Would you buy this one-size fits all plan if your carrier offered it?

I would.

 

I would too... its super cheap for high-volume users. It would cut my bill in half, which would make it worth giving up "free" off network calling I have now (I have the old cingular nation + N&W). I assume this included long distance, btw.

However, it's probably more complicated than most people want to deal with.

 

At the lower ends (<$50) it's really the same as what it is out there now.

At the higher ends, it's a bit more expensive compared with the current T-M plans (5000 for $100 for example) and 3000 for $50, but that plan is regional.

But it does offer more choice since there are infinte price levels, so it can work out.

 

The thing I like about this plan is that it doesn't lock you into one particular price "tier" ... you get one base bucket of minutes and can use more (for a reasonable amount) or less (with credits toward your next bill).

The thing I don't like, however, is that it starts to price telephone usage like a utility service. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it makes it hard to predict how much you're spending until the bill comes. At least current billing practices allow me to establish a monthly budget and know *exactly* how much my wireless phone bill will be when it arrives.

Also, I am currently on one of the older Cingular Nation plans (1200/3500N&W/$99). With the "free" N&W minutes, I end up using close to 2500 minutes per month. According to your price listing, I'm only spending an additional $8/month and I get the freedom of having off-network roaming for no additional charge.

I think a plan like this would be awesome if it included "promos" like unlimited N&W or unlimited M2M. If I could factor those features in, I would definitely consider a plan like this...

ATLguy

 

Well, the way this plan effectively kicks you up to the next-higher plan when you go over your minutes is about 100x better than just charging you $0.35/minute when you go over. Which would you really prefer?

And when you don't use all your minutes, you don't pay as much. Whats not to like? You say you don't like the variability in the monthly bill, but it could be lower, and if higher, it won't be as high as it will under current plans, so you come out ahead if you use more or less than your "planned" number of minutes. This alone makes me think major carriers won't be offering anything like this in the very near future.

 

You make a perfectly valid point. I guess I'm just super-____ when it comes to using my wireless phone. After each call, I log the number of minutes (rounding up, of course) and keep a running tally of my total minutes used. This allows me to maximize my alloted minutes each month -- if I'm running under, I use my phone for everything from long distance calls to ordering pizza; if I'm running close to my "quota", I keep the phone available but only use it in an emergency. Over the past 9 months, I haven't gone over my plan quota once. And I'm using pretty darn close to everything that I pay for...

Of course, I also make a valid argument for WirelessBeachBum's proposed plan -- with a plan like he suggests, I wouldn't have to keep such careful track of my minutes used. Now I understand why these wireless providers need to employ so many people -- it requires some hefty/collective brainpower to actually craft a plan that people are willing to buy into and one that will actually make money for the company!

While we're on the subject, most of us have focused on the variable rate component of the proposed plan. What's everyone's take on the "on-network" clause -- has everyone accepted the fact that we're not going to see any true nationwide plans with creative promotions? I know there's a lot of talk about credits being issued and "Extended Area" vs. "Roaming" vs. "XXX" ... I'm happy paying a few extra bucks to ensure that I never have to worry about these important but downright annoying issues. Are the days of true nationwide calling plans with creative incentives and useful promotions over? I have a feeling the answer is "yes", but do most people even care?

ATLguy

 

I prefer the "real" national plan, so I don't have to worry about when I'm on a preferred network and when I'm not. However, if I were getting a plan now, I'd probably get a preferred nation plan so I could get the N&W minutes, since Cingular has stopped offering those with their real national plan, and given the very very few times I'm roaming off network (with all the traveling I do, it's amazing how rarely I lose a cingular signal). If Cingular would do something like sprint and make it possible to put the phone into a "Cingular-only" mode where it wouldn't roam off, I really wouldn't mind the preferred nation plan (as long as I could fairly easily override the "cingular-only" mode if I really had to make a call).

 

- Tiered plan: IIRC, ChaseTel (a small C-block carrier that Leap/Cricket bought) offered a similar plan in Chattanooga for awhile. These sort of plans are confusing, but probably tend to ramp ARPU up somewhat as people feel like they can use their phone more and pay less per minute. The major problem is that carriers' average rate per minute goes down as people don't go way under their minutes or way over their minutes.

- Off-network plans: I think the days of the generous promos with true national plans are basically over, but I don't think true national plans will go away entirely. I do see the "preferred" networks of the quasi-national plans (VZW AC, Cingular NP, ALLTEL NF, etc. -- IMO, AT&T NN is more like SPCS plans than like AC/NP/NF/etc.) getting larger and larger as relatively greedy and uncooperative smaller carriers start to see roaming revenue drop and they rethink their agreements. (Of course, there will always be a few "specialty" carriers such as various smaller Alaska carriers, the Gulf of Mexico offshore carriers, and perhaps Commnet Wireless who can justify and command high rates from other carriers.) VZW has expanded America's Choice coverage significantly since the inception of the plan, with the addition of many US Cellular, Western Wireless, RCC, and other carriers' areas; Cingular has gone the other way, *losing* roaming *entirely* in parts of AL, GA, and IL (but then again, Cingular seems to be known for roaming "problems".) I hope the latter doesn't become more common....

-SC

 

European carriers often offer tiered plans. I know Orange.fr does. It's a bit simpler, though... you sign up and pay EUR 3,00 for the privilege, and pick, say a 2 hour rate plan for EUR 30,00. Then if you use 2h01m through 3h, you'd be bumped up to the next rate plan, say EUR40,00.

The way it was described above is way too confusing.