To Market, To Market 07/18/12

Following on Verizon‘s recently announced family wireless program, AT&T will introduce shared-data wireless plans that let subscribers connect as many as 10 phones or other devices. AT&T says its MobileShare prices will “track closely” with Verizon. Here’s the rub: Subscribers can move SIM cards between devices to save money, and AT&T hasn’t come up with a plan to solve that potential problem. And there’s more: “What neither Verizon or AT&T’s plans do, though, is deal with the thorny issue of device subsidies,” note Jan Dawson at research firm Ovum. “Verizon’s launch highlighted the confusion that exists about the role of subsidies in the minds of consumers, and nothing in AT&T’s launch will alleviate that. We still need a fundamental change in the way carriers talk to consumers about device subsidies in order to educate them on the true cost of devices and service plans, but we’re not getting that with this launch.”