Prepaid Reviews Blog » AT&T

AT&T strong on prepaid adds

Joe — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:30:14 +0000

AT&T was the first major cellular operator to announce its third quarter results, and with good reason. They exceeded most analysts’ expectations, adding 2 million wireless customers for the quarter. Pertinent to our niche, 641,000 of them were prepaid, or 32 percent of the total. That’s particularly strong for AT&T, which isn’t known for its attractive prepaid plans. They did add a $60 unlimited talk and text plan, but that didn’t come until this month, so it wasn’t available for even one day of last quarter. With this new plan, combined with the normally expected sales boost in the fourth quarter, AT&T could see even bigger prepaid gains from October through December.

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AT&T strong on prepaid adds

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

AT&T strong on prepaid adds

AT&T GoPhone adds unlimited talk and text plan

Joe — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:30:00 +0000

AT&T just got serious about unlimited prepaid. The company previously offered unlimited calling for $3 per day with its GoPhone service, but at roughly $90 per month it was far more expensive than competitors. Starting today, the plan will become more comprehensive and less expensive. The GoPhone unlimited plan will include unlimited voice, plus unlimited text, picture, and video messaging for $60.

The plan, while still on the expensive end, brings AT&T in line with other prepaid unlimited carriers. Cricket, MetroPCS, and Boost Mobile all have slightly less expensive unlimited options, but customers might prefer AT&T’s nationwide network. AT&T also has a larger reach than the smaller companies, with only Boost coming close.

The plan will be available starting Monday, October 12, at retail outlets and on AT&T’s website.

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AT&T GoPhone adds unlimited talk and text plan

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

AT&T GoPhone adds unlimited talk and text plan

Too bad AT&T discontinued prepaid unlimited data

Joe — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:07:19 +0000

A little over a year ago, AT&T decided to remove its unlimited prepaid data option. It’s a service which attracted all types of users, but apparently AT&T wasn’t making enough off them. This becomes a bigger shame as we learn of AT&T rolling out more 7.2 Mbps networks. If only they had just raised the price to $25, or even $30, rather than completely eliminating it. Oh well.

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Too bad AT&T discontinued prepaid unlimited data

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Too bad AT&T discontinued prepaid unlimited data

Pantech C180 likely headed for AT&T GoPhone

Joe — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:00:50 +0000

If that phone looks like nothing special, well, that’s the case. In fact, the entire point of the phone may be it’s complete lack of features. It’s the Pantech C180, and as Engadet Mobile tells us, it looks headed for AT&T. With a phone like that, which doesn’t even have a camera or access to EDGE data, we can only imagine it going to GoPhone. Unless AT&T plans on paying customers to take it on a two-year contract. Since that’s bloody unlikely, we’ll assume it will be one of those boxed-up prepaid phones you see at Wal-Mart, Target, and other retailers.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Pantech C180 likely headed for AT&T GoPhone

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Pantech C180 likely headed for AT&T GoPhone

AT&T gains latest victory against cell phone traffickers

Joe — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:30:54 +0000

One issue which deeply affects the prepaid cellular industry is the presence of mobile phone traffickers. While they’re not moving narcotics in and out of the country, they’re certainly undermining a system which has proven — if not beneficial, then at least preferable to consumers. Big box retailers like Wal-Mary have prepaid phone packages, which are normally very cheap. This is because the company subsidizes the cost in hopes that they make back the money as the user buys more minutes. However, when traffickers buy these packages and bulk, unlock them, and resell them for a profit, the carrier takes a hit. Enough hits, and the system goes kaput. We’ve seen a number of carriers take on these traffickers lately, the most recent of which is AT&T, which just won four injunctions against traffickers.

Judy Cavalieri, vice president of marketing and head of AT&T’s prepaid phone products, puts the issue in perspective: “Prepaid handsets provide a viable, affordable option for customers who choose not to purchase a postpaid plan. We’re able to offer these GoPhone handsets at such great discounts only if they’re used as intended on our network.”

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act explicitly allows for phones to be unlocked by users, but only with the intention of connecting it to another cell phone network. While traffickers’ intention is for the phone to eventually connect to another network, it’s not direct. In other words, if they were unlocking them for personal use, that would be one thing. But to buy them in bulk, at or below cost, and resell them at a profit is not kosher, at least in the eyes of the law.

AT&T has so far obtained 15 permanent injunctions. We’ve seen Tracfone especially harsh on traffickers. They’ve even taken out ad space to further the cause.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

AT&T gains latest victory against cell phone traffickers

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

AT&T gains latest victory against cell phone traffickers

AT&T finished with iPhone on GoPhone?

Joe — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:30:45 +0000

A while back, we asked whether the iPhone can GoPhone. Ever since AT&T GoPhone eliminated their $20/month unlimited prepaid data plans back in November, the answer has been “kind of.” In that, you can probably get it to work, but that paying per kilobyte for a device like the iPhone just isn’t economical. However, there are some customers still grandfathered into the data plan. Among them is Erica Sadun of The Unofficial Apple Weblog. After receiving an odd text message from AT&T regarding iPhone upgrades and service, she found out that she might be out of luck come today.

This is the body of the text message:

AT&T Free MSG: A new software upgrade for iPhone will be available on 6/17. This upgrade may affect your data service. Please visit att.com/iphone or call 800-901-9878 for a representative. If you download the software and are not on an approved iPhone data plan, your data service will be interrupted.

