AT&T Mobility adjusts smartphone data caps, prices

AT&T Mobility this morning made a bold step in announcing plans for reducing the data usage cap and price on its mandatory smartphone data packages.
The carrier said it will now offer two “options” for smartphone customers that include a 2 gigabyte monthly cap for $25 or a 200 megabyte option for $15. The carrier previously required smartphone users to pay $30 per month for unlimited data access.
In addition to smartphone packages, AT&T Mobility is now replacing the $30 per month “unlimited” offering for Apple Inc.’s iPad 3G with the new 2 GB package. The carrier did say that the new packages only pertain to new customers, though existing customers can switch to the new offerings without extending their current contracts.
In addition to the new packages, AT&T Mobility said customers can add a tethering option to the 2 GB DataPro option for $20 per month. Customers will be charged $10 per gigabyte of data transmission over the DataPro 2 GB limit.
The new plans are set to launch on June 7, which is the same day Apple is expected to unveil an updated iPhone.
The carrier added that 65% of its current smartphone customers use less than 200 MB of data per month and that 98% use less than 2 GB per month. A recent analyst reports have indicated that the average iPhone users consumes around 800 MB per month.
The numbers seem to indicate that AT&T is targeting heavy data users that have been singled out for causing network capacity issues on the carrier’s 3G network.
AT&T Mobility noted that the new plans also include free access to the carrier’s more than 20,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in the U.S. and that it would send free text messages updating customers on their current data usage.
The new packages nudge closer to the carrier’s DataConnect plans for its wireless modems that have two plan options at $35 per month for 200 MB and $60 per month for 5 GB. Smartphone customers going with a tethering option on the DataPro plan would end up paying $75 per month for the same 5 GB limit offered on the high-end DataConnect plan.
AT&T Mobility added that the new smartphone options allow users to reduce their monthly payments on the devices as previously the least expensive plan Nation plan with the mandatory data package cost $70 per month. The new offering allows customers the option of a $55 or $65 per month charge.
The carrier recently increased the early termination fee it charges for customers purchasing a smartphone that then decide to break their contract before the agreement expires. The new ETF fees begin at $325 before a prorating chops $10 per month off the total fee. The previous ETF for all of the carrier’s devices was $175.
Most of AT&T Mobility’s competition currently stick with the 5 GB cap for wireless modems. Leap Wireless International Inc. does offer a wireless modem package in select retail outlets that allows for 10 GB of data transmission per month for $50, while Sprint Nextel Corp. offers unlimited access to its WiMAX service on its data packages.
AT&T expects these new data plans to have minimal revenue impact this year and to not affect previous guidance for 2010.