tiered data

Verizon Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said the response to the carrier's shared data plan has been positive, despite the wave of criticism that has erupted over the new policy.

"Early feedback has been great," he said during an investor conference call today. "The customer adoption has been tracking with expectations."

The company last month launched its "Share Everything" plan to a bit of controversy, exacerbated by the carrier's decision to kill off unlimited data for anyone who upgraded their phone. Verizon took fire over the plan's complicated cost structure and … Read more

With AT&T officially announcing its "Mobile Share" plans and joining Verizon Wireless, there will soon be two options for customers who want to get into a family plan for data services.

While these plans aren't the best deals for individuals, large families or even groups of really, really close friends may want to consider them. That's because the more people who sign on, the lower the price per gigabyte and user. Of course, if someone is a heavy data user, that person may want to stick with an individual plan, or risk hogging up … Read more

AT&T launched its own "Mobile Share" plans today, matching Verizon Wireless' push to get more people to share their data plans with family members.

Mobile Share, like Verizon's Share Everything, provides a bucket of data that can be shared between as many as 10 devices. One of the devices has to be a smartphone, but other basic phones, tablets, and laptops can be added on top of that for an additional fee. The plans get unlimited voice and text messages.

Shared data plans, which act like a family plan of minutes and text messages to … Read more

Time Warner Cable is at it again.

The company this week announced the launch of a usage-based pricing plan in Southern Texas. The service is available to customers in San Antonio, Laredo, Corpus Christi, the Rio Grande Value, and the Border Corridor, the company said in a blog post.

Dubbed the Essentials Plan, the offering limits subscribers to 5GB of data usage a month in exchange for a $5 discount to their monthly bill. Time Warner Cable says customers can opt-in or opt-out of the deal at any time, and subscribers will get a "meter" to let them … Read more

Sprint Nextel says it is ready to handle the iPhone, even if it isn't officially carrying it yet.

Sprint is watching the network and investing in the infrastructure as needed to ensure a good customer experience, regardless of the rumors, Chief Financial Officer Joe Euteneuer said during an investor conference yesterday. The comments were reported by Fierce Wireless.

It's widely believed that Sprint will sell the iPhone alongside AT&T and Verizon Wireless. While Apple has set no date for the next iPhone, it is expected to come in October.

Euteneuer didn't confirm that Sprint would … Read more

Rumor has it that Apple is planning to sell its latest crop of iPhones not just to AT&T and Verizon Wireless customers, but also to Sprint Nextel and possibly T-Mobile USA customers.

This is great news for millions of customers who have remained loyal to these smaller operators. But some consumers are wary about buying a new iPhone from T-Mobile when the company is expected to be purchased by AT&T early next year. Will a T-Mobile iPhone even work on the AT&T network? I answer this very question in the column below.

Also in … Read more

commentary Once Sprint Nextel gets the iPhone, you can bid farewell to its unlimited-data plan.

If history is any indication, Sprint will have to make some tough decisions, if Apple's blockbuster device starts weighing on its network. It's something the other carriers have done, and it's part of a broader trend of telecommunication companies struggling to keep up with growing bandwidth consumption.

After suffering through years of heavy bandwidth usage from iPhone users, AT&T relented and switched to a tiered pricing plan last year. It only took Verizon Wireless a few months after launching its … Read more

AT&T confirmed today that it will begin throttling the heaviest data users of its wireless network starting October 1.

The new policy will affect only customers who still have an unlimited data plan, and only apply to the top 5 percent of that base. Throttling is when a carrier will slow down the connection of a device to keep it from consuming more data. AT&T hasn't specified what the threshold will be--it says the amount of data that would trigger throttling would vary from month to month.

AT&T is just the latest carrier … Read more

Roku adds motion-sensing gaming to its streaming media box, Sonos offers a lower cost, wireless Hi-Fi speaker system called the Play 3, and Apple unleashes Mac OS X Lion, updates MacBook Air and Mac Mini, and releases a Thunderbolt Display.

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

Apple unveilsMac OS X Lion, new MacBook Airs, new Mac minis and the Thunderbolt Display

Roku 2 gets motion-sensing video gaming

Lower-cost, Sonos Play 3 networked, wireless speakers

New T-Mobile "unlimited" smartphone plans

Google adds malware warning to search