AT&T Mobility (
NYSE:T)
is limiting the data options on its cheaper prepaid GoPhone plans.
However, the carrier said it will launch new GoPhone plans in the next
few weeks, according to a
CNET report. AT&T did not provide prices for the new plans, saying only that there would be a "variety of plans."
Currently, AT&T's $65 prepaid GoPhone plan comes with unlimited
voice, texting and 1 GB of data, and is available for smartphones. The
carrier's $50 plan includes unlimited voice, texting and data, but is
only available on feature phones. AT&T's $25 monthly plan comes with
250 voice minutes and unlimited texting. As add-ons, AT&T charges
$25 for 1 GB, $15 for 200 MB and $5 for 50 MB.
Under the new changes, the $25 plan will only be able to access the
$5/50 MB data add-on, and the $50 plan will not be able to access any of
the add-ons. The $65 plan will remain unchanged.
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"We're making some changes to our AT&T GoPhone prepaid plans to
simplify our offers and better align with what customers are choosing
and telling us they want," the company said in a statement to
CNET.
"We've begun letting customers know about the changes in advance, and
we'll have more information on new, additional plan options soon."
The changes come shortly after AT&T added HSPA+ and LTE data
support to GoPhone customers who use devices capable of accessing those
networks. Presumably, that will lead to speedier data service, and more
data consumption, which is why AT&T may be gravitating toward the
data-heavy $65 plan option.
Separately, AT&T last month launched its new "Aio Wireless"
prepaid brand, which runs on the company's HSPA+ network. The Aio brand
also supports a wider range of devices
than AT&T's GoPhone option, including the Nokia (
NYSE:NOK) Lumia 620 for $179.99, Apple's (
NASDAQ:AAPL)
iPhone 5 for $649.99, the Samsung Galaxy Express for $249.99, the
Samsung Galaxy Amp for $99.99 and the ZTE Prelude for $49.99. Aio also
offers a handful of feature phones.
Other carriers continue to be aggressive in the prepaid market. Verizon Wireless (
NYSE:VZ recently
increased the amount of data available to prepaid customers on its 3G
network in a bid to drive prepaid 3G data sales. On its existing $60 per
month prepaid plan, which includes unlimited calling and texting,
Verizon increased the data allotment from 500 MB to 2 GB. On its $70
plan, Verizon raised its data allotment to 4 GB per month, up from 2 GB
previously.
Further, T-Mobile US (
NYSE:TMUS)
is working to promote its new "uncarrier" service that includes
unlimited voice and texting and 2.5 GB of high-speed data for $60 per
month. Sprint Nextel (
NYSE:S)
continues to support a range of prepaid plans through its Boost Mobile
and Virgin Mobile brands, and Sprint just announced that Boost will
launch the Samsung Galaxy S III, which can run on Sprint's LTE network,
for $399.99 without a contract.
The carriers are clearly seeing the need to play more toward
data-focused consumers in the prepaid market. Nearly one-third of U.S
smartphone sales in the first quarter were on prepaid carriers, the
highest on record, according to a report from the NPD Group. According
to NPD, prepaid smartphone unit sales doubled year-over-year in the
first quarter, representing 32 percent of total smartphone sales, which
is an 11 point increase year-over-year and a 10 point increase from the
record-high share of 22 percent reached in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Read more ...