Greetings all...

For years, I have often wondered how green the grass is on the other side of the VZW's pasture. Well... tonight I found out that it isn't very green at all with AT&T. According to the AT&T customer service representative I spoke to this evening... AT&T cripples the GPS capabilities on their devices, requiring you to pay a monthly fee for Telenav (sounds just like VZW and VZNavigator). It was also explained that AT&T only offers a 5GB personal data plan when tethering is involved (thankfully VZW remains unlimited... for now). Apparently, AT&T offered unlimited data with tethering... but changed it to 5GB last month.

So... unless someone can add correction to what the AT&T CS Rep has said above, I can't understand why VZW has been getting the majority of negative feedback for crippling and costs? Unless VZW begins to cap their data plans, I can't see making the change myself.

Well im not sure about this, but I have a 8310 unlocked to T-Mobile. Now unless because I am in fact on t-mo and not ATT, I have no problems accessing my GPS with google maps.

Totally false.
The GPS is not crippled on any of their devices, and you are not required to pay for Telenav if you don't want to.

Wrong. Verizon's "unlimited" data access is quite limited. It's capped at 5GB, just like most carriers.

Not unique to AT&T. Most carriers put a monthly cap on data usage. Verizon included.

So... once/if my contract with VZW is renewed, will this cap take affect? I don't recall receiving notification of this change to my current service... nor is it advertised as such under the My Plan section of the VZW web page.

The Data Plan on my monthly statement is advertised as "Unlimited"
The Broadband Connect Plan (Tethering) on my monthly statement is advertised as "Unlimited"
Nowhere is there a mention of 5GB.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8100/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Very few even come close to the 5GB limit.

Some reading material for you:

BroadbandAccess Terms & Conditions Specifically, this part: "If usage exceeds 5 GB per line during any billing period, we reserve the right to reduce throughput speeds of any application that would otherwise exceed such speed to a maximum of approximately 200 Kbps. These speeds are subject to change, in our reasonable discretion, in order to address network issues. "

Verizon Wireless: When we say "unlimited data," we mean 5GB worth of "unlimited data"

Verizon Admits 5GB Wireless Broadband Cap - Still advertises unlimited -- Verizon exec comments on our report... - dslreports.com

Verizon Wireless raises PDA data / voice bundle prices - Engadget Mobile

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8100/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

VZW indeed has a cap

I secong the penguin's post re: ATT and GPS. I have a BB 8800 with GPS and it works great with BBMaps and/or GoogleMaps.

This just goes to prove I learn something new everyday. I greatly appreciate the time and effort provided on this subject.

So... the fact that AT&T GPS is functional with BB Maps and/or Google Maps makes me wonder why I was told by the AT&T CS Rep that it would only work with Telenav? Must be another case of under educated BlackBerry support with the carriers?

The not-so "unlimited" data clarification about VZW certainly makes the decision to try AT&T for 30 days much easier. Now my only hope is that the AT&T signal in my area is as good as my VZW signal.

Again... I thank all of you for your responses. I should have come here first than to waste my time on the phone with customer service. Lessons learned.

They were probably trained to sell you Telenav.

Possibly. More likely they were trying to get more money out of you by selling you a Telenav subscription.

Just to flog the same dead horse, GPS works fine on my ATT 83x0. Tho my car's is much better!

Exactly. Training with at&t's CSR's isn't anywhere near consistent. It's very hit and miss. Mostly miss in my experiences.

Were you actually talking to a Blackberry support person at at&t?

Commission.....we like to get paid. Though I have never told a customer it ONLY works with telenav I always mention the googlemaps and BBmaps and then tell them the differences

Makes me miss good ol' T-Mobile's customer service. For BB support, it sure does help to talk to BB specialists.