During GigaOm’s recent Mobilize conference, AT&T announced its new data plans. The company is confident these new plans will appeal to tablet users who do not wish to sign contracts longer than two years. The new options include a $5 day pass and another option that provides 1GB of data for $25 that can be used over a three-month period.
Currently, AT&T’s cheapest individual tablet plan is $15 per month for 250 MB of data. However, if you are on a shared data plan, you can pay $10 per month to connect a tablet, plus whatever you are paying for smartphone coverage. The short-term plans are cheaper for users who just need a day or two of data and do not want to deal with recurring monthly charges.
Chris Penrose, AT&T Senior Vice President says that the new plans, “were introduced because AT&T believes Wi-Fi-only tablets aren’t good enough.” He pointed out that cellular radios are coming down in price so much that most OEMs should just introduce a single model that gives consumers the option to add data later.
To date most consumers have chosen Wi-Fi only models even when they are purchasing a cellular-capable device that they are not always using to connect to the network. AT&T hopes that its new $5-per day option will convince more users to try cellular.
“We really think that a Wi-Fi only tablet is good, but it is not good enough,” Penrose sad during the conference. “The cost of adding a cellular module to tablets is also going down. We’ve seen that price go down substantially over the past several years. Ultimately we’d like to see tablet manufacturers build just one tablet.”
AT&T also revealed it will be providing wireless connections inside Tesla cars. Tesla will be using AT&T’s wireless network to power in car diagnostics, infotainment and other services. The deal has actually been in place for some time, but they have just publicly announced it.
Earlier this year GM announced that it was replacing Verizon with AT&T for its next generation on OnStar services.
Edited by
Alisen Downey 
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