[barbwyr]

I really don't think I should have to ask this but here goes. Why would ATT send him a bill for a phone someone gave him? Where does it say they will be billing him?

LOL....He is not reffering to getting a bill for the phone. He's talking about being billed for a data plan. But the rest of your post regarding grandfathered lines and the data plans only being assigned to smartphones placed on the line after the 6th of Sept. is spot on.

[Tour Up From the Floor Up]

I really don't think I should have to ask this but here goes. Why would ATT send him a bill for a phone someone gave him? Where does it say they will be billing him? What part of my post did you not understand? You get a free phone or a discounted phone with a 2 year agreement and it happens to be a smartphone then you will be required to have a data plan for 2 years as well. All of which has nothing to do with the OP and the phone someone gave to him. Nothing at all.

I think you need to go back and read the entire thread. If you did then why are you even bringing up stuff that has nothing to do with the OP because what I said to you has to do with the OP, so you must be referring to your own posts.

When you read the OP's post pay close attention to how they describe how he/she is using the BlackBerry they received as a gift on the "very old plan" that the OP is still on.

[Tour Up From the Floor Up]

...regarding grandfathered lines and the data plans only being assigned to smartphones placed on the line after the 6th of Sept. is spot on.

And that's what I want to hear from the OP. Has the OP looked into this any further with AT&T to verify that he/she is indeed grandfathered in and that they misunderstood the notice?

[olblueyez]

OK, so how bout this, if someone gave him a Curve then why not transfer the sim card and "not" notify ATT you are using a smart phone. If its only voice then who cares if they have the correct IEMI number? All it will do is give them opportunity to jack your bill right? Leave the IEMI number from your Nokia 2610 in the ATT database and dont look back.

I was wrong, per the ATT website they will bend you over if you put a smart device on a voice only line.

[barbwyr]

OK, so how bout this, if someone gave him a Curve then why not transfer the sim card and "not" notify ATT you are using a smart phone. If its only voice then who cares if they have the correct IEMI number? All it will do is give them opportunity to jack your bill right? Leave the IEMI number from your Nokia 2610 in the ATT database and dont look back.

I was wrong, per the ATT website they will bend you over if you put a smart device on a voice only line.

Currently if the device is unbranded they can not tell it's a smartphone and if you are not using data then go for it. But if the device is an AT&T branded device or an IMEI previously reported to AT&T then they will add the data plan because as a customer you have agreed to their TOS.

[olblueyez]

I get it. So the 8310 my wife got from them would have to be listed as something else because its an ATT phone. Sneaky Bass-*****.

[i7guy]

One could say the same about Verizon. Buy a smartphone and promise not to use any of their bandwidth so you don't have to buy a data plan. Sounds easy, except it doesn't work that way.

It's similiar to buying a large horsepower car and promising you won't use all of the power and you will drive delicately to avoid paying the gas guzzler tax.

[codito]

One could say the same about Verizon. Buy a smartphone and promise not to use any of their bandwidth so you don't have to buy a data plan. Sounds easy, except it doesn't work that way.

It's similiar to buying a large horsepower car and promising you won't use all of the power and you will drive delicately to avoid paying the gas guzzler tax.

Verizon's system will automatically add a data plan on with a smartphone now. It will not physically let someone delete this plan or change it off. You have to have at least a $30 data plan with smartphone purchases now.

[cavingjan]

Currently if the device is unbranded they can not tell it's a smartphone and if you are not using data then go for it. But if the device is an AT&T branded device or an IMEI previously reported to AT&T then they will add the data plan because as a customer you have agreed to their TOS.

Doesn't have to be tied to AT&T at all. As long as the IMEI contains the TAC (Type Allocation Code) which identifies the model of phone, your phone will be easily identified as a smartphone when it is caught in a sweep. The TAC is the 6 digit potion in the middle (numbers 3 through 8).

[barbwyr]

Doesn't have to be tied to AT&T at all. As long as the IMEI contains the TAC (Type Allocation Code) which identifies the model of phone, your phone will be easily identified as a smartphone when it is caught in a sweep. The TAC is the 6 digit potion in the middle (numbers 3 through 8).

According to those in the know...The only devices that AT&T can identify are those that are released to AT&T by the manufacturer. RIM does not give them the codes for devices that are released to other companies or carriers. I would also assume that if you have added a phone to AT&T through official channels instead of a SIM swap then you have given them the IMEI. I have also read that TMo and AT&T are sharing their database so customers can't take phones from one to the other unlocked and get around the plan requirements.

So...if you buy an unbranded device, say from Horizon, then they are not able to ID your device and therefore can not add a data plan...as of yet. This has been attested to by those on the forums with unbranded devices. The system reads them as unknown.

[codito]

T-Mobile identified my at&t 8310 within like 10 minutes and it showed up on the My T-Mobile site.

[barbwyr]

T-Mobile identified my at&t 8310 within like 10 minutes and it showed up on the My T-Mobile site.

Well...that kinda confirms the database sharing posts. As long as RIM doesn't give them the IDs to the devices they sell to 3rd parties there is still a way around it, but if that happens then the only people safe are those that are grandfathered. Of course since they never detailed the grandfathering they could tag you then too since they can call it a new activation.

[cavingjan]

Realize that there are not that many unique numbers for TACs. Only 1 million of them are possible. There is a very finite number of phones released each year so it should be easily identifiable and can come directly from the international GSM standards body.

Scale of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands introduced each year. Easily maintainable.

[barbwyr]

Realize that there are not that many unique numbers for TACs. Only 1 million of them are possible. There is a very finite number of phones released each year so it should be easily identifiable and can come directly from the international GSM standards body.

Scale of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands introduced each year. Easily maintainable.

Um...what?