The changes below take effect on Sunday, January 22.   If you sign up with AT&T prior to that date, you will be grandfathered into the current pricing.    Use the MyRatePlan smartphone data calculator to find your best data plan across the 4 national carriers.

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AT&T is launching new smartphone data plans as outlined in the table below:

For those interested in tethering, it is included in the $50 plan (total 5GB allowance). Previously, tethering was a $20 add-on (with 2GB additional allowance) on the $25 data plan.

These new plans are also valid for new tablet customers.   The existing $14.99 tablet plan for 250MB will remain available.

MyRatePlan Analysis:  Although AT&T is spinning this as ‘more data, more value’, it is clearly a price increase for most customers.  The minimum price for a monthly smartphone rate plan increases to $59.99 ($39.99 for 450 minutes + $20 data) from $54.99.   For all but the lightest consumers of data, the $30 plan will be the plan of choice.

• For those using between 3 and 5GB per month who are  not interested in tethering, it doesn’t look like the $50 for 5GB plan offers any benefit over the $30 for 3GB plan.
• The only existing customers who might want to consider switching to these plans are those that use more than 2GB per month.  For those, the new rates actually represent a $5 decrease for the same allowance of data.   However, since the baseline commitment goes to $30 from $25, some of that savings is lost if not using more than 2GB on a regular basis.

To see current AT&T rate plans and cell phones, visit our AT&T carrier page.

In advance of the (rumored) arrival of the Apple iPhone this fall,  Sprint has joined AT&T and Verizon with an increased early termination fee for “advanced devices”.       We haven’t yet been able to locate a specific list of these devices, but they likely include all (or most) smartphones, tablets and data devices, which means most equipment will be subject to the new policy.

We’re working to update We’ve updated our early termination fee calculator for the new fee structure.

The new early termination fees apply to new (or renewed contracts) as of September 16, 2011.  The prior policy had been in place since November 3, 2008.

Advanced Devices:  The early termination fee for advanced devices is up to $350.  For other devices, it will remain at up to $200.    The prorating procedure has also changed.   For advanced devices, Sprint will multiply $20 by the number of months remaining on your contract, with a maximum of $350 and a minimum of $100.   This means that if you cancel within the first 6 months or so, you’ll be on the hook for the full $350.

Other Devices:  For other devices, the termination fee is $200, which is the prior termination fee for all phones.   For these phones, Sprint will multiply $10 by the number of months remaining on your contract, maximum $200 and a minimum of $50.     This prorate is actually slightly more consumer-friendly than the existing one, although, as we noted earlier, it will likely only now apply to the most basic of devices.

Sprint has also reduced the trial period for new subscribers from 30 to 14 days.  During this trial period, a customer can cancel service and not be subject to a termination fee.

We retrieved info on the new termination fee schedule from Sprint’s current Terms & Conditions (weren’t able to link to it directly, so here’s a snippet):

General Terms: If you agree to maintain service for a minimum Term, the Term begins when you accept the Subscriber Agreement (e.g., signature, activate service, use phone, etc.). You may terminate any line of service before its Term ends by calling us, however you will be responsible for an EARLY TERMINATION FEE of up to $350/line for Advanced Devices & up to $200 ETF/line for other devices for each line/number terminated early – except for terminations consistent with our return policy. The ETF is prorated and is calculated by taking the months remaining on your Agreement times $20 for Advanced Devices, with a maximum of $350, and minimum of $100. For all other devices, the prorated ETF is calculated by taking the months remaining times $10 with a maximum of $200 and minimum of $50. Payment of the ETF does not satisfy other obligations owed to us, including Term commitments with other lines or service/equipment charges.

Straight Talk, a no-contract provider available both online and at Wal-Mart stores, has introduced its first Android smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Precedent.       Now consumers can take advantage of Straight Talk’s incredibly low $45 price for unlimited voice, text and mobile web on a phone where the data component is actually meaningful.

