AT&T intros two new unlimited plans including $60, 3Mbps 'Unlimited Choice'

Posted:
in iPhone
AT&T will on Thursday launch two more unlimited data plans available to Apple iPhone owners, Unlimited Plus and Unlimited Choice, hoping to steer people away from similar plans recently offered by its rivals.




The first of the plans, Unlimited Plus, costs $90 per month for a single line. By default streaming video is scaled back to 480p resolution, but HD can be turned back on through the myAT&T app or Web portal.

The plan also includes 10 gigabytes of full-speed hotspot data, after which it's throttled back to 128 kilobits per second. The plan as a whole may be throttled after the 22-gigabyte mark.

A multi-line option costs $145 for two smartphones, with additional devices (up to 8 more) costing $20 per month each. For a limited time both single- and multi-line customers can get a $25 monthly credit towards DirecTV or DirecTV Now, though there are some limitations -- the credit only starts within 2-3 billing periods, for instance, and it can't be used in tandem with Now's $35 "Go Big" tier.

The other new plan, Unlimited Choice, starts at $60 per month for a single line or $115 for going multi-line, with the same $20-per-device add-on rule. All Choice customers are limited to a top speed of 3 megabits per second though, and video is capped even tighter at 1.5 megabits, just enough for 480p.

Choice customers also get no hotspot support or discounts on DirecTV service.

Just a little over a week ago, AT&T unveiled an unlimited plan costing at least $100 per month, with four lines priced at $180. The plan didn't offer any hotspot tethering.

All four major U.S. carriers recently launched new unlimited plans in an intensifying battle over subscribers. The companies appear to be reacting almost instantly to each other, with T-Mobile for example offering free HD and 10 gigabytes of hotspot data in response to Verizon.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    How does this compare to the grandfathered unlimited plan that was available with the early iPhones?  I expect a disproportionate share of AI users have that plan.
  • Reply 2 of 17
    How does this compare to the grandfathered unlimited plan that was available with the early iPhones?  I expect a disproportionate share of AI users have that plan.
    That plan has been disincentivized into irrelevance over time, and anyone still using it is not benefiting in anyway. They merely keep it on nonsensical principle.

    I gave that up for Mobile Share many years ago and get way more for my money than anyone holding on to that legacy plan.

    Regarding these new plans, it is very difficult to ascertain actual costs since AT&T is all about fees, and no one can possibly predict or understand a bill until it is issued.

    It is incomprehensible to me that AT&T would, in 2017, issue a plan that is universally limited to 3G speeds, even if it is only base "option".

    The fine print of the Plus plan reveals that DIRECTVNOW discount excludes already on the $35/GoBig plan...which is what 99% of users are on.
    schlacklinkman
  • Reply 3 of 17
    My wife and I were paying over $200 per month combined for two separate grandfathered plans that we've had forever; the new Plus plan is a better value.

    As an aside, we are now Verizon unlimited customers. We're now paying $150 per month for two lines, and so far we have experienced enough examples to believe that Verizon has the much better network in the real world.
    edited February 2017
  • Reply 4 of 17
    tshapitshapi Posts: 369member
    sog35 said:
    so crappy

    Right now I get 2 LTE unlimited lines on Tmobile. $100.  Which INCLUDES tax/fees. Where I live that's almost $20 a month.

    This AT&T plan will cost $170 after taxes/fees. I'm saving $70 a month.
    Don't forget that att caps at 22 and T-Mobile caps at 28... 


    fastasleep
  • Reply 5 of 17
    Throttling to 128 kbps after 10GB hotspot use is pretty harsh for someone paying $100/month for Unlimited data. Why not throttle to .5 mbps or something more usable? I pay a similar price for my AT&T 20GB/month plan with rollover data, which often has 30GB available (bc 10GB rollover) on a given month for higher use if needed.
  • Reply 6 of 17
    How does this compare to the grandfathered unlimited plan that was available with the early iPhones?  I expect a disproportionate share of AI users have that plan.
    I have a grandfathered unlimited plan from back in the Cingular days. It was $70 for the longest time, then AT&T bumped it up $5 a year or two ago, and they just bumped it up another $5 a month or two ago. So now my plan is $80/month before taxes and fees (+$8.50), and that includes rollover voice minutes ($40), 200 texts ($5), and unlimited data ($35). I get a discount through my employer, so when all is said and done I'm paying under $72 a month.

    After this last $5 bump I have been contemplating switching, possible to a pre-paid H2O Wireless plan.
  • Reply 7 of 17
    How does this compare to the grandfathered unlimited plan that was available with the early iPhones?  I expect a disproportionate share of AI users have that plan.
    That plan has been disincentivized into irrelevance over time, and anyone still using it is not benefiting in anyway. They merely keep it on nonsensical principle.

