AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
Summary: AT&T and Verizon Wireless have both ditched unlimited data plans and the new tiered plans are likely to segment the market between high-end and low-end customers.
AT&T and Verizon Wireless have both ditched unlimited data plans and the new tiered plans are likely to segment the market between high-end and low-end customers.
With both AT&T and Verizon earnings this week, analysts will largely be focused on smartphone data plans and the impact on churn rates and future revenue streams.
For starters, Verizon's move to tiered data plans is welcome news for AT&T, which moved earlier to ditch unlimited plans.
Among the key points:
- AT&T has a $15 a month plan with a 200MB cap that encourages feature phone customers to upgrade to smartphones.
- Verizon's cheapest data plan is $30 a month with a 2GB cap. That pricing could discourage some customers to upgrading to smartphones, according to Barclays Capital analyst James Ratcliffe.
- Churn rates for both AT&T and Verizon are likely to remain static as similar data plan structures will keep customers where they are.
In the big picture, Ratcliffe noted that AT&T and Verizon have effectively carved up the smartphone market between low-end and high-end consumers. The inflection point between where AT&T becomes more expensive than Verizon shows up at about 4.5GB of usage a month.
The wild card here is Sprint, which is the last carrier with unlimited data plans. It's possible that Sprint could acquire more high-end smartphone users.
Related: Verizon kisses unlimited data plans goodbye
- Verizon ends unlimited plans but you probably won't notice
- Bye, unlimited data plans from Verizon. Tiered plans and LTE hotspot fees confirmed to start July 7 [Updated]
- CNET: No unlimited data plan? Help! (FAQ)
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Talkback
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
Squeeze play :(
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
There are no standardized connections here in the US. Your choices range from Cable, DSL, Fiber, BBOPL, OC/Satelite and dialup (still). Not to mention faulty equipment at Latta changes and bad connections to your home. Just because you bought a 50m FIOS line from verizon doesn't mean you will ever come close to reaching that speed due to other providers connections. I have dealt with this for some time now. Streaming issues would not arrise if eveyone in the US were all on the same connection type. Speeds would more closely match what you pay for but the sad reality is not everyone, everywhere in the US can have fiber. As Long as connection caps range from 756k/s - 100m/s streaming content will always choke off the slower connection.
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
How fast it moves is not the same as how much is used;
i.e. speed vs volume
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
Your correct MobileAdmin, not all devices are available for all carriers. However I noticed that it carriers with the iPhone and iPad have the tiered pricing plans so I assume they are trying ream users of these devices as much as possible since they will be users that will use the most data. Sprint and currently T-Mobile (soon will be ATT whenever the merger is approved, if they approve it. If not then T-Mobile) are some of the major carriers that don't have the iPhone or iPad so they don't have tiered data plans.
Since my cell phone has broke yesterday I need to look for a new one so this information is useful for me to deciding to stay with my current carrier, Verizon, or jump to ATT or another carrier. Also I can decide to get the iPhone or another smartphone so this information helps.
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
Try again. Sprint doesn't have speeds anywhere CLOSE to Verizon's. 25Mbps vs 5? Yeah. Sprint's cheaper because they don't have the power behind it. Beyond that, they are slower with not nearly as many customers. People go to sprint and those already poor speeds will just go lower. LTE is already HERE for most people. Verizon's prices reflect the superior network QUALITY and superior speed. End of story.
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
No matter what carrier you have, what it all comes down to is the fact that cell carriers in general have us by the naughty danglies. Sprint in my opinion is a sinking ship that is desperately trying anything to patch the hole, but I think eventually they will exhaust their efforts, cave under pressure, and try something else unique.
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
Even if they do create tiered plans in 6 months, you will be grandfathered in to your 2 year contract. And maybe AT&T and Verizon will lose enough customers that in 2 years they're plans will be different. I would be willing to take that risk and switch over instead of letting them take advantage of us with their TIERED plans. Hopefully enough of us will switch to hurt their bottom dollar and make them reconsider.
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
I disagree. As we need more data, better technology is installed and used. The tiered plans are a way for the carriers to try and get off the hamster wheel. Obviously, if they don't update, they will become a lower level carrier. If Sprint stays with it, they will become the winner.
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out
RE: AT&T vs. Verizon Wireless: How tiered plans will shake out