Why is this a big deal?    Until now, Straight Talk’s $45 unlimited plan looked very attractive against the cost of similar plans for the major carriers.   However, their phone selection left much to be desired.   Now, with the addition of the Android phone, customers get a complete mobile experience, including access to hundreds of thousands of Apps, for a fraction of the cost of similar service on other carriers.

How much do I save?   Unlimited talk, text and data with a smartphone ranges from $80 on T-Mobile up to $120 on Verizon.  This is a savings of up to $1,800 on a two-year contract.   Even better, no contract is required.

What about service quality?  Straight Talk buys airtime and uses the network of the major carriers (Sprint for this phone).   Service quality/coverage will be roughly the same as if you were a Sprint subscriber.

About the Samsung Galaxy Precedent:   This Android 2.2 device features a 3.2 inch touch screen, 2 megapixel camera with video capture and playback, Bluetooth, GPS and high speed data via 3G and Wi-Fi.   Battery life is up to 6 hours, with standby up to 9 days.   The Galaxy Precedent is M4/T4 hearing aid compatible, the highest ranking.   In addition, the phone lets you have 5 home screens and supports microSD memory cards of up to 32GB:  a 2GB card is included with purchase.

To buy Straight Talk:   You can buy online, or at Wal-Mart stores.    You can keep your existing phone number in most cases.    

On May 22, T-Mobile made some changes to their rate plans, adding more value to some plans and also updating the number of data plan options available for smartphone users.

For single lines, there are now 3 options:

• 500 minutes for $39.99
• 1,000 minutes for $49.99
• unlimited minutes for $59.99

The only real change in the single line category is that the $59.99 unlimited plan now includes unlimited text messaging, which was previously an additional $10/month.

For family plans there are also 3 options.

• 1,000 shared minutes for $59.99
• 2,000 shared minutes for $79.99
• unlimited shared minutes for $99.99

The above pricing is for two lines.   the unlimited plan also includes text messaging.  Up to 3 additional lines are available for $10 each on the 1,000 and 2,000 plan, $30 each for the unlimited plan.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the high cost of exceeding the monthly allowance, still 45 cents a minute.     More than ever, it makes sense to find the rate plan that best fits your calling needs.

T-Mobile has updated their smartphone data plan tiers, as well as some of their voice plans.  We’ll address the voice plans in another post, but it is worth noting that T-Mobile now has more data tiers to choose from than actual voice only plans.  We believe this is a first for the industry, and reflective of the growing importance of data to a carrier’s bottom line — both from a revenue and capacity perspective.

Until today, T-Mobile had two smartphone data plans, a 200 MB for $10 option, and an unlimited for $30 plan.   They’ve now expanded that to 4 options:

• 200 MB for $10
• 2 GB for $20
• 5 GB for $30
• 10 GB for $60

Interestingly, there is no charge for additional data on any of these plans.   Instead, T-Mobile will reduce (or throttle) the data speed, until the end of the billing cycle, to any customer once the allowance is exceeded.     We’re not sure how slow downloads become in this situation, but suspect that the experience won’t be pleasant — otherwise most people would just stick to the minimum $10 plan.    Our data calculator can help you figure out which T-Mobile data plan is right for you, and compare that option to those offered by AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless.

In reviewing the tiers, T-Mobile has undercut AT&T by $5 at the 200 MB and 2 GB tiers.  Neither Sprint nor Verizon have those tiers.   5 GB for $30 is competitive with Sprint and Verizon and less expensive than AT&T.   Only a very small percentage of customers currently exceed 5 GB.  While Sprint and Verizon say their data plans are unlimited, they reserve the right to throttle speeds for customers who consume too much, although “too much” isn’t really defined.    T-Mobile thus becomes the first carrier to explicitly create a plan for these heaviest of users.

Sprint has announced that subscribers activating smartphones on its network on or after January 30, 2011 will need to subscribe to a $10 Premium Data add-on feature.  Previously, this add-on was only required for 4G phones.    See the Sprint press release.

