Please be advised:

• That this is not a valid discount offer
• That this is a phishing ploy to steal your identity
• Do not provide your username and password information

UPDATE: It appears the website has been removed by the site’s hosting company for TOS violation.

MDM is…..

1. NOT a Managed Solution (you and your enterprise need to work make MDM work)
2. NOT Wireless Expense Management (it is a cost add)
3. NOT an equal opportunity device provider (some OS do not support MDM well)
4. NOT necessarily a good replacement for what you may already have
5. NOT completely able to remotely control nor troubleshoot devices
6. NOT a complete nor standardized solution with respect to the exhaustive solution required by a successful mobile enterprise today

While all are key factors, I will discuss the first two in detail as they are the most important key factors in my mind and they are the most often misunderstood.

First, MDM is NOT a Managed Solution

The Enterprise needs a Mobility Policy, that is an Operational statement of what can be done with a mobile device, who should be able to conduct certain procedures and how these procedures will occur. All users need to be set up and rules for which applications will be allowed need to be determined. For example if you don’t want users to have Facebook on their corporate device, this needs to be delineated and then managed as part of MDM user protocols.

The following are just a few of the things needing to be considered for MDM management profiles and user policies:

• Lock down strategy by user
• Content restrictions
• Device setting configurations
• Messaging rules and restrictions
• App rules
• Restrictions and security settings (access enabled, etc.).

None of this is just done by MDM, MDM simply implements what you tell it to do after you set up the process for it to do it.

Second, MDM is NOT Wireless Expense Management (WEM)

Fie on those MDM providers touting they are a WEM solution. Let’s review: MDM costs you money to implement, WEM saves you money to implement.

Although these two solutions can be combined to help enterprises in the long run avoid costs, MDM on its own does NOT help reduce your wireless expense. WEM, on the other hand, as a fully managed solution reduces your bills without the enterprise having to do anything except approve changes.

Let’s take one example of what happens with MDM when changes need to happen:

Click for full size

Now lets take a look at the same example when done with a WEM provider:

Click for full size

You can get all the alerts necessary to make the enterprise AWARE of potential issues, but if no one in the organization actually makes the change, the result is not a good one (also, again, back to point 1, MDM is NOT a MANAGED SOLUTION).

On the other hand, WEM is a managed solution and inherently takes the additional steps required in order to save money. MDM providers can tout money savings all they want, but unless someone is managing the plans, the enterprise will end up paying more.

Craig Mathias writes several great points on MDM and expense management in his November 2011 Information week article. He says:

“…tracking of how money is being spent on network access is vital. It’s important that this be as close to real-time as possible in order to spot negative trends before they become a big hit to the bottom line. And policy enforcement via software would also be nice–there’s no point in racking up cellular minutes when, for example, a lower-cost Wi-Fi option is available.”

I’ve proposed the term Mobile Operations Management (MOM) as the all-inclusive catch-phrase for describing all of the elements required for a successful enterprise mobility implementation–successful being defined as secure, cost-effective, appropriate, visible, enabling, and manageable. But no matter what we call all of this, enterprises everywhere need to think about strategy, and not just assume that an MDM solution (again, whatever that is) is all that’s required”.

Gartner when referring to what MDM is NOT says, “While IT organizations vary in their approaches to implementing and owning the tools that manage mobile devices (e.g., the messaging group, some other mobile group, the desktop group, etc.), there are still very few that are managing the full life cycle across multiple device platforms.

This idea of wireless management is key. MDM is piece of the pie, and it could be a very helpful piece, but it is only a piece; don’t be misled by trying to keep up with the joneses on the latest and greatest. It is likely not the right plan, right price nor right result.

MDM Defined

• Wikipedia defines it as: “Software which secures, monitors, manages and supports mobile devices deployed across mobile operators, service providers and enterprises. MDM functionality typically includes over-the-air distribution of applications, data and configuration settings for all types of mobile devices…”.
• Gartner, in their IT Glossary, defines Mobile device management (MDM) includes software that provides the following functions: software distribution, policy management, inventory management, security management and service management for smartphones and media tablets.

Mobile device management allows administrators to oversee the function of wireless devices via software downloaded to the device Over The Air (OTA). This means that MDM providers have mobile devices secure their software over the air (OTA) from an application that is downloaded to the device.

