• Sprint Won't Charge for FaceTime Over Cellular

    by
    Anthony Bouchard
    Published on 2012-07-19 03:25 AM
    24 Comments Comments


    Within the last week it was discovered in iOS 6 beta 3 that AT&T is probably going to charge us to use FaceTime over their cellular network, a feature that Apple promised us when they unveiled iOS 6 at WWDC 2012. Yesterday, ModMyi also reported that AT&T’s Chief Executive Officer, Randall Stephenson, responded to the rumor saying that it was, "too early" to respond to the circulating rumors about AT&T charging users to use FaceTime over their cellular network.

    Our friends over at 9to5Mac report that Verizon has also responded with the statement that it's too, "premature" to talk about FaceTime over cellular pricing at this point in time. While both Verizon and AT&T don’t appear to want to let the cat out of the bag just yet, Sprint has come right out to say that they will not charge for FaceTime over their cellular network:

    Originally Posted by Sprint spokeswoman
    We are committed to our unlimited data and that means not charging for data consumption based on the application.
    With AT&T likely to charge for FaceTime over their cellular network and Verizon still undecided, the sudden outburst from Sprint is a bold one that will make a ton of Sprint iPhone owners very happy and could stun the competing companies into revising their decisions (although unlikely). Sprint iPhone owners still get to enjoy unlimited data on top of the upcoming free FaceTime over cellular access, which will certainly make Sprint look golden to new iPhone customers.

    FaceTime isn’t necessarily a game-changing feature of the iPhone, especially over cellular since most people have Wi-Fi in their homes where they can use the feature from. It probably won’t cause people to leave their contracts with Verizon and AT&T just for the niche feature of having FaceTime anywhere. In addition, future jailbreak software will likely unlock the feature on iPhones using the carriers that request payment for the feature similarly to the way the software can unlock the personal hotspot feature.

    Sources: 9to5Mac
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Sprint Won't Charge for FaceTime Over Cellular started by Anthony Bouchard View original post
    1. Categories:
    2. iPhone,
    3. iOS,
    4. Apple,
    5. iPad,
    6. Software
    Comments 24 Comments
    1. hank197857's Avatar
      hank197857 - 2012-07-19, 03:41 AM
      that settles it. when i return to the u.s, i'm heading straight for sprint. unless ...
    1. spooneditr's Avatar
      spooneditr - 2012-07-19, 03:46 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by hank197857 View Post
      that settles it. when i return to the u.s, i'm heading straight for sprint. unless ...
      I agree unless something better happens. That's BS because I use it now but not near enough to pay for it.
    1. trainp01's Avatar
      trainp01 - 2012-07-19, 03:47 AM
      I didn't even think that facetime would even work on Sprint's 3G network with their slow speeds. Can anyone confirm?
    1. GuiltyGearIsaac's Avatar
      GuiltyGearIsaac - 2012-07-19, 04:10 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by trainp01 View Post
      I didn't even think that facetime would even work on Sprint's 3G network with their slow speeds. Can anyone confirm?
      It works, just not in 1-2bar range(Sometimes)
    1. Italia411's Avatar
      Italia411 - 2012-07-19, 04:24 AM
      You get what you pay for.
    1. bonum83's Avatar
      bonum83 - 2012-07-19, 05:06 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by trainp01 View Post
      I didn't even think that facetime would even work on Sprint's 3G network with their slow speeds. Can anyone confirm?
      I thought the same too? The network is slower so would the connection.
    1. hogcia's Avatar
      hogcia - 2012-07-19, 05:41 AM
      Been using FaceTime over 3G on AT&T for years on JB iPhone. Nothing special, won't pay for it!
    1. Mrteacup's Avatar
      Mrteacup - 2012-07-19, 05:46 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by hogcia View Post
      Been using FaceTime over 3G on AT&T for years on JB iPhone. Nothing special, won't pay for it!
      I feel like saying you've been using it for years shows that it's pretty special,

      Anyway I bet AT&T Wont charge for it of noone else is.

