AT&T Targets Smartphones, Tablets with New Pricing Plan

AT&T announced it’s changing it’s data service plans. But wait, don’t get excited: They’re more expensive, and you won’t be getting anything you didn’t already have. Read on for yet another whopping disappointment of “choice” in the U.S. mobile service provider world …

AT&T made the new plans known on its official blog. The official statement from bloggerman Mark Collins is:

If there was an ongoing commitment to customers, there would be an ongoing commitment to choice. Unfortunately, any new customers joining AT&T will now have the following plans to choose from:

Yes, at first glance, it looks like users are getting more for their money — just $5 extra per month for another Gigabyte is nice. But while some people will rejoice, others — like me, who finds AT&T’s 3G network unreliable under four bars and hardly even taps into the full potential of the 2GB for $25 per month pricing — see no value in the new plan. Chances are, AT&T knows this, so new customers are going to end up paying for more for something they won’t end up using in the first place (unless the LTE/4G rollout is amazing, but don’t hold your breath). What’s more, the 1GB  per $10 bucket plan didn’t get any cheaper, so technically, no existing users have any real compelling reason to upgrade to these plans unless they find themselves continually using that extra $10 per 1GB bucket.

The only mildly enticing plan is the 5GB for $50 with tethering price. At $50 and 5GB, this plan makes your iPhone a somewhat affordable and usable hotspot — if your coverage is okay.

You may be asking, after all this complaining, what I’m looking for in a data plan. It’s simple: Give me a base price with an affordable pay-as-you-use rate. I think AT&T could draw in tons of customers with a basic 2GB plan for $20 with a $5 per-extra Gigabyte plan.

Got a better plan for AT&T? Drop us a comment and let us know.