The software then can add certain allowable softwares (like allow windows, don’t allow Facebook) and
then provides information about that device (NOTE: not about its billing nor about how best to allocate
or spend cost, but about the device itself: it is on, what is the battery life, security, etc.)

Basic MDM Functionality

Wikipedia states, “The ideal mobile device management tool:

• Is compatible with common device operating platforms and applications.
• Can function through multiple service providers.
• Can be implemented directly Over the Air (OTA), targeting specific devices as necessary.
• Can deploy next-generation hardware, operating platforms and applications quickly.
• Can add or remove devices from the system as necessary to ensure optimum network efficiency and security.

Below are some of the functionalities of MDM:

• Diagnostics
• Remote Configuration and Provisioning
• Security
• Backup/Restore
• Network Usage and Support
• Server Deployment
• Mobile Asset Tracking and Management
• Remote Lock and Wipe
• Device Provisioning
• Software Installation
• Troubleshooting and Diagnostic Tools
• Policy Application
• Logging and Reporting
• Remote Control and Administration
• GPS Tracking and ‘Breadcrumb’ Mapping

Criteria to Consider When Choosing MDM Providers

Gartner, in their most recent “Magic Quandrant” rating on MDM included the following criteria to select
their top MDM providers:

Security management, with at least these features:

• Enforced password
• Device wipe
• Remote lock
• Audit trail/logging
• “Jailbreak” detection
• At least mobile OS 3 platforms supported
• Policy/compliance management

Software distribution, with at least these capabilities supported:

• Application downloader
• Application verification
• Application update support
• Application patch support

Inventory management, with at least these capabilities supported:

Given the large number of players in this market and the complexity of the products, we have chosen to restrict this analysis to a subset of vendors whose offerings get the most interest and highest level of inquiries from Gartner’s clients.

SERVER AND CAPABILITIES

What you get for your money – an important factor to consider.

One major area of differentiation among MDM offerings is the technical approach to management. The industry is divided into 3 delivery modalities:

• cloud services
• on-premises
• hosted

While many products are on-premises, a growing number of cloud services offerings are starting to appeal to users because they are more economical. The option provides fewer up- front costs due to no purchases of software and allows more flexibility to scale up services with growing mobility adoption or needs. However, many providers do require both an activation fee, potential maintenance fee and set-up fees. Make sure you understand what you are paying and what it gets you and the organization!

Gartner also adds the following about server vs client-side offerings:

Server-side product or service offerings These offerings may have a small mobile agent running on the device, and/or call native APIs provided by the mobile OS platform (e.g., iOS 4), but do not have a complete mobile management client. They can enforce policies on the server side, but cannot control the device and mobile user behavior in depth. They are used in combination with native mobile support in corporate email servers (e.g., Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync [EAS] in Microsoft Exchange Server or Notes Traveler in Lotus Notes/Domino) to enforce complementary policies to those provided by the server. Thus, they can preserve the native email client experience on iPhones and iPads, which are favorite choices for users.

Client-side offerings Management software is available for every relevant mobile OS platform (either stand-alone or blended with a proprietary email client). The management client can enforce strong IT control on the device (e.g., local data encryption, selective wipe and containerization). Actually, it replaces it, and it does not work with the device’s native email client, but requires its own client, which can only connect to a corporate email server. Good Technology’s approach prioritizes on IT control, limiting the user’s choice and experience with the email client.

Potential MDM Providers

The following vendors have been examined when reviewing the marketplace:
AirWatch, BoxTone, Excitor, Fiberlink, FancyFon, Good Technology, Mobile Active Defense, McAfee, MobileIron,Sybase, Symantec, Tangoe and Zenprise. Vendors not included in this research are still valid options for consideration (see “Magic Quadrant for Mobile Device Management Software” for details), including: Capricode, Fixmo, IBELEM, Fromdistance, Motorola, Odyssey Software, Smith Micro Software, SOTI, The Institution and Ubitexx (acquired by RIM).

While most vendors specialize in management for smartphones and tablets, a subset provides specific capabilities to manage fleets of ruggedized devices (on Windows CE or Windows Mobile), including SOTI, Odyssey Software and Motorola. We do not consider these vendors in a separate use case because specialized management tools for ruggedized devices generate limited Gartner client inquiries.

You can find the entire Gartner study by clicking here.

To Conclude

First, take a look at PART II – MDM: What it is NOT (COMING SOON). This will help shed some light on what to expect and how YOU will really need to heavily interact with these programs and solutions to indeed see concrete results.