    I gave that up for Mobile Share many years ago and get way more for my money than anyone holding on to that legacy plan.

    Regarding these new plans, it is very difficult to ascertain actual costs since AT&T is all about fees, and no one can possibly predict or understand a bill until it is issued.

    It is incomprehensible to me that AT&T would, in 2017, issue a plan that is universally limited to 3G speeds, even if it is only base "option".

    The fine print of the Plus plan reveals that DIRECTVNOW discount excludes already on the $35/GoBig plan...which is what 99% of users are on.
    As someone still on that old plan, I disagree.  I recently moved and now use TWC/Spectrum Wifi at home and it is terrible.  I am hardly ever able to use wifi so I just go LTE.  My use has gone from an average of 4gb per month to 16gb per month because of this. 

    I don't have a single care about it either, because I have one of those old unlimited plans that you say has no benefits.  The benefit is that it costs me the same as changing myself and spouse over to a 15gb plan, but right now if I go over I don't care.  If AT&T had a plan that gave me more for the same money I would switch, but they haven't to date.
  • Reply 8 of 17
    larz2112 said:
    How does this compare to the grandfathered unlimited plan that was available with the early iPhones?  I expect a disproportionate share of AI users have that plan.
    I have a grandfathered unlimited plan from back in the Cingular days. It was $70 for the longest time, then AT&T bumped it up $5 a year or two ago, and they just bumped it up another $5 a month or two ago. So now my plan is $80/month before taxes and fees (+$8.50), and that includes rollover voice minutes ($40), 200 texts ($5), and unlimited data ($35). I get a discount through my employer, so when all is said and done I'm paying under $72 a month.

    After this last $5 bump I have been contemplating switching, possible to a pre-paid H2O Wireless plan.
    Exact same boat as me.  Except my wife is on my plan as well, so I pay another $10 for her phone and $40 for data.  I too have an Employee discount plan, but I can still add up to 3 more lines at $50 and get the unlimited data.

    My plan is so old I still have rollover voice minutes.  Never get close to my allotted 850 a month.  :)
  • Reply 9 of 17
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,052member
    meh. I'm not seeing the value.
    airnerd
  • Reply 10 of 17
    linkmanlinkman Posts: 1,035member
    Regarding these new plans, it is very difficult to ascertain actual costs since AT&T is all about fees, and no one can possibly predict or understand a bill until it is issued.
    Spot on with that comment. I went to AT&T to see what the best plan would be for me and the representative said that they cannot predict exactly how much my monthly bill would be because of taxes and fees. I know for a fact that the government doesn't change tax rates very often and when it does it is always in a predictable (i.e.; announced long enough in advance so it won't be short-fused planning) so it seems that AT&T decides to change their fee schedule on a whim.
  • Reply 11 of 17
    airnerd said:
    How does this compare to the grandfathered unlimited plan that was available with the early iPhones?  I expect a disproportionate share of AI users have that plan.
    That plan has been disincentivized into irrelevance over time, and anyone still using it is not benefiting in anyway. They merely keep it on nonsensical principle.

    I gave that up for Mobile Share many years ago and get way more for my money than anyone holding on to that legacy plan.

    Regarding these new plans, it is very difficult to ascertain actual costs since AT&T is all about fees, and no one can possibly predict or understand a bill until it is issued.

    It is incomprehensible to me that AT&T would, in 2017, issue a plan that is universally limited to 3G speeds, even if it is only base "option".

    The fine print of the Plus plan reveals that DIRECTVNOW discount excludes already on the $35/GoBig plan...which is what 99% of users are on.
    As someone still on that old plan, I disagree.  I recently moved and now use TWC/Spectrum Wifi at home and it is terrible.  I am hardly ever able to use wifi so I just go LTE.  My use has gone from an average of 4gb per month to 16gb per month because of this. 

    I don't have a single care about it either, because I have one of those old unlimited plans that you say has no benefits.  The benefit is that it costs me the same as changing myself and spouse over to a 15gb plan, but right now if I go over I don't care.  If AT&T had a plan that gave me more for the same money I would switch, but they haven't to date.
    Ignoring for the moment your cringe-worthy comment about using LTE at home because you can't get WiFi properly sorted...

    You can't tether, or use FaceTime, and I'm sure there other restrictions. Plus in the past you have been throttled pas 3 GBs. Then it was moved to 5 GBs. Not sure what it is at now, but you are throttled well before the 22 GB of this plan.

