Family data plan coming soon

AT&T's version of the family data plan may be coming sooner than you think. The company has a firm hold on what type of plan it will offer and intends to offer one soon, said Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T's mobile business, in an interview with CNET here yesterday. A family data plan would allow consumers to buy one bucket of data, which can be used by multiple devices, a move industry observers believe could spur the sale of non-traditional cellular devices like connected tablets. "I'm very comfortable with the plan that will be offered to our customers," de la Vega said on the sidelines of his company's home security and automation event at the CTIA Wireless trade show. The comments mark a reversal of de la Vega's uncertainty over the implementation of family data plans just a few months ago. At the time, he told CNET that the company had run into complications over IT and billing issues. Other complications include how the carrier would subsidize devices and get a decent return despite the shared data bucket. "We want to make sure we get it right," he said in January. But de la Vega was far more confident yesterday. He said the company knows how the plan would be structured. He, however, declined to provide any specific details on timing, and wouldn't comment on whether it would be out in the next few months or if AT&T would beat Verizon Wireless to the punch.