Second, make sure you know and identify IT policies required to control deployments, manage risks and support users.

Third, make sure you understand how to marry the product and your needs to make any of these products useful to your organization and that it will indeed produce RESULTS, not just more work for you at increased rates.

STEP 6 – Know your numbers, then ASK for stuff again

If your corporate budget requires a 20% reduction in spend, make sure to let the carriers know your numbers and how far off they are. Frequently, with a good business case, they can go back to their pricing folks and get stuff if they know it will take “$X”.

We had a great relationship with a carrier working on an RFP and we simply said, listen, we need $X to get the job done. It was a significant number, but it was an accurate one and it worked. The carrier came through, got their contract executed and we got a great deal for the customer.

Consider 2 industry definitions:

CPGA (Cost per Gross Add)
What it costs the wireless carrier to add you as a customer recorded in per subscriber terms. Average CPGA across all carriers is $350-400: this is the cost to acquire a new subscriber.

• This number covers ALL costs (yes, including the subsidized price of the device!) which includes commissions paid to agents/employees, (we’ll say it again) phone subsidies and marketing costs.
• So this means that if you get a free device, on average, the carrier is down $350 (per subscriber) when you sign up with them and they need to earn this back to become profitable.

Mix this with your:

ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) 
Measurement by the carriers to understand the value of their subscriber base and compare to other carriers as a metric.

• It is the measurement of the average dollars spent per month by each subscriber across their subscriber base.
• It is calculated by taking the total revenue (what we at Bill Police call “all in”. This number includes taxes, fees, assessments, etc and is the total amount the user pays, not just the access fees as are so often quoted to customers by carrier reps) and dividing it by the number of total users. For example, if carrier X has 100,000 subscribers and the revenue for these subscribers is $5,000,000, then the ARPU is $50.
• Determine your ARPU and use this against CPGA to help you bargain even further

STEP 7 – Read the agreement in full

This is so simple, yet so many organizations neglect reviewing the agreement and detail.

Simply put: read the ENTIRE agreement, line by line and be sure all that was agreed to during the negotiation is in the final agreement. There have been many times we have negotiated an item and it is mysteriously missing or changed in the final document.

STEP 8 – Implement

Again, simply said, not so simply executed: do what the agreement says.

In all of our contract negotiations, I can tell you that not in one case did all the items in the agreement show up properly on the bill. Expect that there will be mistakes, review the bill carefully (especially the first month after the agreement is in place) and request credits immediately from the carrier.

STEP 3 – Ask for stuff!

You won’t get lower costs if you don’t ask for things. Ask for as much as you can, the carriers can only say “no” and will often say OK. The good ones will negotiate a clever term or a creative way to give you what you need and also be able to satisfy their finance team requirements. Often it can be all in the framing of the issue (this is where needs vs. wants really come in).

For example, learn everything you can about the competition, the industry and offerings to other customers. This is where we really make a difference.

• As a WEM firm, we see across all carriers and many customers, and while we cannot provide specific data on specific customers or carriers due to confidentiality agreements, we can guide and provide many industry suggestions on what offerings are out there to similar type customers.



• You can’t believe what a difference it makes just to have us sit at the table and keep the providers honest. Carriers know they can’t tell tales if we are in the room. So many times, I have heard a carrier state something, have the customer glance my way, I’ll shake my head, “not so much”, and it is a powerful way to get past a meaningless debate and into the real matter at hand.

Recently, we attended a Home Health Care Conference and TMobile GAVE each conference participant an Android device (pictured below) PLUS a keyboard docking station. This was to the tune of about 250 devices. Carriers will give you stuff if they think they will get money back.

STEP 4 – Document what you ask for and what you ultimately receive

Get a comprehensive document that is generic to be sent to at least 3 carriers for responses. The document should have:

• General overview of your organization
• Questions regarding the carrier overview and performance standards
• Timeframe expectations
• Non-disclosure statements

And pertinent sections for specific needs:

• Voice & Data
• International
• Features (text messaging etc)

Document everything consistently to each carrier (that is, do not provide different information to different carriers; you want apples to apples comparison). A very simplified RFP version can be found in Microsoft Office.com templates.

Finally, document all the responses from the carriers in a standardized format. This will help you with the next step.

