Mobile Share Questions

[ujmnz · Accepted solution]

all android phones have the hotspot feature built in, you do not need the elevate.

[mjmbluford]

That's what I thought that setting is for. Just needed to hear it. Thanks.

[schafga]

Any update as to when these new plans will be available in August?

[jamileh]

We have not announced a date just yet but you can keep an eye on this site for updates! You can also sign up for an email notification when Mobile Sharing becomes available. 

[jamileh]

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thesorenson3 wrote:

HI All,

I have 10 lines total

1 account has 5 lines

1 account has one line

1 account has 2 lines

and another account 2 lines

Family talk is limited to 5 lines per group.  This new plan shows it allows up to 10.  Am i able to move all these accounts into one and have 1 account , or can the mobile share be distributed to all the different accounts up to 10 devices

I only spread out the lines on different accounts for billing purposes

Thanks

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It sounds like Mobile Sharing will be a great option for you!

Since Mobile Sharing allows for 10 devices, you can mix and match your accounts as much or as little as you want. 

You can keep lines grouped as well. 

[jamileh]

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Dcookie wrote:

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jamileh wrote:

Please see my response re: FAN discounts here - http://forums.att.com/t5/Data-Messaging-Features-Internet/Mobile-Share-Questions/m-p/3257527#M59032

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Jam...your post is for the Shared Data Plan which hasn't become effective as of yet, correct?

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Yes, that is correct. 

[netghoster]

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21stNow wrote:

Tethering and Mobile Hotspot are included at all data levels with the Mobile Share plans.

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Does it mean if I have a wifi version iPad, I can share the internet connection on the go via tethering without additional cost? Sounds too good to be true. 

[21stNow]

Yes, that's exactly what it means.

[compwhiz]

So, what is going to happen if I have a Blackberry that is using Enterprise plan because of the requirement to use BES?  Can a Blackberry that needs to use BES be part of Mobile Share plan?

[mikewho]

Hopefully they will continue to offer both plans for a long time. The old plan suits me just fine but maybe down the road the shared plan will be better for me.

[wingrider01 ACE - Expert]

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compwhiz wrote:

So, what is going to happen if I have a Blackberry that is using Enterprise plan because of the requirement to use BES?  Can a Blackberry that needs to use BES be part of Mobile Share plan?

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they make no mention of business class enterprise data in mobile share - suspect you wil need to stay with what you have

[jamileh]

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compwhiz wrote:

So, what is going to happen if I have a Blackberry that is using Enterprise plan because of the requirement to use BES?  Can a Blackberry that needs to use BES be part of Mobile Share plan?

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That's a good question. Let me get some clarification on enterprise plans and I'll update the thread with what I find out.

[sdenwolf17]

On my current plan there is an iphone with a 60 dollar talk plan, 30 dollar unlimited data, and 30 dollar family messaging. There are two messaging phones with the 10 dollar line fee. One of those phones is looking to upgrade to a smart phone and would get the 20 dollar 300 MB plan. 

Would we be able to put two of the phones on the mobile share plan, and keep the messaging phone on the unlimited text plan and 10 dollar line fee with no data, instead of paying 30 dollars for that too?

[jamileh]

Sure can!

You can create groups within your family plan so you can have a couple phones on the Mobile Share plan and other phones on their own plan. 

[sdenwolf17]

So i could put the smart phone and the iphone on the 1gb mobile share plan which would cost 130, and then add ten for the messaging phone? Would the messaging phone still have unlimited messaging?

[jamileh]

You've mostly got it. 

Your two smartphones would be on the mobile share plan (1GB of data & unlimited talk/text) = $130 (plus fees/taxes)

If you added the messaging phone to the mobile share plan as well, it would be another $30 a month (data, unlimited talk/text)

If you left the messaging phone out of the mobile share plan, it would be on it's own seperate plan. Those $10/month fee is for unlimited data on a non-smartphone (a messaging phone). You would still need to have a voice plan and the Messging Unlimited feature on that phone. 

I think you'd be better off having all three phones part of the mobile share plan. That would bring your monthly fee to $160 (plus taxes/fees). 

[sdenwolf17]

is there a way to do it so the that the messaging phone has just the voice and text part, but not the data?

[jamileh]

Sure. Since only smartphones require a dataplan, you don't need to have a data plan for a messaging phone. 

You could get a straight up voice package and add the messaging feature. The basic voice package is 450 minutes with rollover and 5,000 nights/weekend minutes will run you $39.99/month and the messaging (unlimited messaging and mobile to mobile calling) will be an additional $20.

If you do it that way, you're looking at $130 (plus taxes/fees) for the two phones on the mobile share plan and $60 (plus taxes/fees) for the messaging phone. That would be a total of about $190 (of course, plus taxes/fees).

Individual Voice Plans: http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/plans/individualplans.html

Mobile Share Plans: http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/data-plans.html#fbid=VNDqMdc0s08?tab2

(Please bear in mind that these prices are estimates and your billed amount may be different based on your choices)

[sdenwolf17]

okay....if i get a new phone under a regular plan now, in a few weeks when mobile share becomes available, can i switch to that?

[jamileh]

Yes, you can change rate plans at any time. Be advised though that adding/removing features, changing rate plans or changing data plans can impact your upgrade eligibility date.

