Today, AT&T revealed their latest scheme that involves Apple’s new FaceTime over cellular data feature for iOS 6. Announced through PRNewswire, AT&T will allow customers with “an LTE device” on a “tiered data plan” to use the new FaceTime feature – previously, the use of the service was restricted to customers with shared data plans.
AT&T today announced it will enable FaceTime over Cellular at no extra charge for iOS 6 customers with an LTE device on any tiered data plan. AT&T will also continue to offer FaceTime over Cellular to customers with any AT&T Mobile Share plan
What about customers with unlimited data plans and, and/or a non-LTE iPhone (every previous generation)? Unfortunately, AT&T is limiting the FaceTime over cellular function, that countless numbers of eager Apple fanatics are ecstatic for, to iPhone 5 and iPad LTE-capable devices on a tiered data plan or those with AT&T’s absolutely egregious Mobile Share plans.
Also, in a company public policy blog post, Jim Cicconi (AT&T’s head of External and Legislative Affairs) explained the carrier’s concern regarding network impact and how they’ve decided to conservatively allow customers to use the new data-intensive feature.
Furthermore, during their highly-questionable “conservative” effort to allow FaceTime calls over the network, they’ve implemented a painstakingly slow rollout of eight to ten weeks.
With the numerous precautionary measures the executives at AT&T have decided to take, from no longer offering unlimited data to throttling their current customers and offering shared data plans, AT&T seems to have lost sight of what’s important: great services that make their customers actually want to be on the network.