STEP 5 – Look at NET cost (it’s not all about the discount)

Discounts, as shown below can be deceiving and inconsistent.

This step is particularly interesting to write about because it seems so simple, it is often not stated, but, an RFP is not all about the discount. It is indeed about the net cost.

As you receive information from your carriers, make sure you get to bottom line dollars of what you will write a check for each month and then use this number to compare it to what you write a check for now. That is your only real accurate means of comparison with the carriers. This is not, unfortunately, how they present the data to you.

Consider the following:

Look at net cost of the plan and the discount (see next page). If you have a 25% discount, this is great, but if it is on a plan that gives you 500 minutes and is $15 per month more than the competing carrier, how does the competing carriers’ rate stack up? As you can see from the below graphic, the carrier with the worst discount is actually the lowest cost option.

Stay tuned for Part 3…

In this four-part blog series, we’ll be cover 8 steps that are crucial to making the most out of your RFP.

A wireless RFP (request for proposal) to negotiate a new carrier agreement is a simple, yet very complex process.

Sound confusing? It is much like baseball. A fairly simple game – hit the ball, run the bases, score more runs than the other team, and hopefully win. However, there are also many variable complexities. For instance, when to put in a lefty pitcher, what pitch to throw (curveball, slider, change-up), when to steal a base – you get the idea.

That is a lot like the RFP process. Except instead of scoring runs, your ultimate goal is to get the lowest price for the best fit of services to your organization. The complexity: when and how to do it, how to interface with the carriers, what way to get the best industry standards for competitive advantages?

The goal here is to give a quick primer for any business organization who is beginning a wireless RFP implementation. We hate longwinded introductions as much as you do so let’s get started:

STEP 1 – Determine organization wants and needs

This can sometimes be one of the trickiest parts of an RFP renegotiation process: you want everything at the cheapest price. Well, that’s just usually not reality and therefore you need to be discerning about your non-negotiables versus your wants.

This is a very customized and organization-specific decision, but here are some real world examples:

1. Customer 1 didn’t care about individual liable discounts, but really wanted to get early termination fees (ETF) waived
2. Customer 2 didn’t care about ETF fees, but wanted a much better discount and flat fee replacement equipment
3. Customer 3 simply wanted free equipment and could live without a port-in credit

Each of these examples provides bargaining power and things that can be given up to align the real needs of the organization with the capabilities of the provider. Additionally, coverage often plays a key role in this decision as usually there is not one provider that can meet all the needs of every organization.

STEP 2 – Be reasonable about what to expect

We usually set the expectation that a well-done RFP will result in a 10-20% savings from what the organization is paying today. This is assuming the organization is already optimized and on competitive rate plans. If that is not the case, the savings are usually significantly greater.

Click for full-size image

Keep in mind some of this is difficult to quantify because there are many avoided costs in an RFP which actually never show up on a bill. For example, we have frequently negotiated a free or reduced cost for a text messaging plan. Because users did not have a text message plan before due to its expense, the organization can now add the feature free of charge and have the benefit of the productivity tool but not the cost. Here, the cost was avoided (getting a feature the organization is not paying for, therefore avoiding the cost in this case).

Also, check out our blog post for more on what businesses should pay for wireless.

Click here for Part 2 where we explain our exact strategies we use to get deep discounts and free stuff for our clients.

The Android Police state, “The vulnerability, discovered by the crew at Android Police, potentially exposes a broad range of private user data, including email addresses, GPS locations and phone numbers.

The security hole appears to be a residual consequence of HTC’s latest update to the phones, which recently received a new logging tool and seems to be where the problem first showed up.”

The problem occurs in any app that connects to the Internet, specifically ones that send out the android.permission.INTERNET. We understand this is SOP for most any app that uses the web. With the HTC security problem, apps that send out such a request may have access but not be limited to the following:

• List of users accounts, email addresses and sync status for each address
• Last recorded network and GPS location, and a short list of previous such locations
• Phone numbers from the phone log
• SMS data, including phone numbers and encoded texts
• System logs (which may give access to additional personal data)

The reported fix is to “root your phone and manually remove the “APK” file that logs all your actions. Unfortunately, rooting is a process that can be difficult for users who aren’t familiar with the process.” Because of the serious nature of this problem, it is believed that HTC will be releasing a fix patch soon, but in the meantime, be very careful of what apps are used or downloaded as this can expose your data.

