Setting up iPad data plan

Ok, so we got our 3G iPad (yeah yeah yeah… when it was announced, I said I had zero interest in it). We couldn't find a way to add this via our existing cellular account, so my wife called and they said you can't… the plan just gets billed straight to your credit card. This seems odd to me. It's somewhat inconvenient to have a separate bill for this, and I also wouldn't be able to get my discount through my employer this way, it would seem. Anyone know anything about this?

That was evidently an AT&T decision. It appears they chose to do it that way for those buyers of the iPad who were not already AT&T existing customers. For someone like myself (we use T-Mobile) it would be convenient, however, for those buyers of the iPad who were already AT&T existing subscribers, it just adds to the frustration.

I also get a discount for subscribing to AT&T but decided I would rather forgo the savings than put up with their poor customer support and IMO, overpriced service.

Regards.

chscag said:

That was evidently an AT&T decision. It appears they chose to do it that way for those buyers of the iPad who were not already AT&T existing customers. For someone like myself (we use T-Mobile) it would be convenient, however, for those buyers of the iPad who were already AT&T existing subscribers, it just adds to the frustration.

I also get a discount for subscribing to AT&T but decided I would rather forgo the savings than put up with their poor customer support and IMO, overpriced service.

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I have to agree about the service being overpriced, though now my new discount has greatly placated me. It's utter horseshit that you pay the same rates whether or not you are under contract for a subsidized phone. I would seriously consider T-Mobile if they got the iPhone but my wife frowned on it when I suggested unlocking our 3Gs iPhones since she didn't know anyone who had them. Since then I've learned from someone I do know who has them that their service isn't great here, even though the coverage map would suggest differently. I'm not displeased with AT&T's customer support in general. I've certainly not had bad experiences myself, though this difference in setting up an iPad data plan is disappointing. I may just go ahead and drop T-Mobile on it and see for myself how they work out.

EDIT: Uuughh… I take that back. T-Mobile's data-only plans are a bit steep. 40 bucks for 5 gigs, 25 for 200 megs, if I am reading their site correctly. And I wouldn't be able to have 3G on the iPad.

I imagine te reason why you can't add it to your bill is because there's no long term commitment; the iPad data plans go from month to month and you can enable/cancel at any time. Therefore, it's simply easier to bill your credit card each month than try to figure out the hassle of adding it to a cellular phone bill.

EDIT: Uuughh… I take that back. T-Mobile's data-only plans are a bit steep. 40 bucks for 5 gigs, 25 for 200 megs, if I am reading their site correctly. And I wouldn't be able to have 3G on the iPad.

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Yeah, T-Mobile's data plans are a tad high and you would not be able to use 3G with the iPad. I don't have a data plan with T-Mobile and frankly, would not at those prices. But their regular caller plans are probably the most economical when compared to other carriers.

Also, Kash made a good point about the separate billing that AT&T is using. I wasn't thinking about the no contract month to month aspect of the plan. Perhaps at some time in the future they may consider consolidating billing for existing customers.

Regards.