Family plans include one line, 2nd+ are $30 each

[wongulous]

I was initially very excited when I saw that the individual plans were not exorbitant (though not amazing, but possibly amazing considering the data is only $10-20 for something that used to be $40 and we'll get a LOT more use from, not even considering BT-tethered internet use), and THEN I saw the "Family" plans... which include rollover, unlimited data and 200 text per line (implied).

700 minutes for $80
1400 for $100
2100 for $120
3000 for $160
4000 for $210
6000 for $310

But then I just realized that there's a tiny asterisk which notes:

*Includes one line. Additional iPhone lines are $29.99 each. More SMS text messages can be added to any plan.

I'm going to bet that this doesn't mean "one additional line," rather that is the family plan base line to which the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc lines are added. Meaning that we should add $30 to each of the above plans, which makes them a little bit less than great. Still sort of competitive, but not better than other providers.

Plus it's misleading, IMHO. Labelling family plans but only giving the price for one line... how is that a family plan? Disappointing from Apple, about par for AT&T/Cingular.

I'm personally really disappointed by this, because the boy and I were going to get a line together... gah. I suppose we still could, but I could get 2100 minutes on two lines for $110 and free vision (longtime customer), and two Treos for only 2/3 the cost of ONE iPhone... plus like 20% off of my bill because of my employer. But then that's nothing close to an iPhone experience and I'm sure I'll get sucked in anyway in a month or two.

Just wanted to let all of you folks buying for spouses/GF/BF/kids/etc know and make sure you noticed before Friday.

 

[applehero]

This is standard family plan pricing. Typically an additional line is $10/month and the data plan is separate for any additional lines, therefore for iPhone, it is $10 for additional line + $20 for the unlimited data = $30/month. I don't get your complaint. It's always been this way.

 

[wongulous]

Well, seeing as I've worked for 4 different wireless providers, no, this is not the standard. Even AT&T's website lists it differently than Apple:

FamilyTalk Cell Phone Plans
Share minutes and save. Get the first two lines for one low price. Each additional line is just $9.99 per month.
- Unlimited Night & Weekend minutes for all lines
- Unlimited Mobile to Mobile (M2M) calling customers nationwide
- You never pay roaming or long distance
- All lines share Rollover® Minutes

Hopefully, this is true of the Apple-quoted price plans and this is me worrying for nothing. But a $30 difference makes the iPhone's family plans way less competitive.

Also, for the sake of argument:

- Sprint and Nextel both include 2 lines in the default listed price for family plans. (550 = $60, 700 = $70, 1400 = $90, 2100 = $110, etc). 3rd+ you pay per line.
- T-Mobile's FamilyTime plan pricing includes 2 lines as well (700 = $60, 1000 = $70, 2000 = $100, 3000 = $130). Again. 3rd+ lines you pay per line.
- Alltel's family plans are individual plans which only include one line, where you add $9.99 for each additional line. Still a big disparity there between ten bucks and thirty bucks. Maybe that's to make up for the data access, but the family plan prices are already inflated compared to individual plans in per-minute-cost.
- Verizon's family plans also include 2 lines in the base price. 3rd+ you pay per line.

 

[snulkin]

Family plan = 2 lines by default ?

all the family plans on att.com say this

"Share minutes and save. Get the first two lines for one low price. Each additional line is just $9.99 per month."

So it stands to reason when they say "includes one line", they mean it includes the first additional line, and any more are 29.99

I could be wrong, but I think that's what they mean based on current plan precedent

 

[applehero]

Sorry, you're right, it is a change to at&t's standard policy of including 2 lines before charging the $10/month, but the data has always been separate, so instead of costing you $20/month(for data), it's going to cost $30/month for the iPhone($10 voice+$20 data).

 

[CDugan]

Well, seeing as I've worked for 4 different wireless providers, no, this is not the standard. Even AT&T's website lists it differently than Apple:



Hopefully, this is true of the Apple-quoted price plans and this is me worrying for nothing. But a $30 difference makes the iPhone's family plans way less competitive.

Also, for the sake of argument:

- Sprint and Nextel both include 2 lines in the default listed price for family plans. (550 = $60, 700 = $70, 1400 = $90, 2100 = $110, etc). 3rd+ you pay per line.
- T-Mobile's FamilyTime plan pricing includes 2 lines as well (700 = $60, 1000 = $70, 2000 = $100, 3000 = $130). Again. 3rd+ lines you pay per line.
- Alltel's family plans are individual plans which only include one line, where you add $9.99 for each additional line. Still a big disparity there between ten bucks and thirty bucks. Maybe that's to make up for the data access, but the family plan prices are already inflated compared to individual plans in per-minute-cost.
- Verizon's family plans also include 2 lines in the base price. 3rd+ you pay per line.