Here’s what we have gathered as quoted from HTC:

• There’s a big security problem with its phones that lets third-party apps access your personal data.
• However HTC has communicated that it is already dealing with the problem.
• “There is a vulnerability that could potentially be exploited by a malicious third-party application.”
• HTC says it’s working on a patch that will fix the problem, soon to be made available over the air after a short testing period. In the meantime, the company advises “caution when downloading, using, installing and updating applications from untrusted sources.”
• HTC is at pains to make clear that the logging software it installed “does no harm to customers’ data”. “So far,” the statement continues, “we have not learned of any customers being affected in this way and would like to prevent it by making sure all customers are aware of this potential vulnerability.”

Here is the HTC statement in full:

“HTC takes claims related to the security of our products very seriously. In our ongoing investigation into this recent claim, we have concluded that while this HTC software itself does no harm to customers’ data, there is a vulnerability that could potentially be exploited by a malicious third-party application. A third party malware app exploiting this or any other vulnerability would potentially be acting in violation of civil and criminal laws. So far, we have not learned of any customers being affected in this way and would like to prevent it by making sure all customers are aware of this potential vulnerability.

HTC is working very diligently to quickly release a security update that will resolve the issue on affected devices. Following a short testing period by our carrier partners, the patch will be sent over-the-air to customers, who will be notified to download and install it. We urge all users to install the update promptly. During this time, as always, we strongly urge customers to use caution when downloading, using, installing and updating applications from untrusted sources.”

No release date has yet been announced by HTC but they are working on the patch and users will soon hear from them. Stay tuned…

Will applications be the new data? Being in the industry for so long we have seen lots of transitions. First voice was the hot item, then email, then data and now we see all of the options for apps.

We believe apps are going to be the new data AND they are now be able to be billed to your customer account.

Carriers are beginning to demonstrate the pervasiveness of apps by adding direct billing options for applications onto the wireless bill. Verizon will partner with Payfone to bring a one click payment option to cellphones. Google Inc. announced a partnership with Sprint that lets you add your Android app to your monthly wireless bill. And also, Google is already rolling out its Google Wallet feature in the New York and San Francisco markets this summer. Finally, Visa, which acquired mobile-payment company Fundamo for $110 million, is also exploring options.

Carrier Billing for Apps

This is known in the industry as “Carrier Billing” and we love it because it is one more way that we can help you optimize and manage your bill.

Deferring app payments has great benefits. First, it lets users decide how they want to settle a bill. Second, it allows customers without credit cards to purchase apps through a new medium. It certainly lets users purchase and pay for apps more easily (and this is key: less visibly). Plus many of these decisions are pushed to the user level which can be troublesome for enterprise wireless programs.

What the Carriers Are Saying

Sprint says, “It’s also important because it offers a convenient way to buy in demographics where credit cards are less common” (ahem, Enterprises!).

Verizon says, “Verizon will partner with Payfone Inc. to bring a one-click payment option to cellphones. Customers can use the Internet on their phones to order digital items such as music or e-books and have the charge placed on their monthly Verizon bill. For tangible goods and more expensive products, customers can link the service to their own credit card. Any Verizon customer using a phone with a browser will be able to use the service. No upgrades are needed; the one-click payment option will appear as a link on retail websites.”

And we say…..watch out for your enterprise wallets!

Industries are In a Slump

This is a very interesting proposition for Enterprises as we see opportunities for the bills to increase more than they ever have in recent history. Think about how easy it might be to download an application that you’re not sure if you purchased. As a wireless expense management provider, we see myriads of downloads every month with our Enterprises even if the account has downloads restrictions: they get past blockers if they are a new users or the carrier did not successfully add restrictions during activations. We of course monitor this and get credits, but woe to the people who do not have help managing the bill.

Enterprise Wireless Cost Could Skyrocket

We see downloads for Apps (needed or not) that cost 5.99, 9.99 or 19.99 (for example) EVERY MONTH. Once the Apps become more prevalent and can be easily paid by your Enterprise wireless bill, it may become the Wild West, but the carriers love it. Mobile payments has long been discussed as an opportunity for growth, but they have exploded over the last few months as companies begin to take advantage of this new billing system.

As the Verizon’s Greg Haller has said, “It’s a new market; Payfone helps us get wider adoption.” Now we all really know what that means, don’t we?

