Today, AT&T announced its plans to debut a new unlimited data plan that is available to all its postpaid customers. This announced follows the footsteps of T-Mobile and Verizon, which have announced similar unlimited data plans earlier. While AT&T has unlimited data plan since last year, it is limited to DirecTV and U-Verse subscribers. Today’s plan, however, is open to all its postpaid customers.
Starting Friday 17, AT&T customers can opt for the new unlimited data plan that will offer unlimited talk, text, and data on four lines for $180 per month. This is more expensive than T-Mobile’s ONE data plan for four customers and on par with Verizon’s pricing, also at $180 for four lines. You can also get a single line for $100 per month. However, AT&T’s $180 price point is after a $40 credit for the fourth smartphone line, which will start after two billing periods. Prior to then, customers will need to pay $220 per month for the plan.
As is the case with the offerings announced this week by Verizon and T-Mobile, AT&T says it will throttle the data speed once you hit that 22GB threshold. “After 22 GB of data usage, AT&T may slow speeds during periods of network congestion“, the carrier writes. The data throttling fine print in the announcement is not a surprise as T-Mobile and Verizon’s plans have similar caveats.
Even with the throttling limitation, AT&T expanding its unlimited data to all is a big move. AT&T is also including unlimited calls from the U.S. to Canada and Mexico and unlimited texts to more than 120 countries around the world. Customers are also able to talk, text, and use data in Canada and Mexico with no roaming charges.
We’re offering unlimited entertainment on the nation’s best data network where and when you want to enjoy more of what you love.
As for streaming video, AT&T Unlimited includes the carrier’s Stream Saver feature. The Stream Saver feature will automatically downgrade HD videos to standard 480p quality and is enabled by default. However, users can turn off this feature at any time by accessing your account settings online. Though, this will of course will result in more data usage.
With AT&T now offering an unlimited plan for all its customers, all the major carriers in the United States have unlimited data plans available. Sprint and T-Mobile have offered unlimited data plans since August, and Verizon announced its unlimited plan earlier this week.