AT&T's family plans are 9.99 per additional line too. The 30 dollars includes the data plan, if the second line is another iphone. It's set up like alltel's family plans, unless I'm misunderstanding. If you have a standard phone as the second line, it's just a ten dollar charge. The key words are "additional IPHONE lines", Right?

EDIT Sorry, beat me to it.

 

[Aperture]

What happens if your master acnt is a regular phone and your iPhone is set as a secondary acnt? Will it just be $30 more a month added to your bill for the iPhone?

 

[snulkin]

right..

right, that makes sense

It's the Family Pack (which has 2 lines), and then the 30$ for each new iPhone line makes sense.

If this is really the case, I wish they worded it better.

I have total 2 lines, both up for renewal. Now, it's weird cause I wanna get the iPhone, but my other line I'm not upgrading the phone (it's a 2G windows mobile device), so I wonder if it's going also get unlimited data (on the win mobile) if I get the family plan. I have a feeling that it won't.

so what's most likely gonna happen, is I'll just keep what I have now, and pay the 20$ iPhone data. Which isn't that bad

 

[richard4339]

I would assume the $80 listed is for one iPhone line, and one normal line. If you want to have the second phone also be an iPhone, its an additional $20 per month. If you want to add a third or more iPhones, its an additional $30 a month.

That's how I read it, anyway.

 

[Nagooya]

I noticed that in the activation video, there is no "Family Plans" area, unless it would be under the "more plans" link at the bottom. But anyways, i was wondering, if you get more than one iPhone, if you have to sync them all to the same computer to activate, then have to transfer them to your own computer to put your own music on.

 

[snulkin]

here's another one for ya

so it seems like transferring your number is simple, but what if you have a family plan at another carrier ?

does transferring your master line "pull in" the other number as well onto att?



I'm not expecting a real answer. But I think this whole activation isn't without convoluted special cases, and I wonder if the streamlined iTunes activation will handle all the variations of people's current situations. I hope so...

for most people it seems like it will be a simple pleasant process

for special cases, maybe visiting an att store and having a salesperson do it might make sense

 

[Le Big Mac]

Sorry, you're right, it is a change to at&t's standard policy of including 2 lines before charging the $10/month, but the data has always been separate, so instead of costing you $20/month(for data), it's going to cost $30/month for the iPhone($10 voice+$20 data).

Yeah, they should make it consistent with their regular family plan pricing. Make it $90 (or $89.99) and note that adding second line with iPhone data is an additional $20.

 

[wongulous]

I still see nothing stating that there is an additional $20 per second/third/etc line for having the unlimited data. Unlimited data is purported as part of the plan, and that implies it would be on each line of the family plan.

There would be no family plan if there were no benefit to it... and there is already a price-per-minute premium on the family plans, so the benefit must be that two phones' worth of unlimited data is included. I hope, anyway.

The jury is still out on whether or not Apple used confusing verbiage or just didn't explain enough... meaning we don't know if the 2nd line of the iPhone Family plans are included in the prices listed or an additional $30. We DO know that the 3rd phone and beyond are $30/line, and that adding unlimited data to an EXISTING plan is $20/line.

 

[jkwuc89]

I am in a similar position with regards to switching from a family plan to the iPhone. I am currently with Verizon's Family Plan with 2 lines active. If I decide to switch to get an iPhone (and I won't until I get to try one out), I will want to move both lines to AT&T. My line will be an iPhone line with unlimited data. The 2nd line will not be an iPhone and will not need the iPhone data stuff. It sounds like it would be best to let an AT&T rep do this switch for me.

 

[Le Big Mac]

I still see nothing stating that there is an additional $20 per second/third/etc line for having the unlimited data. Unlimited data is purported as part of the plan, and that implies it would be on each line of the family plan.

Th

Unlimited is not shareable, as with a home network connection. Data has always been unlimited by the line, not the plan. Same here.

 

[wongulous]

I am in a similar position with regards to switching from a family plan to the iPhone. I am currently with Verizon's Family Plan with 2 lines active. If I decide to switch to get an iPhone (and I won't until I get to try one out), I will want to move both lines to AT&T. My line will be an iPhone line with unlimited data. The 2nd line will not be an iPhone and will not need the iPhone data stuff. It sounds like it would be best to let an AT&T rep do this switch for me.

Yeah, if you're mixing two plans and you don't know if you should do it with individual iPhone+regular AT&T plan, two iPhone plans, iPhone family plan, or AT&T plans plus iPhone data $20 plan on top of one of them. Plus, porting can take a few hours up to a few days (or longer, if you mess it up with account info), so I'd recommend doing this at an AT&T store. Maybe after the weekend.