    The value is not there.
  • Reply 12 of 17

    I'm also on the grandfathered plan with the corporate discount, but am looking to switch to T-Mobile now that the $5/mo bump is set to kick in (again). I use a fair amount of data ~16GB/mo, and have gotten the occasional SMS from AT&T warning me about throttling, but if they've gone through with it I've never noticed a dramatic change in speed. I can absolutely use FaceTime on LTE, no problems there...AT&T reversed their policy on that a long time back. But ultimately I miss out on tethering, so am ready to make the switch to T-Mobile.

  • Reply 13 of 17
    AppleZuluAppleZulu Posts: 1,968member
    larz2112 said:
    How does this compare to the grandfathered unlimited plan that was available with the early iPhones?  I expect a disproportionate share of AI users have that plan.
    I have a grandfathered unlimited plan from back in the Cingular days. It was $70 for the longest time, then AT&T bumped it up $5 a year or two ago, and they just bumped it up another $5 a month or two ago. So now my plan is $80/month before taxes and fees (+$8.50), and that includes rollover voice minutes ($40), 200 texts ($5), and unlimited data ($35). I get a discount through my employer, so when all is said and done I'm paying under $72 a month.

    After this last $5 bump I have been contemplating switching, possible to a pre-paid H2O Wireless plan.
    Yeah, but where do they start throttling your "unlimited" data with that plan? I used to have it and had to bail out of it when they started throttling data, which is a limitation, which makes calling the plan "unlimited" a lie. Same with the current "unlimited" data plans that are not actually unlimited. I'd have to go back to look to be sure, but when I got out, I think they started throttling data for that plan at something like 6GB. The current plan isn't an unlimited plan either; it's a 22GB plan.

    _____________________________________________
    Introducing the new AT&T All-You-Can-Eat* Buffet!

    *After first plate, you may only take one teaspoonful of food at a time back to your table. All-You-Can-Eat Buffet only available between 3:00 and 3:45 p.m. on alternating Thursdays, not including holidays. All-You-Can-Eat only applies to cottage cheese. All entrees limited to single, 8 ounce serving. One entree per customer. All sides must be purchased a-la-carte. Desserts are subject to 18% luxury tax. Entertainment fees will apply if food is determined to have any flavor.
    edited February 2017 SpamSandwich
  • Reply 14 of 17
    Some misinformation and ambiguity from your latest articles:
    "The plan also includes 10 gigabytes of full-speed hotspot data, after which it's throttled back to 128 kilobits per second. The plan as a whole may be throttled after the 22-gigabyte mark."
    From AT&T's site directly: "Tethering and Mobile Hotspot: Includes up to 10GB per line per month. After 10GB, tethering speed will be slowed to a max of 128Kbps for the rest of the bill cycle"

    Also this: "10 devices per plan. UNLIMITED DATA: For use in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (the "Domestic Coverage Area" or "DCA"). Data Restrictions: After 22GB of any data usage on a line in a bill cycle, AT&T may slow the data on that line during periods of network congestion for the remainder of that cycle."

    In short, 10gb Hotspot is 10gb PER LINE per month, and high speed data is also 22gb PER LINE per month, after which AT&T reserves the right to throttle for both.
    edited February 2017
  • Reply 15 of 17
    AppleZulu said:
    Yeah, but where do they start throttling your "unlimited" data with that plan? I used to have it and had to bail out of it when they started throttling data, which is a limitation, which makes calling the plan "unlimited" a lie. Same with the current "unlimited" data plans that are not actually unlimited. I'd have to go back to look to be sure, but when I got out, I think they started throttling data for that plan at something like 6GB. The current plan isn't an unlimited plan either; it's a 22GB plan.
    Truthfully I have never noticed any throttling, but based on the article below they bumped the limit from 5GB to 22GB back in the fall of 2015.
    http://gizmodo.com/at-t-is-improving-its-unlimited-data-policy-but-its-1731014660

    As far as tethering, it's not something I really have a need for, and I've been able to FaceTime on LTE for years on AT&T. Some people are posting fairly dated information. For my needs, keeping my grandfathered unlimited plan has been the best option until AT&T started jacking up the price ($5 a year or two ago, and another $5 a month or two ago). And now that other companies have introduced new unlimited plans I have started to shop around for a better deal. But up until the recent price increases I was paying just over $60/month for my grandfathered unlimited plan, which I think was a better deal than most people were getting for a single-line plan.

    edited February 2017
  • Reply 16 of 17
    Jumped from my gf unlimited to T-Mobile when I got an Insider Hookup code from a T-Mobile employee which gives you 20% off your plan for life when switching over. That plus the $150 prepaid debit card you get with the 17SWITCHER promo sealed the deal.

    So instead of $70 (for one line) I'm at $56/mo with all taxes and fees included for unlimited everything (potential de-prioritization after 28GB but doubt I'll ever get close to that), 10GB of LTE tethering, free international data roaming... what's not to like?

    Smell ya later, AT&T!
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