The Apps Machine reported rumors of iPhone carrier AT&T introducing tiered data plans on December 11, 2009 now that iPhone users have been dubbed the Hummers of the network.    Now we hear from the horses mouth that AT&T “has not made any decisions to do so”.  In this underwhelming denial of the rumors,  AT&T bigwig Ralph de la Vega says they have no intention to move away from unlimited data plans for iPhone users.  He says the focus of his company will be to increase WiFi hotspots and to install mini cell towers within buildings (femtocells) to reduce the pressure the iPhone data hogs are placing on AT&T’s network. Will these data hungry people actually herd like sheep to the hotspots and the femtocells in order to reduce the load on the network?  Are they really that altruistic?  Doubtful at best.

People trust this company as far as they can throw it therefore this public declaration does not seem to have poured any cold water on the hot rumors of tiered data plans.  Previously de la Vega said it is inevitable that high-bandwidth users will be charged for what they consume.  Pretty standard corporate doubletalk.  All this flip flopping is only fueling pressure for another carrier (Verizon) to be added for the iPhone asap, not to mention continuing to beat up  AT&T’s corporate image.  It remains to be seen what concrete actions will be taken, stay tuned as this story develops….

This is an AT&T and the iPhone post by The Apps Machine

For those of you with poor wireless signals, AT&T has a solution for you.  You can buy a $150 3G MicroCell that connects to your existing broadband internet connection to boost  your wireless signals and 3G data speed.  It is like paying for your own decent silverware in a restaurant when the restaurant only offers you flimsy and unusable plastic forks.

AT&T has recently launched their 3G MicroCell in the Charlotte market.  We can assume that more markets will be getting their own 3GMicroCell adapters soon.  The device will allow you to make wireless calls via the internet.  Thus when you are within the range of 3GMicroCell, you will “magically” get full bars on your phone.  However you will still be using your wireless minutes unless you pay another $20 per month to gain access to unlimited minutes while using the adapter. Existing AT&T landline and broadband users may get a discount for this service.

3G data speed should also be faster.  Though, with Wi-Fi already available through your broadband service, it is unclear why iPhone users would not just use Wi-Fi connection instead.

Using a device to artificially boost wireless signals may be desirable for some iPhone users.  However, AT&T’s 3GMicroCell uses your own broadband connection.  Is there any reason why users cannot just use voice-over-ip apps to make wireless calls?  This whole idea of a signal booster that depends on your own internet connection just seem to be another money making scheme for big companies.  AT&T should really be giving them away to folks who have poor wireless receptions to improve their customer satisfaction.  They could probably have even given the device to every iPhone customers to help alleviate the heavy data burden on their own strained wireless network.

Via The Apps Machine under AT&T Signal Booster

Finally, iPhone users don’t have to be jealous of Verizon’s Friends and Family features that they’ve seen so much on TV commercials.  Today, AT&T rolls out their own A-List that enables AT&T wireless subscribers to add 5 to 10 numbers for unlimited calling.  Calling those numbers will no longer use you anytime minutes.

However, only certain plans qualify.  Individual plans with 900+ minutes ($59.99 and over) per month, and Family Talk plans of 1400+ ($89.99 and over) per month qualify for A-List.  For those who qualify, individual plans can add up to 5 numbers, while family plans allow users to add up to 10 numbers. This is great for those people who talk a lot on their iPhones to only a few people.  And yes, that number you can choose to be on your A-List can even be a land line.

So for those of you who qualify, just log in to your AT&T account and setup your A-List.  For those of you who don’t qualify, perhaps you have so much anytime minutes left every month that all this is pretty much meaningless for you.

Here’s the full scoop:

• Individual plans 900+ minutes ($59.99 and over) per month, and FamilyTalk plans 1400+ minutes ($89.99 and over) per month qualify for A-List
• No extra charge with your qualifying plan
• Add up to 5 numbers on your individual plan
• Add up to 10 numbers on your FamilyTalk plan
• Add any domestic number, on any network – including landline numbers
• Update your list online as often as you want, right from your myWireless Account

Via The App Machine filed under AT&T A-List

Apple Insider is reporting that AT&T and Apple may be collaborating on ways to enhance customer satisfaction.  They may be planning a way to set alerts for minutes overage via push notification, preventing users from unknowingly exceeding their monthly anytime minutes. This function may appear in iPhone’s “Settings” menu after a software update arriving before the year’s end.

Apple and AT&T may be also tweaking iPhone’s voicemail features.  iPhones could get a new “Voicemail Preference” in its “Settings” menu to include the ability to disable voice mail greeting.

It seems AT&T is determined to be more involved in iPhone functionality.  After all, it did spent billions subsidizing the phone, expanding and upgrading its network.  It even partner with Loopt, an iPhone app company, to deliver always-on location awareness. 

Many users would laugh at the attempt to add overage alerts via push and voice mail customization.  Those functions seem insignificant compared to the lack of 3G signals at many locations.  Overage alerts really  could be done without push notifications as AT&T should really be sening you free text messages if you are about to go over your minutes.  Don’t they do that when you are late on your bills?   Voice mail customizations can also be fixed by simply calling 611.  In short, these are services no one would care.

What is significant though, is AT&T making a difference in iPhone’s software.  If AT&T really wants to impress us, it would start to offer more free, and useful services.  Afterall, what would happen if AT&T happens to lose its exclusivity in 2010?

It seems that AT&T is always trying to squeeze more monthly fees from iPhone users. Now, together with Loopt, AT&T will enable iPhone users to share their location at all times even when the Loopt app is not turned on. Like the subscription based AT&T Navigator, turning on this location awareness feature will set you back $3.99 per month.

An always on location awareness feature is a frequent request from Loopt users. However, due to Apple’s restriction with third party apps running in the background, Loopt have to go directly to AT&T to successfully launch this feature. This feature works by server to server communication between AT&T and Loopt. This will bypass GPS data collection through the Loopt app. Instead, AT&T will use cell tower triangulation to approximate the users location. Thus, the always-on location awareness feature will not be as accurate as location data collected from GPS. Furthermore, the location data is only updated once every 1 to 2 hours.

Loopt is currently offering a 14-day free trial for its first 5000 subscribers. After that, the monthly fees will automatically be applied unless it is cancelled. Also, only iPhone users with a text messaging plan will be elegible for this free trial. So, if you are interested to have someone track your location at all times, why not give it a try?

After years of waiting, it looks like MMS is finally coming to the iPhone.  AT&T today has announced that MMS will be available to iPhone 3G and 3GS users on September 25th.  According to AT&T, a special iPhone update will be released prior to that date to allow for MMS activation and usage. 

AT&T blamed the slow rollout of its MMS service on its network capabilities.  They stated:

“The unique capabilities and high usage of the iPhone’s multimedia capabilities required us to work on our network MMS architecture to carry the expected record volumes of MMS traffic and ensure an excellent experience from Day One. We appreciate your patience as we work toward that end.”

Our patience with AT&T has sure been strong… at least for some of us.  AT&T’s network capabilites is finally getting close to absorb the massive data usage from its iPhone users.  But AT&T needs to do better and do it fast. We are expecting a future where wireless data service should have no limits.  So have your pictures ready and lets really test AT&T on September 25th.  When AT&T can prove to us they can finally build a network architecture sufficient to accommodate MMS, perhaps tethering is just around the corner.  

MMS will be included in iPhone’s text messaging plan without additional charge.  However please note that original iPhone owners will not get MMS.  So why does anyone still have the original iPhone?  It’s time to update to the next level with MMS.