The funny thing to us is that Sprint shared it under the guise of a new upgrade plan which is good for at best $150 – with ALL rebates, offers and a 2 year agreement. Take that amount, subtract out the $36 upgrade fee, and you are back to $114 at best. If you don’t get the BEST price, you can be eligible for a $75 or $25 credit.

That math works out a bit worse: if you get the $75 credit, your net savings is $39 after the upgrade fee. If you are an unfortunate who only gets the $25 plan, then you will actually owe Sprint $11.

The good news: Sprint will cap the upgrade fee at $150…very generous. You can check out the offer and fine print here.

If you are fortunate to have a wireless expense management provider who can help you navigate these charges, there are some work arounds, but that doesn’t mean you won’t “accidentally” be charged. Here at The Bill Police, we’re always on the lookout to help clients determine whether they qualify for these fees or if they overcharged “accidentally”.

Sprint Early Termination Fee Increased to $350

Sprint also announced a change to its Early Termination Fee (ETF) for customers with smartphones, tabs, laptops and netbooks. As of the 9th of September Sprint will start charging a $350 termination fee — the same as Verizon and AT&T. As is the case with all other ETFs, required by law, the fees will be pro-rated depended on the number of months left on a subscriber’s contract. The charge is a hefty step-up from its prior fee of $200.

As always, special terms can be negotiated depending on contracts and expertise so contact your WEM provider for help in reducing or eliminating these costs.

Now, AT&T customers will only have one message plan option: unlimited messaging at $20.00.

Here is what ATT is saying:

“Starting August 21, we’re streamlining our text messaging plans for new customers and will offer an unlimited plan for individuals for $20 per month and an unlimited plan for families of up to five lines for $30 per month. The vast majority of our messaging customers prefer unlimited plans and with text messaging growth stronger than ever, that number continues to climb among new customers. Existing customers don’t have to change any messaging plan they have today, even when changing handsets.”

From AT&T’s Newsletter

Here is an exerpt from an email newsletter AT&T sent out explaining the man

$10/1000 Messaging (MSG10) Expiration – Effective August 21, 2011

• The vast majority of our messaging customers prefer unlimited plans and with text messaging growth stronger than ever, that number continues to climb among new customers. In an attempt to simplify our messaging portfolio, the corporate direction is to eliminate our Messaging 1000 feature.
• Beginning effective 8-21-11, we will be implementing a company-wide messaging portfolio change. These changes will impact all customers including CRU, IRU, and Consumer.

Details:

• Messaging Plans will be simplified
• Messaging 1000 $10/1000 Message plan ($0.10 per additional message) will be eliminated Aug 21(MSG10)/Sept 7(DTXT) due to increased interest for unlimited plans.
• Both MSG10 (8-21)and DTXT (9-7) are impacted
• New Accounts: The messaging plan (MSG10 & DTXT) will NOT be available as of Aug 21(MSG10)/Sept 7(DTXT)

Existing Accounts – AT&T contractually obligated via MRC modifiers or National Account Credits in the 3 messaging families – Messaging 1000, Text messaging & Multimedia messaging: Those existing subscribers who currently have it as a feature will continue to have it after Aug 21(MSG10)/Sept 7(DTXT).

• New subscribers in this category adding this feature will continue have it available.

Existing Accounts ( No contractual obligation):

• Those existing subscribers who currently have it as a feature will continue to have it after Aug 21(MSG10)/Sept 7(DTXT).
• New subscribers in this category adding this feature will NOT have it available.

System updates from Premier will occur the evening on 8/20 due to the weekend impacting IT’s schedule. Customer Benefits:


• Simplification of messaging portfolio
• Remaining Unlimited messaging plan includes Mobile to Any Mobile
• Less concern over messaging overage charges




---

Questions We’d Like to Have Answered By AT&T

In an effort to better inform the general public (and our customers) about what’s going on, we would love to know a few things about their highlighted items below:

• First, where was the increased interest for unlimited plans? We would love to hear the data on this AND if there is data to support it, why not still continue to offer several options? Our business users use an average of about 534 text messages per month. This would have been addressed by the $10 plan. Why the increase for folks like this? Of course, besides increasing average revenue per unit?
• Second, it seems so perplexing that responding to interest in one thing results in the elimination of another. It is like Fords when they first came out: any color as long as its black. The difference is that Ford actually increased its color portfolio as time went on, not decreased its options.
• Third, the reason for the change is stated as “in an attempt to simplify our messaging portfolio, the corporate direction is to eliminate our messaging 1000 feature”. This is also listed as a Customer Benefit: “Simplification of messaging portfolio”. Simplify for who? Clearly the carriers historically have not been known for making things simple, so maybe this is the carriers turning over a new leaf. Hmm…
• The one thing that is good is that current customers who has access to this plan for now will be grandfathered and new subscribers for these customers will also have this feature available to them.