      Also I wouldn't say att is charging "us" cause we all jailbreak
    1. Anthony Bouchard's Avatar
      Anthony Bouchard - 2012-07-19, 05:55 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by Mrteacup View Post
      I feel like saying you've been using it for years shows that it's pretty special,

      Anyway I bet AT&T Wont charge for it of noone else is.

      Also I wouldn't say att is charging "us" cause we all jailbreak
      AT&T doesn't appear to regard its competition as reasoning not to do something. They were the first of the big 3 (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon) to introduce capped data.
    1. letmusicring's Avatar
      letmusicring - 2012-07-19, 06:09 AM
      Sprint won't charge for FaceTime? Just like Verizon won't get rid of their unlimited data plan.

      Oh, wait.
    1. Razorinthe60s's Avatar
      Razorinthe60s - 2012-07-19, 06:41 AM
      Looks like Sprint here I come in October or so when new iPhone comes out. AT&T will regret not taking care of their customers.
    1. THEInternetExplorer's Avatar
      THEInternetExplorer - 2012-07-19, 08:01 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by trainp01 View Post
      I didn't even think that facetime would even work on Sprint's 3G network with their slow speeds. Can anyone confirm?
      I have sprint, it works... Just did it this past Tuesday.... First time (like a long tike ago) was kind of choppy...this time it wasn't...

      What is everyones speed with AT&T or Verizon??? I know sprint is slow, but it is fast enough for what I do...
    1. thomaspeter's Avatar
      thomaspeter - 2012-07-19, 09:12 AM
      Quite a good step from sprint, although I know that the load on their system will get too high but the step is quite a good one, along with all this I hope the other companies also learn from this, as earlier another company mentioned that its too early to talk about the pricing of the Facetime!
    1. GuiltyGearIsaac's Avatar
      GuiltyGearIsaac - 2012-07-19, 02:27 PM
      Also checkout Sprints LTE Network that was just released to a couple cities on the 7/15 the speeds are wicked good but I wonder what it'll be like when the whole nation is using it.
    1. bigboyz's Avatar
      bigboyz - 2012-07-19, 03:06 PM
      Great news! How is AT&T supposed to charge when you can get it for free elsewhere? I like how this is looking..BRIGHT! :]
    1. cmwade77's Avatar
      cmwade77 - 2012-07-19, 05:59 PM
      Umm, it would be illegal for AT&T to charge extra for Facetime usage, as they cannot discriminate where the traffic comes from. I am suprised that they are allowed to get away with charging extra for tethering.
    1. Anthony Bouchard's Avatar
      Anthony Bouchard - 2012-07-19, 06:24 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by cmwade77 View Post
      Umm, it would be illegal for AT&T to charge extra for Facetime usage, as they cannot discriminate where the traffic comes from. I am suprised that they are allowed to get away with charging extra for tethering.
      It's not illegal by any means. AT&T also charges for you to use iOS' personal hotspot feature. AT&T has the control over how you use their network. All Apple can do is make the iPhone capable.
    1. bonum83's Avatar
      bonum83 - 2012-07-19, 07:14 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by cmwade77 View Post
      Umm, it would be illegal for AT&T to charge extra for Facetime usage, as they cannot discriminate where the traffic comes from. I am suprised that they are allowed to get away with charging extra for tethering.
      You shouldn't be surprised. You don't know the law.
    1. Gopher_Otis's Avatar
      Gopher_Otis - 2012-07-21, 03:52 AM
      The reason why Sprint won't charge for FaceTime is because their network doesn't have the backhaul capabilities to even do it. 500kbps just doesn't cut it.
    1. GuiltyGearIsaac's Avatar
      GuiltyGearIsaac - 2012-07-21, 03:23 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Gopher_Otis View Post
      The reason why Sprint won't charge for FaceTime is because their network doesn't have the backhaul capabilities to even do it. 500kbps just doesn't cut it.
      Yeah in 3G network, that's why when the next iPhone rolls out with LTE sprint will have most cities and states with LTE network, at this moment only few current cities have it since the 15th and they actually did a freaking good job with it by hitting 7mbps-30mbps down and 4-18mbps up. But when whole nation has it then it'll still probably hit the 20mbps peak which is still good.
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