You're right that the iPad is fortunately getting a great plan. But to me that looks like it's entirely Apple's pressure. I doubt AT&T came to them with that idea.


Wasn't someone in Congress looking into the carriers for just that as it applies to SMS rates? I thought I heard a podcast about that months ago. Probably didn't go anywhere, but they were curious why all the carriers were increasing their rates at nearly the same time.


A 200MB cap for $30 is an believable rip-off. Sure, that's mostly okay for web surfing and emailing, but what if I'm at a client's home, their computer is all messed up, and I need to download some programs to help them clean it off?

Besides, I look at it this way: with the GSM carriers, they only have USB adapters. That means that at the lowest price (T-Mobile), I can connect only my laptop to the internet (I don't count sharing the connection). That adds $30 to my monthly cell phone bills.

On the other hand, one thing I thought of was to get a MiFi (or Overdrive), drop my current data plan, and put my phone on WiFi only. This would still raise my bill $30, and it would complicate my phone usage, but it would let me connect any WiFi device I had (like my Zune, Netbook, phone, other people's devices, etc.). I also wouldn't have to have a little dongle hanging off my netbook, which I can't stand.

The only thing keeping me from doing that is the added complexity with my smartphone. First off, I don't know if I can turn off all data usage over the cell networks. And second, it would require me to always have the MiFi with me, charged, and turned on. That's a pain.

Ideally, my business would pick up a lot more, and I'd be able to afford the $60 a month and not worry about all this crap. That's easier said than done.