In article <290620080908004860%%djlstewart@
TAKE-OUTmac.com>,
DanS
TAKE-OUTmac.com> wrote:
> In article
>
sn-indi.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net>, Madwen
> wrote:[...]
>> Then she told me that, while she did not yet know the price of the basic
>> iPhone plan, that if we intended to use our iPhones to connect to the
>> internet that we would need to purchase a separate internet package for
>> each iPhone over and above the DSL package we already have in our home
>> and in addition to the cost of the iPhone plan with ATT. The cost of
>> that, she said, would be $40/mo for each iPhone. I asked if I'd then be
>> able to connect to the internet anywhere in the US. No, she said, only
>> certain locations. She left me with the impression that you cannot
>> connect your iPhone to the internet *anywhere* without this separate
>> $40/mo plan. I can't believe that would be correct.
>>
>> I thought you could connect your iPhone to the internet from any WiFi
>> hotspot including your own Mac wireless network in your home. Hasn't
>> this been the practice so far? Isn't $40 rather steep to be able to
>> connect in only limited locations? That's more than I'm paying for high
>> speed DSL in my home! What am I missing or misunderstanding here?
>> Seems like overkill to me. Assuming that the new plan pricing would be
>> the same (doubtful) as for the "old" iPhone, if you chose the middle
>> plan ($80), you'd actually be paying $120 per month. And that's after
>> paying for the phone itself.
>>
>> Can anyone help clarify this for me?
>
> That woman you spoke to is clueless and is doing a great disservice to
> AT&T and Apple.
At a time when so many people are looking for jobs, I'm always amazed to
find people so cavalier about the quality of their work. I wonder how
many unsuspecting people she has duped.
> With the current iPhone, you pay an additional $20 (over your rate
> plan) for the iPhone data plan for access to the Internet on AT&T's
> EDGE network. With the iPhone 3G, that cost will go to $30 for access
> to their 3G network.
>
> This has nothing to do with WiFi. If you are in range of a WiFi
> network, you can access the Internet through that method instead. The
> iPhone usually senses this and pops up a message listing the WiFi
> networks it has detected and asks if you want to connect to one of them
> instead. If you choose one that's password protected, it will then
> prompt you for the password.
>
> To clarify the cost further, my rate plan works like this:
>
> We have a family plan of 550 minutes/month. One iPhone and one
> non-iPhone. The non-iPhone rate is $50/month, the additional line (the
> iPhone) is $9.99/month and the iPhone data cost is $20/month for a
> total monthly fee of $79.99, plus all the annoying taxes and fees they
> tack on.
>
> If you just had an iPhone, then I assume you would figure it from the
> single rate plan, plus the iPhone data fee of $20/month.
Thank you so much for explaining how the whole thing works! Not having
an iPhone yet, I really did not understand the various modes of data
transmission. Most of the information I've researched seems to just
assume that everyone knows the nomenclature. My current, ordinary cell
phone transmits audio data in the form of phone calls & voice mail as
well as text data for "texting". I always assumed that both forms of
data were transmitted over the same mechanism but I guess that was a
mistake.
So, when the ATT person said a separate charge of $40 per iPhone, over
and above the standard rate plan, was required for the Internet, I just
assumed it was some kind of Wi-Fi network. I never really understood
what EDGE was. She also told me there was NO family plan for iPhones
and that my husband and I would have to pay the full rate on both plans
plus the $40 additional "internet fee" on each iPhone. What a con job
she was running... anything to get me to buy something else. Thanks
again for the clarification.
Madeleine