For those considering Sprint, particularly those interested in a 3G smartphone, we suggest signing up before January 30.  Otherwise, you’ll be on the hook for an extra $240 over your two year contract.   Compare Sprint rate plans and cell phones here.

MyRatePlan Analysis

Price increases have been pretty rare in recent years, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.   For consumers, the impact is that the minimum monthly charge to have a Smartphone on Sprint will be $79.99, reflecting the lowest price Everything Data plan ($69.99) plus the $10 add-on.   $79.99 is well above the minimum cost for carrying a smartphone on the other carriers (see our new smartphone data calculator to find your best data plan) so it is likely the pricing will be very unattractive to light consumers of data who can carry a smartphone for $54.99 a month or less on the other major carriers.    For heavier users, the pricing is actually competitive, as Sprint’s plan includes unlimited text messaging.

What strikes us as a little peculiar is that Sprint is making this a required add-on to their “Everything Data” plans instead of just increasing the price of those plans.   Although the impact is the same, we’re thinking perhaps they have a different dictionary definition of “Everything” than we do: As of 1/30, you won’t be able to buy an “Everything Data” that actually includes data if you want to have a smartphone.   Looking forward to seeing how their marketing department spins this one.

CellularSouth, a regional carrier offering nationwide service for subscribers based in Memphis, most of Mississippi and the Gulf Coast of Alabama and Northwest Florida,  is running an innovative promotion where they will pay the contract termination fee (up to $200) for a new subscriber who breaks their existing contract with another carrier to sign up for service with them.

This is the first time we’ve seen this type of promotion.    Although it may significantly add to CellularSouth’s cost of acquiring a new customer, it is a way for them to stand-out and compete against the four giant national carriers.  With much more for those carriers to lose in a price war over termination fees, it is unlikely that this type of program will spread to the big carriers.  However, with industry growth rates slowing, it can’t entirely be ruled out.

We’ve always wondered when someone would try this kind of marketing program.    It has been 7 years (and one week) since number portability arrived in the U.S.    The ability to move one’s number created a much more competitive cell phone industry, as carriers were forced to compete more on price and service quality — not on holding a customer hostage because he or she couldn’t take their phone number with them.   It also led to a lot of industry consolidation which, on balance, has also probably been good for consumers as national networks are much more seamless today, with national plans the norm.   However, it also led to two-year contracts, and termination penalties of up to $200 (now up to $350 for some smartphones).  These financial penalties now are the biggest impediment to customer migration to a new carrier.

CellularSouth says this promotion is valid for “a limited time”.    This gives them maximum flexibility to adjust (or end) the promotion, depending on how successful it is and how much competitive response they see.

Here are the top 10 cell phone deals we’ve found for Cyber Monday. Some may go beyond today (11/29), but many will not. All are for new service, but some may also apply for those looking to extend their contract.  In most cases, the phone price is good for up to 2 phones (i.e., will allow for a family plan); additional lines may be extra.   The waived activation fees apply for up to 5 lines.

Click a deal for more information, terms and restrictions

1. Refurbished iPhones from as low as $19.   Not sure how long this will last (look in 2nd row)
2. AT&T: All 3 Windows 7 phones at a special low price (which we’re not allowed to show on this page). In addition, get free activation and a $30 bill credit, which will pay for a month of data: HTC Surround, LG Quantum, Samsung Focus.
3. T-Mobile:   The brand new MyTouch 4G just $48.88 plus free activation.
4. Sprint:  HTC Evo in both the original black color and now in white.   This 4G phone is at its lowest price to date (again, we can’t show it here, but you can see it if you click one of the links).
5. Verizon:   All the various DROID phones, by Motorola and HTC on special.  Compare them here.   Pay no activation fee if you sign-up today
6. AT&T:  Samsung Captivate (Galaxy S Phone):  Free + Free 4GB Memory Card + No Activation Fee + $30 Bill Credit
7. Sprint:  Samsung Epic 4G Android slider phone.  Special low price (again, too low to show) plus free activation
8. Verizon:  Samsung Fascinate (Galaxy S Phone):   Free + Free Activation
9. T-Mobile:   BlackBerry Curve 3G Free + Waived Activation
10. Verizon:  Free LG Vortex and Motorola Citrus… a couple new Android touch screen smartphones.

