AT&T Chief Regrets Offering Unlimited Data for iPhone

[lewisipso]

When Randall Stephenson, AT&T’s chief executive, spoke about the state of the wireless industry at a conference this week, he shared some surprisingly frank comments about the iPhone. In particular, he said that he wished the company had never offered an unlimited data plan for the device and that he loses sleep over free texting services like Apple’s iMessage.

If AT&T hadn’t offered unlimited data, it would have been able to get people who used more data to pay up for it, as opposed to having the light data users subsidize the heavy ones, he said.

“My only regret was how we introduced pricing in the beginning, because how did we introduce pricing? Thirty dollars and you get all you can eat,” he said in the on-stage interview at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference on Wednesday. “And it’s a variable cost model. Every additional megabyte you use in this network, I have to invest capital.”

AT&T discontinued unlimited data in 2010, and it has since moved to limited, tiered data plans. The switch is working out well for AT&T. In the last quarter, the company reported $6.1 billion in revenue from mobile data alone. Ralph de la Vega, chief executive of AT&T Mobility, said 70 percent of the people on tiered data plans were paying for the more expensive options.

But that’s not the end of AT&T’s concerns. Mr. Stephenson said he worried about services that could replace the company’s own offerings. For example, free Internet-based messaging services like Apple’s iMessage are eating into the company’s revenue from text messages.

“You lie awake at night worrying about what is that which will disrupt your business model,” he said. “Apple iMessage is a classic example. If you’re using iMessage, you’re not using one of our messaging services, right? That’s disruptive to our messaging revenue stream.”


http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/0...ll-stephenson/

[ChesCopPodz]

I know Verizon has switched to pay as you use data. My plan was grandfathered in for unlimited data since I've been with them since 03.

[bayern]

I am one of those people that he looses sleep over. Guess what? I don't. If you saw my phone bill (DSL Internet, Home Phone and 3 cells phone (1 is an Iphone 4) I am paying plenty. Hey ole geezer lose sleep, and I am a stockholder and I loose sleep when I see your financial statements. Guess what, give me your salary and I sleep for you. My morning rant.

[MacLean]

Eh, I'm grandfathered into Verizon's all you can eat plan.

Anything else is rape, considering how little it impacts their network.

[gopherpuckfan]

I know Verizon has switched to pay as you use data. My plan was grandfathered in for unlimited data since I've been with them since 03.

I've been with them for about 3 years and was grandfathered in as well. I'm very thankful. It's nice to stream video over 4G

[Five-0]

Eh, I'm grandfathered into Verizon's all you can eat plan.

Anything else is rape, considering how little it impacts their network.

Winning reply.

[pac201]

What amazes me is that he openly admits losing sleep trying to figure out a way to rape consumers...

[KaiGywer]

I stepped down from the unlimited to 2GB when I got my iPhone 4...oops Oh well, I have never even used 500MB in a month so I'm not worried about it. I will say though, iMessage is the best invention ever. I don't care about domestic, I get those unlimited anyways, but I can now text friends and family in Norway for free rather than paying $0.25 per text message.

[abom334]

What a tool. I will be changing carriers when my contract is up just cause he said this.

[Ducky]

AT&T has a long and proud history of screwing its customers. Overcharging, billing for unnecessary services, collecting fees for things that don't exist, etc etc. He's just trying to live up to the company reputation of buggery at all costs.

[Odd]

Anyone tried Ting? Describing it would sound like a sales pitch and they're not paying me. Not that I'd mind.

Saw a couple references to being on the unlimited plan. Know what that's worth? It's a Sheep Pledge, promising you all the grain you can eat so long as you don't eat any more than the rest. It's vapor.

I'm on unlimited and have been throttled twice. AT&T's unlimited used to be 5 gigs like everyone at the time, then cut to 2 gigs. Verizon hasn't documented their new rules, but I was well under 5 the second time. (14 and 3.7 for those interested) Nope, wasn't cut off, just throttled to 15kB/s. They put me on early 90's dialup instead of cutting me off, what's the difference these days? I'm not mad or bitter, more playful than anything. Thanks to Droidwall I could easily keep my data use under 10 meg/month - just not so inclined so long as I'm paying as much for this data plan as the copper pipe, much more interesting to find the limits of this sandbox. I don't need data, but they force it on me, so I explore it.

Sure, I know spectrum is limited. But it's not anything like they cry about, and most of those restrictions are artificial. I'm in Corntown, BFE where maybe one in a hundred people have a smartphone yet and they're using the Silicon Valley doomsday model for billing everyone. So glad we have such choice in the marketplace and local competition. That was bitter.