AT&T message phones to cost $20 more per month

AT&T is soon to mirror Verizon's strategy of requiring data plans by instituting a similar requirement on its own network. A leaked FAQ indicates that those who buy a messaging or advanced feature phone, such as the Samsung Flight or Solstice, will have to pay at least $20 per month in either data, messaging or both. The approach as discovered by BGR could involve a pure unlimited messaging plan or else a small messaging pack along with unlimited data.

Existing customers would be grandfathered and wouldn't have to add the new features to their bills, but a hardware upgrade to a qualifying device would automatically force the change. A timetable is missing, but the retail system is to be upgraded to reflect the change "as quickly as possible" and implies that the new policies will take effect in the near future.

The push could increase the average cellphone bill and is likely meant to increase the average revenue per person, a figure that most carriers use as a gauge of their success. It partly reflects a tendency away from pure phone calling as a central feature as many devices, especially smartphones, become more useful for Internet access and texting.

By Electronista Staff