MEdia Net, R.I.P.: 2004 - 2009?
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Jan 22nd 2009 2:42PM
posted Jan 22nd 2009 2:42PM
For better or worse, AT&T's MEdia Net has been a stalwart of the American wireless data world for a good spell now, but as Amp'd so spectacularly demonstrated, all good things must come to an end. Word on the street is that MEdia Net plans are in the process of being rebranded simply as "Data," as in "AT&T Unlimited Data". Truth be told, we kinda like it when a carrier cuts the crap and gives it to us straight -- and calling data "Data" is about as straight as you can get -- so we're down with the move, but hey, MEdia Net, we'll never forget you.[Thanks, Kal]
I hope the name change is the only thing that will be different.
no...it's cheaper now as well...i'll forward on the details...
funny thats exactly what my first thought was :)
can you please post the details kal, i really, really need to know the prices, thanks
So how does this affect their PDA data plans at $30 and $60 [with tethering] per month (which seem to me outrageously priced)? Will they drop them in price? I'm glad to pay $15/month for data, but I'm not going to pay $30 or $60.
yea your right. data rates are outrageous. i think i pay like $30 a month on my Verizon Treo. should i really have to pay almost as much as my home internet for a much less appealing experience on my PDA? it would be $45 a month if i hadnt found out about the godsend PDANet for my tethering needs. i think the prices will drop as more and more people start to use data plans more and more. i know Verizon's data plan used to be $45 a month just for the data but they recently dropped it to $30. so my fingers are crossed that this trend continues.
Whew...trying to sell Media Net in '04-'05? Borderline impossible.
Any idea on when this happens?
MEida Net and MEdia Works were introduced in Q2 2004
MEdia Works unlimited was the best value in the industry (unlimited data, 1000 text, 200 MMS)
I have MediaWorks unlimited and it's actually 1500 sms and 300 mms. 19.99 a mnth. I've been in that plan forever and will stay with ATT forever as long as I keep that plan. Otherwise I'll switch to Sprint probably. They have overall better deals currently.
AT&T Will be keeping PDA and BlackBerry Packages exactly as they are. The current $35 MediaMax Bundle will be called Messaging and Data for $30 instead of $35. There will be an addition of Family Data which will only apply to regular phones, no iPhones, PDAs, or Berrys are allowed on this plan. Basically it requires a customer to already have or add Family Messaging unlimited, and once they have that already they can add unlimited data to any lines they chose with a regular phone for $10. MediaNet unlimited will simply be Data Unlimited and will stay at the $15 Price point. Current Media Basic and Media Works are going away for ever, if you currently have it you can keep it, until you change your data plan and you cannot go back nor will any new customers be able to get the Media Basic or Works packages anymore after January 25th if I remember correctly. Other than that there are no big changes, also current mediamax customers will need to call to get the $5 savings, you will not be automatically switched.
wish they'd drop the price on PDA data plans, i'm still pretty pissed about the price hike, even if its only five bucks. i mean for the love of gah'd, if you're gonna jack up data prices, how back making voice packages that only have like 200 minutes maybe for 20, 25 bucks. God knows i never talk on the phone, but i email, text, IM, and other message the crap out of it
What price hike? They are lowing them by $5 or staying the same..
exactly what i said...price hike. i dont know how long you've had att unlmited data/txt...but it used to be 50 for both, now...its 55. I think thats called a price hike.. ok. thanx, bye
Dude, its still 50... Feat codes DPPB and MSG4: $30 + $20... Or you can you get unlimited data as a rate plan with no voice and that would be $35, and then another $20 for the SMS... Not sure where you get your info.
my apologies...i looked at my bill, and old bills. It used to be 20 data +20 txt and now its 30 data +20 txt...so yeah, it went up to 50...not 55 my bad. Either way, still horse shiet that it went up. Especially when all cell phone carriers are honestly ripping people off when it comes to SMS charges.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/business/28digi.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss
It still seems to me to be a rip off that someone with a PDA phone has to pay $30/month while someone with a non-pda phone pays a lot less for the same thing!
