AT&T Opens the Floodgates With Tiered Smartphone and iPad Data Plans

Unlimited smartphone data plans were never sustainable. As data use outstrips voice, as smartphones get ever more capable, and as the Internet introduces more data-intensive applications, it became clear that wireless carriers could simply not afford unlimited plans. High-def video streaming from Netflix and Hulu are on the way, and two-way video chat is already here (on the HTC Evo 4G), for example.

So tiered data plans were a given. Verizon explained the "buckets" tactic the company plans...