AT&T Gets The Tail End Of This Mobile Price Change, Not Consumers

Since yesterday when news broke that AT&T would be changing both their prices and their data allowances on new users accounts for the 2012 season, there's been one whole heck of a lot of dissent out there on why people "hate AT&T even more", and so forth. What's not showing up nearly enough is the fact that with these new price "hikes" also comes a better data to price ratio as well as the ability to keep your old prices if that's what you enjoy more. Instead of griping about how AT&T is raising their prices, perhaps a glance at the fact that it's not you, current AT&T customer, who will be footing the bill, nor will it be someone who previously payed less.

Instead, what we've got here is a simple set of facts: first of all, if you DO want to switch to the new data plan, you're getting more data per dollar. Where before the prices were $15, $25, and $25, now they cost $20, $30, and $50. With these prices comes an increase per dollar of 2MB, 20MB, and 100MB. That's substantial for those of you that use more data than you're allowed on the current plans, and it's GOOD for people that would otherwise be going OVER the basic amount of data per month, incurring added fees.

Then there's this fact: new customers will not see a price increase. New customers, quite simply, did not have the old prices in the first place, because they were not customers until now – that's what makes them new. For those of you new to economics, the only price increase here is for people that elect to change their prices themselves. There's no tricks here, only a price adjustment AT&T is making for the future of mobile data usage.

All that said, I think data should be MUCH cheaper than it is now, so it's all nonsense when it comes down to it.