Boost Mobile adds $2-a-day unlimited everything option

For voice and data alike, “unlimited” is a major buzzword among value carriers like Cricket , Virgin Mobile , and Boost Mobile lately — and when they can offer it for $10 or $20 less than the big guys, why shouldn’t it be? Boost is slicing the unlimited option in a new way this week with the announcement that it’s now offering unlimited nationwide voice, messaging, web, IM, email, and information for $2 a day, which if our rough math is correct, works out to $60 a month. That’s $10 a more than you pay if you just bite the bullet and prepay on a monthly basis, but obviously it’s a heck of a lot more flexible, too — and with these prepaid guys, flexibility is king. Follow the break for the full press release. Continue reading Boost Mobile adds $2-a-day unlimited everything option Boost Mobile adds $2-a-day unlimited everything option originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:35:00 EST

Unlimited data option disappears from iPads, AT&T tells grandfathered customers not to worry

Even though AT&T’s $30 unlimited data plan technically went the way of the dodo back on June 7 , the company had assured 3G iPad owners that they’d be entitled to one last hurrah — buy an iPad prior to the 7th and you’d be allowed to grandfather into the old plan , even if you didn’t receive your purchase by the deadline. Problem is, the unlimited plan option finally disappeared off AT&T-connected iPads for the first time today, leaving some of these eligible folks who haven’t yet signed up for 3G data in the lurch. Not to worry, though: AT&T says that everyone who’s eligible “will be able to select the unlimited plan” and that “details will follow.” In other words, we don’t know how this is going to work yet, but at least the carrier’s aware of the issue. Stay tuned.

AT&T users can keep $30 unlimited data when upgrading phones… unless they want tethering

There’s naturally been a ton of feedback in the past few hours on AT&T’s new data pricing strategy , and the company has been responding to comments all morning over on its Facebook page; one of the key tidbits that’s come out of the discussion so far is that folks on the current $30 smartphone data plan will be able to keep that plan when upgrading hardware. Translation: yes, you’ll be able to get a new iPhone without switching to the $25 / 2GB DataPro plan if you so choose. What you won’t be able to do, though, is keep the $30 plan and add on the $20 tethering option — tethering specifically requires DataPro, so your hopes and dreams of a soft 5GB cap are quashed (unless you want to pay $30 for 3GB of overage, of course). On a related note, we’ve been tipped that some folks’ iPad orders from Apple have been pushed back to June 7 — an interesting coincidence, considering that’s when DataPlus and DataPro go live. If true, it’s likely so that Apple can pre-install new orders with updated software for managing the new plans, but it’s also a preemptive strike against a horde of people trying to grandfather into the $30 plan over the next few days.

AT&T users can keep $30 unlimited data when upgrading phones… unless they want tethering

There’s naturally been a ton of feedback in the past few hours on AT&T’s new data pricing strategy , and the company has been responding to comments all morning over on its Facebook page; one of the key tidbits that’s come out of the discussion so far is that folks on the current $30 smartphone data plan will be able to keep that plan when upgrading hardware. Translation: yes, you’ll be able to get a new iPhone without switching to the $25 / 2GB DataPro plan if you so choose. What you won’t be able to do, though, is keep the $30 plan and add on the $20 tethering option — tethering specifically requires DataPro, so your hopes and dreams of a soft 5GB cap are quashed (unless you want to pay $30 for 3GB of overage, of course).

US Cellular launches national unlimited plan for $70

US Cellular’s sounding like it wants to play with the big boys on news that it’ll be charging a full $69.99 for its just-introduced unlimited individual plan — the exact same that AT&T and Verizon are charging now that they’ve just slashed pricing. It’s pretty interesting to see one of the smaller regional carriers dare to suggest that it can charge the same as the two typically regarded as the States’ “premium” networks — but then again, US Cellular’s got a battery swap program , so there’s your value-add right there. Along with the individual deal, there’s also a new family unlimited plan for $119.99; in both cases, you’ll need to tack on text and data packages separately.

AT&T messes with plans in wake of Verizon’s moves, slashes unlimited voice pricing

Sprint’s talking about it , but AT&T’s straight-up doing something about Verizon’s plan adjustments this morning with a series of its own tweaks this afternoon. Starting Monday, January 18 (conveniently the same day that Verizon’s changes go live), unlimited talk will run $69.99 on individual plans, a nice little cut of $30 against the $99.99 the carrier charges today; family unlimited, meanwhile, comes in at $119.99. Unlimited talk and text costs another $20 on top of unlimited talk alone — no change from the current add-on pricing. Similarly, unlimited talk plus smartphone data goes for $99.99, meaning that you’re paying $30 for the data package — exactly the same as you’re paying now, so really, this all boils down to a big adjustment in what carriers across the board are charging for voice

Verizon announces Nationwide Unlimited Talk and Talk & Text plans

Yesterday we heard some rumblings about Verizon making alterations to its calling plans, and wouldn’t you know it, here’s the official PR setting the record straight. Firstly, there’s an Unlimited Talk plan for $69.99 per month, which can be augmented with free text, picture, and video messaging by moving up to the Unlimited Talk & Text plan at $89.99. Family SharePlan varieties — which cover the service costs for the first two lines — are also going to be available, priced at $119.99 for Talk and $149.99 for Talk & Text. Monthly Unlimited Prepaid options complete the new unveilings, costing $5 more than contract-bound subscribers would have to pay — i.e

Sprint hacks $10 off its monthly mobile WiMAX pricing

Cutting the price of its mobile WiMAX subscription prices for the second time in half a year, Sprint’s confirmed a $10 drop in its monthly fee. The price cut, which brings the price to $59.99 for monthly CDMA / mobile WiMAX. Back in August the company dropped the unlimited 3G/4G service by $10, as well. A spokesperson for Sprint told Fierce Wireless that the price drop is in order to make the service a “no brainer” for its customers, and denied specific, recent rumors that Sprint may partner with Walmart for mobile WiMAX cells in all of its retail locations nationwide

Sprint hacks $10 off its monthly mobile WiMAX pricing

Cutting the price of its mobile WiMAX subscription prices for the second time in half a year, Sprint’s confirmed a $10 drop in its monthly fee. The price cut, which brings the price to $59.99 for monthly CDMA / mobile WiMAX. Back in August the company dropped the unlimited 3G/4G service by $10, as well. A spokesperson for Sprint told Fierce Wireless that the price drop is in order to make the service a “no brainer” for its customers, and denied specific, recent rumors that Sprint may partner with Walmart for mobile WiMAX cells in all of its retail locations nationwide. Regardless, if you want to get in on a WiMAX deal, now might be a decent time to do it.

Verizon CTO: flat-rate data ‘isn’t long-term sustainable’

We’d secretly hoped that 4G would spell the end of 5GB caps on so-called “unlimited” plans, but the problem is that new categories of wireless devices are coming into the mix so quickly that we’re likely going to get crunched no matter how advanced the technology — hence the FCC’s pleas to free up spectrum . Echoing comments made recently by AT&T Mobility head Ralph de la Vega , Verizon CTO Dick Lynch is saying that he doesn’t see how they’ll be able to offer an all-you-can-eat plan when the company’s LTE network goes live over the course of the next few years, citing its open development initiative as a key reason — it’s losing control over what devices (and what kinds of devices) can get on its network, raising the odds that there’ll be gadgets that incur particularly heavy use. It’s a disappointing line for the company to take, but possibly a necessary evil in a truly wireless world. Long-term, the FCC and FTC might need to take a good, hard look at real-time network utilization to verify that Verizon’s pricing is in line with its claimed usage, but for now, let’s hope we don’t all get priced out of our MiFis

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