Apple

AT&T to require Mobile Share plan for FaceTime over cellular

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Exactly one month ago, it was rumored that AT&T was planning to charge its users to use FaceTime over its cellular networks. A while after that, Sprint released a statement telling its users not to worry about having to pay extra for FaceTime. Verizon can’t charge for FaceTime access due to net neutrality rules.

Unfortunately, AT&T is taking the opposite route when it comes to Apple’s proprietary video-chatting service.

Today, AT&T announced that only subscribers of its new Mobile Share plans will have access to FaceTime. Here’s the official word, straight from AT&T:

“AT&T will offer FaceTime over Cellular as an added benefit of our new Mobile Share data plans, which were created to meet customers’ growing data needs at a great value. With Mobile Share, the more data you use, the more you save. FaceTime will continue to be available over Wi-Fi for all our customers.”

Like Verizon’s shared data plans, AT&T’s Mobile Share plans are complete rip-offs for some groups of only a few people who want to be on the same plan. Because of this, AT&T has effectively made accessing cool things like FaceTime on 3G/4G networks incredibly expensive – a disappointing reality of most US carriers.

AT&T’s Mobile Share plans launch next week, and iOS 6 – the first iteration of iOS to allow FaceTime over cellular data – will launch sometime this fall.

What are you going to do about not being able to cheaply use FaceTime through AT&T’s cellular networks? Are you going to unsubscribe, or will you succumb to the ridiculously high prices that AT&T is charging for features that shouldn’t be charged for?

[9to5Mac via iLounge]
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Calob Horton

Calob Horton is an associate editor at Pocketables. He loves all technology, no matter which company it comes from. This unbiased view of the tech world allows him to choose the products that best fit his personal needs and tastes: a Microsoft Surface Pro, a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and a third-gen iPad.Google+ | Twitter | More posts by Calob | Subscribe to Calob's posts

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