AT&T made some waves earlier this year when it announced that it would only allow FaceTime over Cellular to be used with its Mobile Share plans, leaving customers unwilling to switch to one of the new plans only able to use the new iOS 6 feature over Wi-Fi. AT&T announced today that it's changing its stance on the matter a bit and will enable FaceTime over Cellular for any customer with an LTE iOS 6 device and a tiered data plan. The functionality is expected to be pushed out sometime in the next 8 to 10 weeks. AT&T also says that it's making FaceTime over Cellular available to deaf and hard of hearing customers through special text and data-only plans.
Since AT&T's announcement specifically mentions that "customers with an LTE device" can use FaceTime over Cellular with a tiered plan, it sounds like non-LTE folk like iPhone 4 and 4S owners are out of luck, even if they're on a tiered offering. The fact that tiered plans are called out in the announcement also means that any AT&T iPhone subscriber that's still clutching onto their unlimited plan must also stick to Wi-Fi for their FaceTime needs. So while today's news does mean that more AT&T customers will get to use FaceTime over Cellular, gaining access to that feature does still have some requirements that need to be met.
AT&T Expands FaceTime over Cellular Availability
Video Calling Feature To Be Made Available To LTE Customers on Tiered Data Plans & Deaf and Hard of Hearing Customers With Qualifying Plans
DALLAS, Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T* today announced it will enable FaceTime over Cellular at no extra charge for iOS 6 customers with an LTE device on any tiered data plan.
AT&T will also continue to offer FaceTime over Cellular to customers with any AT&T Mobile Share plan, as well as FaceTime over Wi-Fi, which has always been available for all customers. AT&T expects to roll out this functionality to customers over the next eight to ten weeks.
As part of its commitment to serving customers with disabilities, AT&T is also making FaceTime over Cellular available to deaf and hard of hearing customers who qualify for special text and data-only packages.
AT&T has more iPhone customers than any other U.S. carrier.
For more information on AT&T, please visit www.att.com.
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
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