As Wireless Competition Heats up, AT&T Offers Unlimited Data Option for All Customers
Update 2/27/17 9:00am ET:AT&T has expanded its unlimited options to include two new, lower-cost plans. Its new single line plan, Unlimited Plus, will now cost $90 per month, a $10 decrease from the original announcement of $100. If you're an AT&T video subscriber, you also qualify for a $25 credit on your DirecTV or U-Verse bill each month. There's also the option for the AT&T Unlimited Choice plan, which will cost $60 per month for a single line. But the catch is that there's a max speed of 3Mbps — paying less for slower speeds.
Earlier this week, Verizon announced that it was the latest carrier to add an unlimited data option. At the time of the announcement, all of the other major US carriers offered a competitive unlimited plan as well — except AT&T, which limited who could take advantage of its unlimited data. But, as of today, the carrier is allowing all customers to sign up for an unlimited plan.
AT&T, the country's second-largest mobile provider, previously offered customers an unlimited plan, but they were required to have a TV subscription — DirecTV or U-verse — in order to take advantage. The new unlimited plan, available today, costs $100 per month for one line ($20 more than Verizon's latest offering) or $180 for four lines (the same as Verizon).
Just like with Verizon's plan, AT&T will slow the speed of coverage down when customers are in "congested" areas if they've already used more than 22GB of data in a month. Unlike Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint's unlimited plans, however, AT&T's doesn't allow customers to use their phones as a hotspot.
As competition in the wireless sector heats up, it's vital that the carriers stay up to date with their technology and offerings. This latest move by AT&T comes just days after Verizon's announcement and following changes to both Sprint and T-Mobile's unlimited plans. Sprint announced yesterday that it would begin charging $90 for five lines of unlimited data, and T-Mobile announced Monday that it was adding HD video streaming and 10GB of hot spot usage to its unlimited plans.
This week has been proof that competition in the wireless market is here — and it's generally good news for consumers.
H/T: USA Today
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