Digital Trends made a great point when they said, “We can think of no good reason for this hike, except to enhance profits. Though carriers routinely charge at least 20 cents per text, texting actually costs carriers next to nothing. In reality, sending a text is equivalent to sending a few bytes through the air. If carriers like AT&T wanted to be fair to customers, they would wrap this service right into their data plans, which have also been rising in priceas of late.

High Usage SMS Alerts?

The final interesting piece of information from AT&T on text plans is they will now offer High SMS Usage Alerts for their Corporate Customers:

High SMS Usage Alerts for our Corporate (CRU) Customers
Effective immediately, corporate services on select text messaging plans (Pay Per Use, 200/500/1000/1500 message plans) will now receive a high usage SMS and/or e-mail notifications at $50, $100 and $200 in un-billed text messaging charges. At $800, they will be sent SMS and/or e-mail notification advising that messaging service has been restricted.

Benefits:

• Prevents unexpected excessive messaging charges
• Enables TCMs to manage usage more effectively
• Identify users for unlimited messaging plan option

Does anyone else find this ironic?

Automatic Mobile-to-Mobile Minute Usage

And of course, every cloud has a silver lining: if you add the Unlimited Messaging plan, you will also have the enhancement feature of Mobile to Any Mobile (MTM) minutes being added. This means that as the unlimited plan is added, you will need to do nothing and the unlimited Mobile-to-any-mobile feature will be automatically added. This will allow you to call any other mobile carrier from your wireless device and it will pull the minutes from your MTM minutes instead of your peak minutes pool. This could lower your cost if managed properly.

Here’s a final excerpt from the newsletter:

Enhancement to Unlimited Messaging with Mobile to Any Mobile Calling
Beginning August 23, 2011, AT&T1 is enhancing our AT&T Messaging Unlimited with Mobile to Any Mobile Calling. Customers will no longer have to manually add this feature to get the benefits that this feature provides.

Details:

• Starting on August 23rd and continuing through October, Consumer, IRU, and CRU customers with certain messaging unlimited features will be part of a sweep to have their current feature replaced with one of the Messaging Unlimited with Mobile to Any Mobile (M2AM) features.
• There will be no price change and we are increasing the benefits we offer our customers by offering them messaging unlimited AND unlimited calling to any mobile number. The sweep will take place on the customer’s bill cycle date to prevent proration of any charges for the old and new feature. Customers will be notified of this change.
• MSG3 is the $20 unlimited messaging feature for individual and Pooled plans which will be replaced with MSGM2AMUN which is the Single Line $20 feature and gives the customer messaging unlimited AND M2AM. Customers must be on a rate plan $39.99 or higher to qualify for this change.
• MSG7 is the $20 expired unlimited messaging feature for iPhones and will be replaced with MSG7M2AM which is the Single Line $20 feature which gives the customer messaging unlimited AND M2AM. Customers must be on a rate plan $39.99 or higher to qualify for this change.
• MSG4 is the $30 Family Talk/BusinessTalk 1 to 5 user account level features and it will be replaced with MSGFTM2AM which gives the customer messaging unlimited AND M2AM. To qualify, the customer must be on a rate plan $69.99 or higher.

Restrictions include: BusinessTalk customers with MSG3 (the $20 single line feature) do not qualify for the sweep. They must have the BAN level feature to qualify for the sweep.
Customer can at anytime change their feature to the Messaging Unlimited with Mobile to Any Mobile feature by removing the single line feature and adding MSGFTM2AM FamilyTalk feature. This would allow all lines (BusinessTalk $60-$140) on the BusinessTalk account to take advantage of the Messaging Unlimited as well as M2AM.

When: Beginning August 23, 2011 through October 31, 2011.

Customer Benefits: BusinessTalk and Pooled customers will no longer need to manually change their messaging feature to obtain the benefits of Mobile to Any Mobile calling. For additional details please reach out to your AT&T Mobility – Mobility Service Manager.