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Yesterday, AT&T announced that it was dropping its $30 per month unlimited data plan for new mobile phone customers, including the iPhone and iPad.  Instead, AT&T will offer metered plans for users.

This is awful news for consumers, especially for new iPad users who were looking forward to getting unlimited Internet. After all, the real power of the iPad comes from its always-on Internet connection.

All You Can Eat (Not)

This move by AT&T will no doubt begin a round of similar activity by other mobile and broadband operators. Unlimited data plans aren’t a sustainable business, and it never has been. Although some people don’t use data much, it’s becoming clear that data use is becoming more popular than phone calls.

Of course, Comcast has already been testing a metering plan for broadband Internet. It has even put out a metering application that lets consumers see how much data they’ve been using in the month.  Comcast says that very few people actually go over these unwritten data limits so it won’t apply to everyone.

But clearly, this move away from an all you can eat model is the way of the future. Mobile  and broadband operators understand that unlimited data plans can only lead to trouble down the road. It’s better to make consumers understand what they are using, and charge them for it. That way, they won’t be just another dumb pipe provider. Plus, they can earn more revenues via a tiered offering than an all-you-can-eat model.

Aside from this tiered broadband, I think other models will emerge including something that I call “Premium Broadband”. This essentially means that broadband operators will offer tiered pricing for Internet access, but will also offer premium plans for users that want to watch video and TV online.

So, broadband providers can offer a $20 to $30 plan that gives consumers access to unlimited Netflix, Amazon or Blockbuster streaming, for example. And this premium plan can come with certain quality of service guarantees, so that there’s very little buffering.

It seems like the age of unlimited data plans are soon to be history.

(Flickr photo by Jeremy Brooks)