iPhone data plan

With data-hungry Android devices taking over and the iPhone 5 due for release in the next month or two, AT&T is getting serious about usage tiers. iPhone owners who currently enjoy an unlimited data plan may think they have carte blanche to single-handedly dominate their local cell tower's data connection, however starting October 1st AT&T will be watching.

The wireless carrier plans to slow down transfer rates on the mobile devices of the top five percent of unlimited data users every month. Here's how it works: if you transfer enough data on your mobile device that you fall within the top five percent of users AT&T will throttle your speeds until the start of your next billing cycle. Of course, this won't happen immediately.

Verizon spokeswoman Debra Lewis told Apple Insider that new smartphone customers will no longer be offered unlimited data plans starting Thursday, July 7.

New mobile customers will be able to enroll in Verizon's "usage-based" billing program. Current Verizon customers will not be affected by the change, and upgrade-eligible customers will be able to move to a new mobile device while retaining their plans.

"We have lots of different ways for customers who may not be accustomed to this kind of stuff to check their usage in terms of data alerts, online tools, data calculators, things like that to help people decide what is the right plan for them," Lewis said.

Apple Insider reports that new customers, or current customers without a data plan, will have four options for "different capped monthly data plans: $10 for 75MB, $30 for 2GB, $50 for 5GB, and $80 for 10GB." Customers who exceed their capped plan will be charged $10 per gigabyte or $10 per 75MB on the entry-level plan.

AT&T has thrown down the gauntlet, sending a limited number of subscribers warnings via email and SMS to stop unauthorized tethering. The wireless carrier plans to automatically sign up users for its DataPro and Personal Hotspot plans if they continue to tether their devices without contacting the company.

The move is a first for AT&T since they launched official Personal Hotspot support on March 11 with the release of iOS 4.3. Prior to this, iPhone users could only connect one computer to the iPhone. The new service makes it possible to share your 3G data connection with 3 devices at the same time via WI-Fi, and connect to others with Bluetooth and USB.

AT&T will charge $20 per month for iPhone 4 users to take advantage of the iOS 4.3 Personal Hotspot feature. The carrier has confirmed that full support for the Personal Hotspot will debut when Apple released iOS 4.3 firmware on March 11, 2011.

The native Wi-Fi hotspot has been available on Verizon iPhone 4 models since launch in early February. The feature allows up to three devices to simultaneously connect to the iPhone's cellular data connection via Wi-Fi. Additional devices can use the connection via Bluetooth and USB for a total of five at once.

Well it was nice while it lasted. Just like AT&T dropped unlimited data plans in June 2010 for its iPhone customers, Verizon will cap data in the coming months. The switch to tiered data plan offerings is expected to happen this summer, in advance of the iPhone 5 launch.

Verizon CFO Fran Shammo announced the plan to move ahead with tiered data plans on the iPhone during an investor conference. Shammo also explained that consumers might not be thrilled when they're stuck with an iPhone 4 contract after the next generation device is launched by Apple.