unlimited data plans - page 2

This post has been updated since it was first published. Please note the updates at the end of the post.

While we had no problem getting an iPhone 4S while keeping our grandfathered data plan, that’s because we ordered direct from Apple. On the other hand, we’ve received at least two reports of readers who are being told by AT&T that they have to give up their unlimited data if they want an iPhone 4S. Uh oh. Luckily, there’s a way to make sure you keep your unlimited plan: don’t give att.com the time of day.

Verizon has followed AT&T’s lead and taken measures to block customers from tethering their iPhone’s data connections illegally. Customers have long been using jailbreak apps to avoid their carrier’s additional monthly fee for tethering, but this method may no longer work if you’re signed up to AT&T or Verizon.

All good things must come to an end. AT&T killed unlimited iPhone data almost a year ago, and now Verizon Wireless — which launched the CDMA iPhone 4 with unlimited data as a promotional stunt —is preparing to do the same.

Verizon is flip-flopping on unlimited iPhone data plans faster than a fish out of water.

This morning, Verizon’s chief operating officer, Lowell McAdam, told the Wall Street Journal that Verizon’s iPhone 4 customers would be treated to an unlimited $30-a-month data plan. Otherwise, the network wouldn’t be able to compete with AT&T, which has grandfathered a lot of iPhone customers to unlimited plans, even though it now offers only tiered plans.

But not so fast. McAdam now says the unlimited data plan will be a “temporary offer,” and that Verizon will also move to tiered pricing in the not too distant future. Better act fast.

How long do you think the unlimited data window will be? A week? A month? Six months?

WSJ: Verizon iPhone: $30 Unlimited Data (for Now)