Telecom Lead America: AT&T has launched its shared
data plans, which will allow customers to pay for a pool of wireless data and
share it across multiple smartphones, tablets and laptops.
AT&T will be the second American carrier to offer
this type of plan, following Verizon Wireless.
Telecom analyst firm Ovum says there is demand for shared
data plans.
As more and more consumers use multiple devices
with mobile connectivity, there is increasing demand for shared data plans. We
often talk about first mover advantage in this market, and Verizon had an
opportunity to benefit from it when it launched. But it made several key
missteps and turned what should have been a good news story into a bad news
story, leaving the door open for AT&T and other carriers to
provide a more compelling offering. AT&T seems to have learned
from Verizon’s mistakes and is giving customers more options and a simpler
charging structure,”said Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at Ovum.
AT&T’s shared plans are very similar to Verizon’s.
They include unlimited calling minutes and text messages, at a time when voice
and SMS usage are in decline around the globe.
Customers will pay different fees depending on the amount
of data they choose, along with an individual fee for each device that is
sharing the plan.
For instance, an AT&T customer can choose to pay $40
for 1 gigabyte of data and $45 for each smartphone that is sharing the data. A
family with four smartphones would pay $220 a month for this plan.
But the individual fee for each smartphone also varies
depending on the amount of data chosen. The 4-gigabyte plan costs $70 per
month, and then $40 for each smartphone sharing the data. The 10 GB plan costs
$120 per month, and then $30 for each smartphone.
Tablets, computers and traditional cellphones have
different individual costs as well. A tablet is $10 a month, a laptop is $20 a
month and a cellphone is $30 a month.
Verizon’s prices are similar. A smartphone costs $40 a
month, a normal cellphone $30 and a tablet $10. The monthly fee for the shared
data pool ranges from $50 for 1 gigabyte to $100 for 10 gigabytes. A family
with four smartphones on Verizon’s 1 GB shared plan would pay $210 a month.
Both AT&T and Verizon charge a $15 average fee when users surpass the
amount of data purchased, according to NYTimes.com.
AT&T says its shared data plans will be available in
August.
