next time around.
 
While I agree with the masses we need more control on the big telecoms we can't get to pissed at how slow they are to upgrade infrastructure. They make a lot of money and it costs a lot of money to upgrade, especially with how big the US is. I will however gladly switch to the carrier that will give me the most for my money.
 
Ashbringer said:
I think this is the reason why they're moving away from voice. I doubt that means you can't talk on your phone, but talking might go through data like VOIP.

http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/spectrum-crunch
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Going to IP is going to be a natural evolution, In fact, that's how VoLTE works. The issue is that instead of changing business models to deal with the new normal, AT&T and others choose to sabotage competitors secretly, or out right say those competitors are stealing from them. It's kind of similar to how the music industry basically gave piracy a five year head start before it moved to counter it with service, not lawsuits.
 
No company that has a piece of the pie, is going to willingly give that up. AT&T sees the writing on the wall and is doing everything they can to keep getting money. A new player needs to step in and create the alternative mobile network. New competition will keep the old guard in line. Some company should create a data only mobile network and price the service accordingly. I can see a lot of people who'd jump on that bandwagon.
 
I'd be happy with a data-only smartphone and if this kinda thing is offered, I'd sooo get another whatever kinda phone is available and maybe add texting. Really, voice calling is on its way out.
 
If it's data only it is not a phone, it's a PDA or a mini tablet but not a phone.
 
Close enough...it doesn't need to be a phone...something like a Samsung Galaxy 4.0 MP3 player with a cellular modem would be perfect for me. Tablets are too big to carry around inside of something besides a dedicated sleeve and I'd feel so stupid pulling out something like huge like an iPAD just to read e-mail, snap a quick pic, or read an e-book.

Hopefully Nokia will have a Windows Phone 7 version device so I don't have to fuss around with completely useless word processors on Android ever again.
 
It just seems like an oxymoron. A phone with no voice plan. WTF?
 
It's a great idea for people who only want Internet access regardless of where they happen to be located. In the three months last year, I spent less than 30 mins talking on a cell phone. For someone like me, only having data (and maybe text since I'd be a text-a-holic if it was available for not much extra monies) would be ideal.

Outside of work, I don't even talk on the phone anymore unless it's to say hi to family that doesn't have Internet access so they can get e-mail from me instead.
 
Ashbringer is right.
I have sat in on some Sprint meetings with confidential presentations showing how the entire internal structure of the cell industry is changing.
Their Big Idea: eventually all cell phone traffic is going to pushed as VOIP.
Cell phones will be designed to use -any- open WAP for "traditional" cell traffic.
Its going to save the big carriers billions on the equipment and maintenance required on the cell towers alone.
 
wtiger said:
So basically they're saying they want to screw you over every way possible and further gouge all their customers.
Click to expand...

what? I am all for getting rid of the archaic voice/text/data separate billing shit....a single bucket of data that takes care of it all would be a good thing. What I am talking about has nothing to do with ATT and their business practices. It's about the industry getting with the times.

I said a year ago it wouldn't be long before our kids would be telling stories and laughing about how we used to actually spend time and money tracking minutes, texts and megabytes...do you realize how ludicrous that sounds? They should just nationalize the entire system, everyone pays the same damn thing and gets the same damn thing and nobody has anything to bitch about. It would have to be regulated to be sure it stays in check and they don't gouge the customers of course.....
 
Meanwhile, not in the US, just adding $15 to a pay as you go account means free interwebs (and SMS) for a month. :D

There needs to be a price war there!
 
Netzero offers data 4G data now too. 200MB/month for free, $10/month for 500mb all the way to $50 for 4gb. Not sure what network it actually uses though. I'll bet that free 200mb is really going to piss off AT&T who loves to milk people on those tiny data plans.
 
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