Sprint has one for $15, T-Mobile is $20, I forget Verizon's, and AT&T's is the most confusing.
$20 for "Unlimited MEdia Net" (cell phones only, smartphones need not apply, no SMS/MMS)
$30 for "Unlimited Smartphone" (Smart OS, numeric keyboard only, 1,500 SMS/MMS)
$45 for "Unlimited PDA" (Smart OS, QWERTY keyboard, no SMS/MMS)
Oh, I forgot to mention: MVNOs. Boost is $0.85 per day of access, Helio has "Unlimited" data (about 200 MB) on all plans, and there's one other MVNO that has decent data rates, but I forget who. I did a ton of research on this at one point, and unfortunately, your only option is a plan, in most cases post-pay only. Non-plans (commonly called "prepay" in the US) are worthless, overly expensive, and too limiting (Boost is the exception, however, but if you want a smartphone, you gotta go get an off-contract Nextel or unlocked iDEN device)
@merlyn Careful there. Verizon recently got in trouble over the word "unlimited." Apparently, in the telecom world, "unlimited" no longer means infinite bandwidth, in many cases (such as with Verizon and Helio) it means "as much as you want, so long as you don't use too much." I can speak for AT&T and Sprint where Umlimited=Unlimited, and I think T-Mobile is that way too, but you gotta watch out on that one.
You were right, though, that I forgot the iPhone data plan when I listed AT&T's cournacopia of plans (did I mention that Blackberries are neither PDA nor Smartphone in AT&T's eyes, and have their own range of data plans?) But AT&T will ask for your IMEI to confirm you are indeed adding the correct data plan for your device. So don't try to add the iPhone plan to a TyTN.
@merlyn Actually, I'm pretty sure unlimited data in the US predates the iPhone. Being the tech geek I am, I was looking at smartphones for the past three years. There have been unlimited Blackberry plans for quite a long time, and unlimited data for phones ever since CellCos have been rolling out media services. And AT&T has grandfathered the old "Smartphone Unlimited Data" plan into some existing plans. The only phone (then) Cingular sold that could be used with the plan was the Cingular 3125 (aka the HTC StrTrk), which predates the iPhone by far. And Sprint has long been the choice of businesses not only for their coverage and speed, but because Sprint's unlimited plans really were unlimited.
However, this is true to an extent in the UK where O2's first truly unlimited plan is their iPhone plan.
10 comments so far
Yes several. Im on Alltel and its $25/mo.
1 year, 11 months ago by Zhaan
Sprint has one for $15, T-Mobile is $20, I forget Verizon's, and AT&T's is the most confusing.
$20 for "Unlimited MEdia Net" (cell phones only, smartphones need not apply, no SMS/MMS) $30 for "Unlimited Smartphone" (Smart OS, numeric keyboard only, 1,500 SMS/MMS) $45 for "Unlimited PDA" (Smart OS, QWERTY keyboard, no SMS/MMS)
1 year, 11 months ago by Kichigai
Oh, I forgot to mention: MVNOs. Boost is $0.85 per day of access, Helio has "Unlimited" data (about 200 MB) on all plans, and there's one other MVNO that has decent data rates, but I forget who. I did a ton of research on this at one point, and unfortunately, your only option is a plan, in most cases post-pay only. Non-plans (commonly called "prepay" in the US) are worthless, overly expensive, and too limiting (Boost is the exception, however, but if you want a smartphone, you gotta go get an off-contract Nextel or unlocked iDEN device)
1 year, 11 months ago by Kichigai
The iPhone plan is clearly unlimited data for $20/month.
1 year, 11 months ago by merlyn
@merlyn Careful there. Verizon recently got in trouble over the word "unlimited." Apparently, in the telecom world, "unlimited" no longer means infinite bandwidth, in many cases (such as with Verizon and Helio) it means "as much as you want, so long as you don't use too much." I can speak for AT&T and Sprint where Umlimited=Unlimited, and I think T-Mobile is that way too, but you gotta watch out on that one.
You were right, though, that I forgot the iPhone data plan when I listed AT&T's cournacopia of plans (did I mention that Blackberries are neither PDA nor Smartphone in AT&T's eyes, and have their own range of data plans?) But AT&T will ask for your IMEI to confirm you are indeed adding the correct data plan for your device. So don't try to add the iPhone plan to a TyTN.
1 year, 11 months ago by Kichigai
well, it was likely that way in the US until Apple negotiated the unlimited data for the iPhone. so you can thank Apple for this.
1 year, 11 months ago by merlyn
Thanks for the feedback. I think the best we get is Vodafone: 5GB for AU $39. Hopefully things will get better but I'm not holding my breath.
1 year, 11 months ago by JamelBe
@merlyn bring on the iphone...I sure hope it has the same effect here.
1 year, 11 months ago by JamelBe
My current Cingular^WAT&T phone is breaking down. May get me an iphone when my renewal comes up.
1 year, 11 months ago by Bishop
@merlyn Actually, I'm pretty sure unlimited data in the US predates the iPhone. Being the tech geek I am, I was looking at smartphones for the past three years. There have been unlimited Blackberry plans for quite a long time, and unlimited data for phones ever since CellCos have been rolling out media services. And AT&T has grandfathered the old "Smartphone Unlimited Data" plan into some existing plans. The only phone (then) Cingular sold that could be used with the plan was the Cingular 3125 (aka the HTC StrTrk), which predates the iPhone by far. And Sprint has long been the choice of businesses not only for their coverage and speed, but because Sprint's unlimited plans really were unlimited.
However, this is true to an extent in the UK where O2's first truly unlimited plan is their iPhone plan.
1 year, 11 months ago by Kichigai