I know people with non-pda phones that use a heck of a lot more data than I do with my pda phone. And you can tether a lot of non-pda phones just like you can with a pda too.
the logic that I always hear from at&t that "pda users will user a lot more data than non-pda users" is just ridiculous.
It's basically just another hidden fee to make up for the subsidy you got when you bought the phone from the carrier.
If you have an unlocked phone of any sort you can just ask for the normal dumbphone (formerly called "MEdia Net") plan instead. With a bit of trickery, you could possibly even use the dumbphone plan with your branded/subsidized phone, but I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader.
The $15 monthly savings from this really do add up over the life of a phone. If you've got a 2 year term on your contract, you're talking $360 by the end of it, which is important to factor in when comparing unlocked vs subsidized prices.
AT&T only has 200 ($5/mn), 1500 ($15/mn) or unlimited text plan ($19.99/mn). I wish i wish that they create a plan in between 200 and 1500 texts like 500 or 700 text message plan.
T-mobile has 400 text for $2.99 which was very nice.
Unfortunately, PDA data prices are not going to change. AT&T has figured out the more you give them, the more they can get out from you. Basically, if you have the money to afford a PDA phone, which is more expensive than your everyday dumbphone, then you have the money to afford a more expensive data plan.
It's more than just raw KB...
Tethering aside, your average "dumbphone" has a browser that is not as feature-rich as your PDA/Smartphone. So you have greater capabilities which genereally for most average (read non-techie-or-engadget-reading) users will result in greater data usage. So the price for the PDA plan is what they want to charge for data... the dumphone cheaper plan is for the average person to bite for data since they won't be able to get the value due to the more limited capabilities. Yes, the unscrupulous can make it work, but at the end of the day, how ethical is that?
yes, but the problem is that both are labled "unlimited", so why should i have to pay more for data, regardless of how much is used since both are unlimited, just because its a smart phone? thats like charging someone with a flip phone more for an unlimited plan because they may use more minutes because the phone is more conftorable to talk on than a bar.
If its because they assume more usage, then they should just sell data in buckets like they do minutes. say 500mb for 10, 1 gb for 15, 2gb for 20, 4gb for 30, 6gb for 40, and "unlimited" for 55 and let us use our data how we see fit, whether on a pda, dumbphone, or data card.
It has to do with the capabilities of the phone and to make the data plan more attractive to the average dumbphone user given the limited capabilities.
Forget about tethering for a moment. Your average dumbphone has a browser capable of WAP browsing. That's it. Would you want to pay $30/month for an internet plan where you can't even get on simple sites like web-based email clients, or most other sites that people actually WANT to go to? Or the sites you can go to have a drastically slimmed down experience? Probably not. But $10 is reasonable that a lot more customers would sign up.
The average smartphone on the other hand has a browser that supports HTML (or at least is much easier to install one), Javascript (at least minimal support which is more than can be said for a dumbphone) and as a result can go to far more sites and has far more functionality. It's still not a desktop experience, but you have far more capabilities. So based on what you can DO, $30 sounds a little more reasonable.
When it comes down to it, the carriers want to charge the cost of a PDA plan for data. It's just in an effort to increase value for the dumbphone users that they offer a lower-cost plan.
IMO, the carriers SHOULD charge the cost of the PDA plan if you tether your dumbphone, since you're getting desktop-browser functionality (obviously, since you're using the connection on your computer.. LOL)
@SimbaDogg:
The PDA and Blackberry plans are still $30 (for personal, not enterprise), and the unlimited messaging is still $20. I'm looking at their website right now. ok. thanx, bye
the biggest scam is the iPhone plan. i have a Samsung Blackjack with unlimited data and TXT for $45/month. i use Exchange Activesync to get my mobile email on the device.
the same plan, to use the same exact services i'm using now will cost me $20 more if i upgrade to the iPhone.
$30 iPhone data + $15 for Activesync support + $20 for unlimited messaging