AT&T Joins All Its Rivals With an Unlimited Plan

For an individual, it's pricier than the others
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 17, 2017 8:53 AM CST
AT&T Joins All Its Rivals With an Unlimited Plan
This Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, shows the AT&T sign at a store in Hialeah, Fla. AT&T says any cellphone customer can sign up for unlimited cellphone plans starting Friday, Feb. 17. That option had been limited to customers of AT&T-owned DirecTV.    (Alan Diaz)

AT&T says any cellphone customer can sign up for unlimited data plans starting Friday, a change that comes just days after Verizon announced a similar move and Sprint and T-Mobile beefed up their offerings. All four major cellphone providers now offer unlimited plans, a major reversal from a few years ago, per AP. AT&T's version costs the same as Verizon's for a family of four at $180, but it's pricier for an individual—$100 per month vs. $80, while Sprint is at $50 (that goes up $10 in a year) and T-Mobile at $70. Those figures are from CNET, which has a detailed breakdown of all the plans.

By CNET's calculations, the two-year cost for a single line of unlimited data is as follows: AT&T, $2,400; Verizon, $1,920; T-Mobile, $1,680; and Sprint, $1,320. All the plans will slow down data speeds once you hit a certain limit, with AT&T and Verizon setting that at 22GB, Sprint at 23GB, and T-Mobile at 28GB. Sprint also said Thursday that it's letting unlimited customers watch video in high definition rather than DVD quality. T-Mobile announced a similar change Monday after Verizon said HD video was included. AT&T's unlimited plan degrades video to DVD quality, but customers can turn HD video back on for free. (More AT&T stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X