As emergency back-up for business people, it's good.
The problem is that it should be more widespread than that and for widespread service, the prices need to come way, way down. In Israel, people can get 2.8/1.2 cellular for $35/month, no data caps - a far, far cry from $60/month in the US with a 5 GB data cap.
I've definitely been in situations where I would love to have some PAYG data, and $30 a week or $50 a month doesn't seem too unreasonable. On trips a couple of times in the last year for instance, I found myself with no reliable internet and I absolutely needed it for business. At that point, paying $30 seems like a bargain compared to wardriving for a WiFi connection or trying to hack my iPhone for tethering, only to get 19.2kpbs. It's the cost of the hardware that is the only thing about this deal that I don't like. I'd have a hard time justifying the $250 that they charge for the modem without a contract.
@weatherman: I agree, the moaning about how this is high cost is kind of silly--when you pay for convenience, you usually pay a lot. See, for example, the comment about bottled water. Or take car rentals. Paying for data as you go, on the fly is no different.
Also agree wrt the cost of the modems. I can't see AT&T subsidizing the things when its PAYG. That hurts a lot.
I think this makes an awful lot of sense for a particular class of users and AT&T is pretty smart for doing it. There are times when I'm traveling where I'd pony up the money for a day or week of wireless access. But, I don't get an AT&T card because most of the time I don't need it, and paying even $30/mo for unlimited data isn't worth it. $15 is about what people used to pay for Wi-Fi in an airport. And, yeah, while the data caps kind of suck, I think the audience they are targeting aren't downloading movies, they are probably interacting with email.
And who knows, you get business users used to the idea behind this, they start using it more... Pretty soon its cheaper to take on the $30/mo data plan, etc. I think it is a sharp move on their part.
11/23/09
11/23/09
The problem is that it should be more widespread than that and for widespread service, the prices need to come way, way down. In Israel, people can get 2.8/1.2 cellular for $35/month, no data caps - a far, far cry from $60/month in the US with a 5 GB data cap.
11/23/09
11/23/09
11/23/09
Also agree wrt the cost of the modems. I can't see AT&T subsidizing the things when its PAYG. That hurts a lot.
11/23/09
from a martketing stand point, this doesnt sound like a good plan
11/23/09
11/23/09
but compared to Verizon which does allow for it, these prices are a lil, meh..
unless i misunderstood the topic and verizon's pricing
#tips
11/23/09
And who knows, you get business users used to the idea behind this, they start using it more... Pretty soon its cheaper to take on the $30/mo data plan, etc. I think it is a sharp move on their part.