Mobile Gadget News reports that AT&T Wireless is offering a wireless data billing plan called the Unlimited PDA Plan. This plan provides unlimited nationwide mobile data service for $44.99 per month when the customer subscribes to a “qualifying voice plan”. If you are not part of such a plan, the monthly charge for the Unlimited PDA Plan is $49.99
Smartphone Thoughts pointed out that the AT&T Wireless Unlimited PDA Plan costs more than equivalent plans from T-Mobile, but is in-line with the unlimited wireless data plan from Verizon Wireless. Here are the rates I found for nationwide, unlimited wireless data at these carriers:
- T-Mobile: $19.99 per month with a voice plan, or $29.99 per month a la carte.
- Verizon Wireless: $79.99 per month.
It should be pointed out that the expected network performance is not the same for these three carriers. The price quoted above for Verizon provides 40-60 kbps, burstable to 144 kbps (1xEVDO service). They also offer 1xRTT for $50/month, although I’m not sure where to find this on their website.
T-Mobile offers data service “up to 56 kbps”. This is a much less specific definition than Verizon is providing, which probably means that there are areas where wireless data service is available, but at data rates less than 56 kbps. This appears to be a standard GPRS offering. AT&T Wireless is offering access to their recently deployed EDGE network, which provides a 100-130 kbps, burstable to 200 kbps. But, a lot of locations still get served at GPRS rates.
The main issue with AT&T Wireless’ Unlimited PDA plan is that it can only be used with PDA-type devices. If you want to use a wireless data card in a laptop, the monthly fee is higher. Also, many PDA’s with wireless data capability, like the palmOne Treo 600, do not support the EDGE protocol. So, users of non-EDGE-compatible devices will only achieve basic GPRS speeds.