Once upon a time, businesses and consumers picked their mobile service plans based on how much calling they expected to do. These days, people increasingly pick plans based on how much Internet data they expect to use.
Starting March 22, 2013, AT&T will offer larger “Mobile Share” plans for businesses, new “data-only” plans, and new “Business Pooled Nation for Data” plans, allowing entities to buy shared data buckets of 30 Gbytes, 40 Gbytes or 50 Gbytes, standard, including unlimited domestic calling and text messaging.
As with the Verizon “Share Everything” plans, there is a fixed “per device” charge, but the key variable charge is the size of the data bucket. Smartphones, basic or quick messaging devices have a $30 a month recurring charge.
Some will argue that the plans are too complicated, and that AT&T should simplify them. In truth, service providers do not have huge incentives to do so, as that tends to create a “price competition” dynamic that reinforces the notion that service providers mostly are dumb pipes.
When retail packages are simple at one level (size of the data bucket) but also include other components such as fixed price elements, it is not as easy for buyers to “compare prices” item for item. That is one of the reasons for the popularity of triple play packages.
Such packages focus attention on the bundle, not the constituent elements. Also, the retail pricing often encourages consumers to buy a bundle including some services they might not otherwise have purchased, if each were a separate product.
In fact, what service providers want to do is obscure the actual prices for service components. Also, when selling legacy services such as voice and text messaging, mobile service providers want to de-emphasize the specific charges for voice and texting, essentially embedding revenue for those services in the basic connection and making them usage insensitive, at least for domestic calling.
Laptops, LaptopConnect cards, and netbooks can be connected at $20 per month per device, while tablets and gaming devices can be added at $10 per month per device, AT&T says.
Businesses can add up to 10 devices for plans up to 20 GBytes; 15 devices for 30 GBytes plans; 20 devices for 40 GByte plans; and 25 devices for 50 GByte plans. Consumers can add up to 10 devices per plan.
The “Mobile Share – Data” plans are aimed at businesses and consumers who do not want voice and texting capabilities. The plans offer shared data buckets ranging from 4 GBytes to 50 GBytes with prices ranging from $30 to $335 per month. Mobile Share – Data plans are only available for tablets, laptops and other connected devices, AT&T says.
In addition, businesses needing data sharing for more than 25 devices can buy new AT&T “Business Pooled Nation for Data” plans, with buckets ranging from 30 MBytes to 10 GBytes and monthly prices from $20 to $80 for eligible devices.
Edited by
Brooke Neuman
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