It's always a good idea to check your eligibility date after you've made changes to your account so you aren't surprised when it comes time to upgrade.

[clonalvex]

I have a concern with the fallacy of "$15 per GB for add'l data".

1GB of data is equal to 1GB of data, there is no more or less consumption of that amount of data regardless of the number of devices involved in using it.

So, why is it that under individual data plans the overage is the common "$10 per GB" while under the Mobile Share plan it is "$15 per GB"? (With many devices sharing a pool of data, chances increase on an overage. This makes it seem like a profit seeking pricing model.)

I may likely never have an overage, but I despise it when a provider has inconsistent pricing or fees for identical service features.

[texasguy]

I can explain why they did $15/GB overage instead of $10/GB.  Economics

Only the the 20GB for $200 is only level that is $10/GB level.  All the other plans are higher than that per GB.  If it was $10/GB, people could opt for lower levels and if for some reason would have an overage, pay less per GB in overage than what their tier cost per GB. 

Let's say some one on the 4GB plan uses 6GB of data.  With a $10/GB overage, their data would be

$70 (4GB plan) + $20 in overage = $90 (same cost of paying the 6GB plan)

At $15/GB, thier cost would be $100.

The general idea  is for to opt for higher tier and pay more every month for what they might not use, instead of paying less every month and paying the occassional overage.  A higher overage also helps guide people into those higher tiers.   Which seemed the same motivation of changing the 2GB $20 plan to a 3GB $30 plan.  Even if an account used 2GB per line, the change makes additional revenue of $10 per line.  The change didn't save anyone already using 3GB, just got more money out of new subscribers that didn't need more than 2GB.

[clonalvex]

Actually the old 2GB plan was $25 per month.  I have two smartphones currently on that plan.  So an overage for me currently would provide more revenue, but if I never exceed my data pool, I the customer save money.

[harryspar]

I have a five line family plan.
Can I split off 2 lines to a data share plan and leave the other 3 lines on their original family plan, without any termination fees?
Will this affect my contract end date or upgrade eligibility?

[bungejulio]

I have a specific question concerning EMO discounts. On the new Shared Data plans, will we get 50% off of the primary line + the data plan or JUST on the data plan?

Thanks!

[jamileh]

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bungejulio wrote:
I have a specific question concerning EMO discounts. On the new Shared Data plans, will we get 50% off of the primary line + the data plan or JUST on the data plan?

Thanks!

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Please take a look at your private messages. 

[vossmr]

I like the concept, but the pricing scheme for "Mobile Share" makes absolutely no sense for us either.

Switching from 2 separate accounts to a family plan was a wash for us and now switching from a family plan to this "Mobile Share" is a wash as well.  The only thing that actually makes sense for us is switching to Straight-Talk pre-paid (which would save us ~$60/month).

I've been an AT&T Wireless, Cingular and back to AT&T customer for more than ten years now, but there is less correlation now between what I have to pay per month and my actual usage than ever before.

[clonalvex]

I couldn't agree with you more.  With so many other possible ways to communicate with a data connection, the number of available minutes have become nearly irrelevant for me.  With two lines we use maybe only ~100-150 minutes per month on average. 

Even other features are outweighed by free services.  For text messaging and visual voice mail, Google Voice is a highly superior service.

We currently use the 550 minute plan with each line having the 2GB data plan ($25).  One line has the old 1000 messages for $10 per month, while I use Google Voice on the other.  Our current monthly cost is ~$120.  If we switched to the 4GB or 6GB plan with two lines the cost would increase to $150 or $160 respectively.

I realize unlimited voice is part of the share, but it is a service we would never fully utilize.  That would create an unnecessary additional cost each month.  

All of this would have been so much more customer friendly if AT&T had just simplified sharing with options to add on a Family Shared data pool to your current plan.  For example this would be the current individual data plans being the same cost and amount of data, but shared for all lines in the family plan.  (3GB for $30 or 5GB for $50, etc...)

If I added Unlimited Family Messaging (which is an already available option for $30), my cost would actually be the same under this process. $50(550 minutes) + $10(second line) +$30(shared 3GB) + $30(Unl.FamilyMsg) = ~$120, but I would be saving money because I am not paying for an unneeded feature like unlimited minutes.  This would also save me even more if I were to add my third line for an additional $10.

These Mobile Share Plans are an excellent savings for those currently using an unlimited minutes family plan with multiple data usage devices.  For the rest of us though it does not make much sense paying for a service we would not utilize enough for the additional cost. 

The simplicity of all this should be obvious and only requires me to restate my earlier point, "1GB of data is equal to 1GB of data, there is no more or less consumption of that amount of data regardless of the number of devices involved in using it."  Everything else has seemingly moved to unlimited, but now that there are more devices than ever before using data, it has become a method to earn as much revenue as possible by imposing arbitrary and complicated pricing schemes on that data usage.

[IonLake]

I think ATT should be ASHAMED of themselves with this new method of fleecing customers.

Right now I have

1-plan unlimited $30

1-plan 2 GB for $15

1 plan 250 MB for $10

I pay $55 per month.

New plan 4GB monthly plan ($70) and added a smartphone ($40) and a tablet ($10), your monthly bill would be $120.  That's a 100% increase.  Unless you convince me otherwise, you've just lost a customer.