It is no secret that – these days – the majority of cellular phone owners browse the internet and text more than making actual calls. With the growing number of apps and games that hit the Droid and iPhone Markets every day, it is no surprise.
This being said, it is also no surprise that phone service carriers are beginning to tweak their marketing strategies toward this new style of phone use. AT&T were the first to announce to the business and consumer worlds that they were moving to unveil their first round of data-only plans. These plans were prompted by the growing number of people using their phones only for text and data, and making phone calls through many of the web call options that are out there these days.
Realizing that they simply couldn’t compete with the web services offering calls for cheaper – or sometimes even free, depending on the site – AT&T knew that a move toward Data-Only was sure necessary.
The plans, expected to be introduced within the next two years, are designed to target the declining number of minutes used per month in current plans. Under the new plans, the term “data” would not coincide with its traditional definition – that is, it would not refer to text and internet usage only. The idea is to systematically phase out the term “minutes,” or any use of time spent on calls, and replace the metered time with the amount of data used by the calls. In-short, calls will still be able to be made, but would use a portion of your allowed data instead.
While the announcement has been made, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson told the public on Wednesday June 6th, that while it is not a definite plan yet, he expects that people will be using data-only plans within the next 24 months.
While this move is still in its initial planning stages, it is a very logical goal for phone service providers who have been struggling to adjust to the ever-changing mobile market.
