<story><title>AT&amp;T Will Force Your Data Plan For Your Unlocked Out-of-Contract &quot;Smart&quot; Phone</title><url>http://clickboom.me/att-will-not-let-you-not-have-a-data-plan-wit</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>kevingadd</author><text>AT&amp;#38;T are scum and this sort of stuff is standard practice with them. You shouldn&apos;t be giving them your money if you can avoid it.&lt;p&gt;If you&apos;ve got a GSM phone with the right radio bands, I suggest taking a look at the $30 plans here:
&lt;a href=&quot;http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;For CDMA I believe Sprint and Verizon offer prepaid plans without contracts at around $50 for talk/data.&lt;p&gt;The key is that IMO, a prepaid plan makes the terms of the arrangement clear, and if the carrier decides to try and overstep their boundaries, you can cut them off. They don&apos;t have the ability to take you to collections or withdraw from your account or increase your bill behind your back.&lt;p&gt;Of course, if T-Mobile tries to screw with you as a prepaid customer, they&apos;ve got some leverage since your only alternative is AT&amp;#38;T. Not so great. Still, better than nothing...</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>aharrison</author><text>I love T-Mobile, and not just for their sane plans and prices. They are also, you know, nice to me. Every time I have called their support they have been friendly, competent, and helpful. I have never gotten even 1 of 3 from any of the other carriers.&lt;p&gt;Seriously T-Mobile, come up with more excuses for me to give you money.</text></comment>
<story><title>AT&amp;T Will Force Your Data Plan For Your Unlocked Out-of-Contract &quot;Smart&quot; Phone</title><url>http://clickboom.me/att-will-not-let-you-not-have-a-data-plan-wit</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>kevingadd</author><text>AT&amp;#38;T are scum and this sort of stuff is standard practice with them. You shouldn&apos;t be giving them your money if you can avoid it.&lt;p&gt;If you&apos;ve got a GSM phone with the right radio bands, I suggest taking a look at the $30 plans here:
&lt;a href=&quot;http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;For CDMA I believe Sprint and Verizon offer prepaid plans without contracts at around $50 for talk/data.&lt;p&gt;The key is that IMO, a prepaid plan makes the terms of the arrangement clear, and if the carrier decides to try and overstep their boundaries, you can cut them off. They don&apos;t have the ability to take you to collections or withdraw from your account or increase your bill behind your back.&lt;p&gt;Of course, if T-Mobile tries to screw with you as a prepaid customer, they&apos;ve got some leverage since your only alternative is AT&amp;#38;T. Not so great. Still, better than nothing...</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>joelrunyon</author><text>At this point it isn&apos;t even about the data anymore, it&apos;s the simple fact that they&apos;re &quot;choosing a plan&quot; for me, without any input from me. Absolutely baffling.&lt;p&gt;I&apos;ll check out those options. Thanks.</text></comment>