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Dallas Morning News

AT&T ending unlimited data plans for smart phones

June 02, 2010

AT&T smart phone subscribers who have $30 unlimited data plans will be able to keep those plans if they wish, even when they renew their contracts. However, customers who move to one of the new plans cannot return to their old unlimited plan.

For example, one of the most popular apps on the iPad is broadcaster ABC's free app that streams episodes of television shows. According to AT&T's online data calculator, watching 50 minutes of video a day at basic video quality settings would burn through 2.86 gigabytes a month.

Harry Wang, director of health and mobile product research at Dallas-based research firm Parks Associates, said those scenarios are probably what spurred AT&T to act.

"Mobile carriers are realizing that devices like smart phones and iPads will clog their pipe, and they want to set straight consumer expectations before the fixed-rate-for-unlimited-use is deep-rooted in consumers' mind," Wang wrote in an e-mail.

From the article, "AT&T ending unlimited data plans for smart phones" by Victor Godinez

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