WebProNews

Tag: mobile phone bills

  • Family Wireless Plan Prices Slashed By AT&T

    AT&T means business. The nation’s second largest U.S. wireless carrier has offered families a plan that lets them use a great deal of data, and yet could save them anywhere from $40 to $100 per month on phone service. This of course depends on their existing plan and service provider.

    Under AT&T’s newest service plan, a family with four smartphones can purchase unlimited talk, unlimited text and 10GB of data, all for $160 per month. Under the previous plan this package would have cost $200. A similar plan is also extended to small businesses with up to ten lines.

    But this isn’t just about pleasing customers already with AT&T. Those sharing 10GB or more will automatically be upgraded to the newer and cheaper service.

    David Christopher, the chief marketing officer for AT&T Mobility, says this move, “is about being competitive.”

    A major component of the price drop and advertising is that it’s targeted at the customers of the carrier’s major rivals.

    Post by AT&T.

    For instant Verizon Wireless has a very similar plan available, but thanks to AT&T’s price cut, the rival’s $260 per month plan is going to look particularly steep. The logical thought becomes, “Why should I pay Verizon for service I can get elsewhere for $100 less?”

    Meanwhile T-Mobile has been engaging in a back and forth with AT&T over the more affordable coverage with the most benefits through targeted ads. Right now, their big selling point is the “no contract” option.

    Says Christopher, “We’re making it easy for families who want it all – great service, great value and big bucket of data to share.”

    He also says that the plans are about giving the customers exactly what they want; AT&T’s “best-ever prices on a best-in-class network.”

    This is AT&T’s method of throwing down the gauntlet. The pricing is going to make it extremely hard for certain other companies to continue to justify their higher prices without improvements in service.

    This could be the beginning of a series of deals and slashed prices that could benefit the customers of all these networks greatly in the coming months.

    Image via AT&T’s Official Facebook

  • FCC Fights to Make Sense of Mobile Bills

    FCC Fights to Make Sense of Mobile Bills

    If you’ve ever gone over on your mobile phone minutes or exceeded the number of text messages you can make you’ll love this next story. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) actual cares that surprise charges on your mobile bill are scaring the hell out of you. You know what I mean, you tear open the envelope from Verizon or whoever, and expect to see $55 or $56 and it’s more like $100. Yes, you are not the only one. People go over on minutes and texts all the time and I’m sure it has been the cause of a heart attack a time or two.

    So the FCC estimates that about 30 million American’s have suffered from what they are calling “bill shock”. I am sure this is true, but as an American I can honestly say that I cease to be shocked by anything that I get billed for anymore. Seriously, for the amount of times I get billed for things I don’t owe, I would would be flat broke if I just blindly paid them all. Either way, the measures the FCC is taking are a good step in the right direction.

    What they want to happen is for consumers to receive a warning message when they get close to going over on their plans minutes or data usage. You would receive a message before you go over and another reminding you that you have indeed gone over. It sounds like a good strategy to me. Why didn’t anybody think of this before?

    So far T-Mobile has this feature on voice, data, and roaming, but not on texts. Verizon has it on data and roaming, and AT&T has it on data. Sprint has it only on roaming. So, as you can see, T-Mobile is the only one who offers it in a useful capacity. Hopefully other carriers are working with the FCC to put this consumer protection into action.

    The four alert types included in the FCC system include voice, data, text, and international roaming. All US carriers must have at least two of the four alerts by October 17th, 2012, and add the rest by April 17th, 2013. Relief from “bill shock” is on the way courtesy of the FCC!