Last year, AT&T and Verizon introduced family share plans based on around a single data pool. US Cellular is now joining the party. Meanwhile, AT&T is following Verizon’s lead and getting rid of their standard plans while T-Mobile is deep-sixing their grandfathered ones. I’ll give you all the details coming up in the next couple paragraphs.
AT&T
Yes, you heard that right, AT&T will be discontinuing their individual data plans for both individuals and family plans starting on October 25th. If you want the old style plans you have until then to sign up for service. If not, the detail’s on AT&T’s Mobile Share plans is here. If you’re an existing AT&T user, and you’re wondering how this will affect you, it won’t. Current customers are grandfathered in.
US Cellular
Like I alluded to earlier, US Cellular is also moving to shared data plans. If you’re a Verizon Share Everything Customer, US Cellular’s price points will look very familiar. In fact they’re pretty much exact. For Data, you get 300mb for $50 a month to 10GB for $100 a month or even up to 75GB if you’re willing to pay $560. Unlimited voice calling and texting is included in the price. You’ll also have to pay a connection fee for every device you add to the plan. It’s $40 per smartphone, $30 per basic phone, $20 for a Mifi or a USB modem, and $10 per tablet. For those not quite in the internet age yet, there are also basic phone plans still available.
T-Mobile
Also taking plans away is T-Mobile and these are the grandfathered type. T-Mobile has sent letters to its customers on previous plans that starting in November it is moving them to currently offered plans to simplify their system. They will have choices starting at $20 or can leave for another carrier at no fee until February 1st of 2014.
Sources: AT&T, US Cellular, and TMO News.
I have to say I looked at AT&T’s website and I’m not sure I understand the new plans… Or maybe I understand them just fine and they make as little sense as I think.
My current plan gives me 450 minutes of talk time and 3gb of data per month and I pay a total of about $80. To come reasonably close to that setup, it looks like the new AT&T plans give me a choice of either $95 total for 2gb of data ($50 + $45 for my phone) or $110 for 4gb ($70 plus $40 for my phone).
What’s really confusing here is the “plus $40” or “plus $45” for my phone part of the equation. You have to have at least 1 device, so why not just one basic price and then additional charges per extra device?
And why does the “plus phone” charge scale with the amount of data per month? That makes no sense.
I know I don’t have to change plans yet… but why is it that every time they come up with something new, it seems to make even less sense than whatever they had before?
You can still be on AT&T and get unlimited everything with 7GB for only $70/mo with no contract – Check out Aio Wireless (subsidiary of AT&T) – same network, same coverage, and no contracts. The ONLY downside is a download speed cap at 8 Mbps for 4G/LTE. That’s more than I get at home and so far I’m really impressed with their new service… http://www.aiowireless.com/shop/plans.html