All the major cell phone carriers require data plans for smartphones purchased from them.    Until recently, it was one-size-fits-all, with each carrier offering an unlimited or nearly unlimited data plan for $30 a month.      AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have now gone to tiered data pricing, with a lower-priced data plan offering.   T-Mobile and AT&T offer 200 MB for $10 and $15/month respectively.  Verizon offers 150 MB for $15.   Versus the prior $30/month data offerings, these new plans can save you $180-$240/year, if your data usage needs are light.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t take too much to blow through 150 or 200 MB of data.    One way to minimize data use, to stay under the allowance is to use WiFi (assuming your phone has WiFi) wherever possible.  This is particularly important for data-intensive activities like streaming video or audio.

If you exceed your data allowance, the carrier will give you another block of data for an additional $10 or $15 to use until the billing cycle ends.  If you blow through this block, it will happen again.  Obviously, by this point you’ll be paying more than if you had gotten the carrier’s unlimited (or almost unlimited) data plan.    Therefore, if you do sign up for light usage data, keep track (you can usually do it on the phone or at carrier website, or your carrier may push you text alerts) of how much data you are using.  Of course, for cost certainty, you can opt for the unlimited (or near unlimited) data plan.

Sprint continues to bundle data into its rate plans, limiting their subscribers’ flexibility to reduce those charges.  It is worth noting that they require an additional $10 data feature for their new 4G phones, such as the Evo and Epic.   There aren’t many 4G options on other networks (a few are starting to pop up on T-Mobile).  If Sprint persists in this add-on, and other carriers don’t require it when they launch 4G (T-Mobile is not requiring this), you may be able to save money by going with a different carrier.

One final tip:    Turn off Data Roaming on your cell phone when traveling outside the U.S.     Accessing data internationally can run up huge bills; this will help you avoid that situation.  Use WiFi when traveling internationally.

Following the lead of AT&T, but with a few differences, Verizon Wireless has launched tier pricing for data.    Until the change, Verizon had two data plans, one for $9.99, the other $29.99.   The $9.99 was optional on feature phones, required on multimedia phones.  The $29.99 one was  unlimited, and required for smartphones, including BlackBerry and Android devices.    For feature phones, a $1.99 per MB pay per use option was also available.

The new structure offers the same data plans plus the addition of a $15 for 150 MB plan.   For those getting that plan, there is an additional charge of $15 per 150 MB if that allowance is exceeded.

The biggest change is in what data services are required for each phone type:

• Smartphones:    Previously requiring a $29.99 unlimited plan, lighter users of data can now opt for the $15 150 MB option, for a potential savings of $180/year.   It is worth noting that it doesn’t take much to use up 150 MB of data, however.  If you use data to stream music or video or play games… anything beyond e-mail and a few web pages a day, you’ll probably want to opt for the unlimited option.
• Multimedia Phones:     These are phones with some advanced features, but no operating system.   On its website, Verizon Wireless has done away with this grouping of phones, now including them with the Feature phones.   However, they are still requiring a minimum $9.99 data plan on these devices.   So, nothing has really changed here in terms of the requirements.  However, the $15 data plan for 150 MB may come in handy for those with a multimedia device, as these phones do have some decent data capabilities.
• Feature Phones:   These are the simplest phones available, best for those not looking to do much more than talk on their phones.   For these devices, the data options are pay-as-you go ($1.99 / MB + $5/month for email), the new $15 data plan or the $29.99 unlimited plan.    Most with a feature phone will not sign up for data as the capabilities are so inferior to multimedia or smartphones.

For more information:

Rate Plan Comparison Tool

All Verizon Phones