AT&T data caps don't mean much in Shelbyville

AT&T's recent announcement that it will stop offering new customers its $30 per month unlimited data plan for smartphones and iPads, in favor of limited-bandwidth $15 and $25 plans, doesn't represent much of a cap here in Bedford County -- since we don't have access to AT&T's 3G data service, it would be hard for any Bedford County user to get anywhere close to the 2-gigabyte cap.

Current users of the $30 plan are grandfathered in and will be able to keep it. But some smartphone users who were required to take the $30 plan when they bought their devices may choose to drop back to a $25 plan (2 gigabytes per month) or $15 plan (200 megabytes per month) as a cost savings. After all, why pay more than you need?

I use my smartphone for e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and some web surfing, and I don't think I'm anywhere close to 200 megabytes per month. So I could, and may, switch to the $15 plan without crimping my online style.

The new pricing structure actually addresses an old complaint I had against AT&T. In order to get a smartphone with personal digital assistant (PDA) features, I had to agree to the $30 per month plan. That meant I was paying the same thing for my data that customers in 3G communities were paying, even though I was getting a lot less for my $30.

The trouble, as was pointed out by a commentator on Leo Laporte's "This Week In Tech" podcast over the weekend, is the future. Some people who aren't approaching the cap now may be better off holding on to their grandfathered-in unlimited plans because -- as devices and services improve -- they may find themselves bumping up against that 2-gig cap at some point down the line.

AT&T spokeswoman Cathy Lewandowski had no information whatsoever about any future plans to offer 3G service here.

"In regards to 3G," she wrote, "we don't have any details to share concerning 3G deployment in Shelbyville .... However, we're working tirelessly to continue to upgrade our network infrastructure and implement technology upgrades to continue to provide the level of service and reliability that our customers expect and deserve. We are always seeking opportunities for further 3G expansion in the market and our company reviews its business plans regularly as we are always requesting more funding for 3G services."

In fairness, many companies don't like to divulge such information because it might be used against them by competitors.

AT&T, which has already come under criticism for its network capacity in high-traffic areas like San Francisco and New York, no doubt expects its network to come under even heavier use with the introduction of the iPad 3G and the new iPhone 4, which was doubtless a factor in wanting to cap users' data use. Some observers have speculated that application developers will have to take data limits into account and design their programs to use less data.

But ultimately, the company is going to have to improve its network, not only in New York but in places like Shelbyville.

--John I. Carney is city editor of the Times-Gazette and covers county government. He is also the author of the self-published novel "Soapstone." His personal web site is lakeneuron.com.