Erica gave a call and found out that she didn’t have to switch to a contract plan, but that the data service “will not be up to par.” It sounds like, yeah, we’re not going to tell you what you can and can’t do, but if you do this you’re going to regret it. Real nice way to treat your customers, especially ones like Erica who have been with you for about two years. Then again, maybe they just don’t care, because she still has the 2G iPhone, and Apple is about to release the third iteration.

If you’re on a GoPhone plan with an iPhone, you’ve likely already received the message above. If you’re just interested in the topic, here it is. If you were planning to get an iPhone and hook it up to GoPhone, tough luck. This actually makes such little sense to me. Doesn’t the original iPhone (2G) seem perfect for a prepaid account at this point?

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

AT&T finished with iPhone on GoPhone?

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

AT&T finished with iPhone on GoPhone?

Could prepaid data plans help carriers?

Joe — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:30:13 +0000

Once upon a time, AT&T GoPhone had the most attractive prepaid data plan in all the land. It was just $20 per mont for all you can eat data. AT&T soon realized, of course, that people were catching onto this steal, and decided that they weren’t making enough money off it. So they discontinued the plan. Earlier this year they introduced new data plans, but the news wasn’t good for prepaid users. The new system was to be on a per-KB basis, with Pick Your Plan customers afforded a couple of bundles, neither of which is particularly attractive. Yet given recent comments by Glenn Lurie, president of national distribution, it appears AT&T thinks prepaid data plans can fuel the industry.

Says Lurie:

“There are different classes of devices, and you need to deliver different pricing models if you want to sell more than four of them. The reality is you need a whole plethora of pricing models, from our biggest monthly plans to the smallest, and all the way down to prepaid and session-based plans.”

This makes it sound like AT&T wants people who currently consume no data to start consuming some, whether that be a lot or just a little bite. This might cause only a small rise in ARPU, but just that little bit could mean a new profit stream for the company: “…but these incremental revenues may bring in $1 per subscriber per month at 50 points of OIBDA [margin] on that dollar.”

Lurie also believes that this will not only be a service thing, but a device one as well. In other words, they need to get 3G and even Wi-Fi features onto new phones, making them attractive to consumers. Not only that, but it would get them used to using data services. And once they let you taste, you’ll get hooked and keep coming back for more. Or, at least, that’s the idea.

It’ll be interesting to see what AT&T comes up with for these prepaid data bundles. Surely they have to be better than what’s currently offered. It’s a shame, too, because AT&T instantly went from providing the best prepaid data service to perhaps the worst.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Could prepaid data plans help carriers?

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Could prepaid data plans help carriers?

AT&T GoPhone releases Samsung A167

Joe — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:30:57 +0000

We kick off the week with some device news from AT&T GoPhone. It’s not nearly as cool as the Samsung a117, the full-QWERTY device AT&T announced last week. Instead, it’s the A167, an entry-level flip phone. Like most phones of its ilk, it features just a VGA camera and Bluetooth. The attractive part about this is the price, $70 without a contract. I wonder if this will show up in retail packs. It seems like the perfect phones: cheap, but with the camera and Bluetooth which might gain attention among other entry-level phones. You can get it at AT&T’s website.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

AT&T GoPhone releases Samsung A167

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

AT&T GoPhone releases Samsung A167

AT&T drops QWERTY Samsung a117

Joe — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:00:33 +0000

That there is the Samsung a117, a full QWERTY texting phone for AT&T GoPhone. It’s nice for prepaid customers to have a selection of full QWERTY phones, even if they’re not top of the line. As we heard from Virgin CEO Dan Schulman earlier, the best way to target prepaid customers is to hit those who talk and text heavily, leaving the data-heavy devices to the big players. A quick glance makes this seem somewhat like the Samsung Blackjack, just without all the fancy features. You can get it now at AT&T’s website for $99 contract-free.

From Engadget Mobile.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

AT&T drops QWERTY Samsung a117

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

AT&T drops QWERTY Samsung a117

AT&T officially unveils GoPhone Unlimited plan

Joe — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:40:30 +0000

When we first heard about AT&T’s unlimited prepaid plan, there wasn’t much in the way of specifics. We knew it was $3 per day and included unlimited voice minutes, and that it was being tested somewhere in Florida. On Friday the company made the official announcement that the AT&T GoPhone Unlimited will be available nationwide starting today (May 11). Like the Unlimited Talk option on GoPhone’s Pay As You Go package, the fee will only be charged on days you use the phone.

The pay-per-day nature of this plan makes it similar to Cricket’s PAYgo. The difference is that for $3 Cricket provides unlimited talk, messaging, and Web, while AT&T offers just voice, with options like text messaging costing a bit extra. Then again, AT&T has a robust nationwide network, something Cricket cannot boast.

“Prepaid customers are looking for more flexible options, and this new GoPhone offer bridges the gap between paying as you go and the need for unlimited calling,” said Judy Cavalieri, vice president of Prepaid Products for AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “Customers see value in an unlimited prepaid service that lets them pay only for the days they use and operates on a network they can trust, and GoPhone serves both needs.”

The plan is now available on AT&T’s website. Current GoPhone customers can switch to GoPhone Unlimited by dialing 611 from their handsets.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

AT&T officially unveils GoPhone Unlimited plan

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

AT&T officially unveils GoPhone Unlimited plan