 

[wongulous]

Unlimited is not shareable, as with a home network connection. Data has always been unlimited by the line, not the plan. Same here.

Yes, but data has never been a part of the PLAN. Data has always been an additional, optional feature, and like ALL additional, optional features, has been on a per-line basis. It's no longer an additional, optional feature, as it is included in the plans.

There's nothing about the unlimited data costing extra on the 2nd/3rd/etc lines in a family plan. All there is is cost for "additional lines," but what we don't know is if those additional lines start being charged for after the 2nd or including the 2nd. It varies by company, as we have established, but most companies (including AT&T and Cingular, historically) include TWO lines in the "family plan" price.

 

[CDugan]

I still see nothing stating that there is an additional $20 per second/third/etc line for having the unlimited data. Unlimited data is purported as part of the plan, and that implies it would be on each line of the family plan.

There would be no family plan if there were no benefit to it... and there is already a price-per-minute premium on the family plans, so the benefit must be that two phones' worth of unlimited data is included. I hope, anyway.

The jury is still out on whether or not Apple used confusing verbiage or just didn't explain enough... meaning we don't know if the 2nd line of the iPhone Family plans are included in the prices listed or an additional $30. We DO know that the 3rd phone and beyond are $30/line, and that adding unlimited data to an EXISTING plan is $20/line.

The unlimited data for the iphone, even on the family plan, applies to one line. All of their above-and-beyond services apply to one line, unless otherwise noted. Look at the add on services when specing out a plan. Text messaging is $20 for unlimited... per line, with a totally seperate option if you wanted unlimited for the entire family plan. The family plans share minutes only, with a few exceptions that are explicitly labeled.

 

[wongulous]

The unlimited data for the iphone, even on the family plan, applies to one line. All of their above-and-beyond services apply to one line, unless otherwise noted. Look at the add on services when specing out a plan. Text messaging is $20 for unlimited... per line, with a totally seperate option if you wanted unlimited for the entire family plan. The family plans share minutes only, with a few exceptions that are explicitly labeled.

Give us the URL to this source of your information, please. Where are you 'spec'-ing out a plan?

Again, text messaging has always been optional and additional, or "a la carte." The data plan and 200 text messages are NOT a la carte in these new iPhone-specific plans. Why would you assume that a "family plan" does not share STANDARD features on all lines, for the price premium of a family plan!? This is like saying that visual voicemail, caller ID, nights and weekends, or whatever are "only included on the main line." No basis.

 

[103734]

wait wait wiat,

ok can someone help me understand this?

Im on a family plan right now and have a phone on that plan, when I get the iPhone I will just ad 20 bucks onto the 9.99 I pay monthly right now right? So I will be paying 30 bucks a month instead of the 9.99 I used to pay.

Is that right?

 

[wongulous]

wait wait wiat,

ok can someone help me understand this?

Im on a family plan right now and have a phone on that plan, when I get the iPhone I will just ad 20 bucks onto the 9.99 I pay monthly right now right? So I will be paying 30 bucks a month instead of the 9.99 I used to pay.

Is that right?

Theoretically, yes. Unless you changed to an iPhone-individual plan, or migrated more than one line to an iPhone-family plan.

But this wording is the issue here, so we'll have to speak with knowledgeable AT&T reps (meaning: the geeky ones in the know, probably NOT everyone the first few days... though they're trained to tell you that they are knowledgeable even when questions like these come up).

Also, if you're on a family plan and only paying for the additional line fee, you're getting a great deal! Your fam must love you. Can I join your family plan?

 

[Aperture]

wait wait wiat,

ok can someone help me understand this?

Im on a family plan right now and have a phone on that plan, when I get the iPhone I will just ad 20 bucks onto the 9.99 I pay monthly right now right? So I will be paying 30 bucks a month instead of the 9.99 I used to pay.

Is that right?

Yep, thats right. (Unless you want to add more texting than is supplied)

Edit: I was beat! Also, I'm calling AT&T soon and will hopefully have some clarification on the subject.

 

[feelthefire]

As I understand it, the family plan price includes one iPhone. If you have two iPhones, you must add $30 to that price, plus any additional text packages. It expressly does NOT include two iPhone lines.

 

[wongulous]

As I understand it, the family plan price includes one iPhone. If you have two iPhones, you must add $30 to that price, plus any additional text packages. It expressly does NOT include two iPhone lines.

Yes, that's one of the potential realities that we "understand" as well. But your say-so doesn't give us any proof or backup. Care to cite your source?

 

[evanmh]

From what I get its simple,

To add a line is usually 9.99 a month so start with that and now with the iphone it is 19.99 for the internet. So that is where they get teh $30.00. On a usual add a line you do not get the internet.