What It Means That AT&T Is Considering Different Data Plans For The iPhone

image
AT&T (NYSE: T) is considering the introduction of a variety of data plans that would limit some web surfing for smartphones, including the iPhone, Reuters reports. The move is part of a growing trend by carriers that are looking for a way to manage soaring data usage on their networks, while providing good service for all — and, of course, making money.

Right now, carriers are offering all-you-can-eat data plans to drive user adoption. But the downside of the simplicity, is that it allows everything from light-weight email and instant messaging to applications that hog the network, like streaming video. As a result, carriers, like AT&T, have made the unpopular decision to block heavy bandwidth applications, the SlingBox, that might bring down the network. Reuters is reporting today that Ralph de la Vega, the head of AT&T Mobility, told the Reuters Global Technology Summit in New York yesterday that they are looking for an alternative way to deal with the problem. Rather than lowering the price for all of its unlimited data plans (which is $70 for iPhone users), it could offer limited plans at a lower free. De la Vega: “Right now we continue to study what is the best thing that is available, not just from an iPhone point of view, but what you can do to stimulate additional demand.”

We talked to Merav Bahat, VP of Marketing, of Israel-based Flash Networks, which helps operators manage data demands, to get a better idea of what that means. He said operators should “give users the choice to choose the right pricing plan for them based on usage patterns — don

loading

Comments have been disabled for this post