AT&T is offering tablet owners two new postpaid billing options. With a $25 for 2GB plan, customers can get a month free for a limited time.
AT&T is
now offering tablet owners the option of a postpaid billing plan. Like the
prepaid plan, it doesn't require a long-term contract and is added onto a
customer's existing monthly statement.
Beginning
March 3, customers can sign up for the postpaid billing option and pay $14.99
for 250MB a month or $25 for 2GB of data. Customers on the 2GB plan who exceed
their allotment will be charged $10 per 1GB of data. On the prepaid plan,
customers pay $14.99 for 250MB or $25 for 2GB, but-and there's an interesting
detail here-those on the latter plan can choose to purchase an additional 2GB
of data for $25.
For a limited
time, customers who sign up for the postpaid $25 for 2GB plan will receive
their first month free, according to AT&T. The postpaid option will be
available at AT&T retail stores and online, as well as at Best Buy, Fry's
and some Wal-Mart stores.
"Tablets offer
the convenience of mobile broadband virtually anywhere, and our new billing
options give customers the flexibility to choose how they prefer to be billed,"
David Christopher, AT&T's chief marketing officer of AT&T Mobility
& Consumer Markets, said in a statement.
Soon, AT&T
customers-along with Verizon Wireless subscribers-will also have the choice of
another tablet, the
newly introduced Apple iPad 2, scheduled to go on
sale March 11.
ABI Research
described the iPad 2 as including "a lot of 2s." This includes "a dual-core
processor, two video cameras, dual UMTS/CDMA [Universal Mobile
Telecommunications System/Code Division Multiple Access] 3G protocol support
and two enclosure colors."
Priced
identically to the original iPad, this next generation will likely phase out
its predecessor, added ABI, which expects more than 40 million tablets to ship
during 2011.
Morgan
Stanley, in a Feb. 14 report, said the tablet market is likely to be larger
than others are predicting, reaching toward 100 million units in 2012, led by
demand from China.
During a quarterly
earnings conference call with media and analysts Jan. 27-AT&T announced
fourth-quarter earnings of $1.1 billion on revenues of $124.3 billion-AT&T
CEO Randall Stephenson said the carrier had a number of tablets in the works,
and that the tablet market is just getting started.
"We think [the
tablet market] has a ways to run," said Stephenson. "You're going to see a lot
of Android tablets come online, so we think we have a lot of opportunity in
tablets."
He added that
AT&T also plans to add 20 4G devices to its lineup in 2010.
On March 3,
AT&T also offered news of its U-verse TV service, which it said has
attracted more subscribers than any other major TV provider in the country. In
2010, according to AT&T, U-verse added 28 percent more customers than its
nearest competitor, gaining nearly a million subscribers while major cable
providers, combined, lost more than a million subscribers.
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