As the mobile wars escalate, AT&T is beginning to fight back against the onslaught of the low-cost carriers. The company is offering new promotional Mobile Share Value plans that offer double the amount of data on existing 15 GB to 50 GB plans.
Here’s how it works: Both new and existing customers who sign up for the promotion by Oct. 31 get 30 GB of data for the price of 15 GB. AT&T is billing the deal — which includes domestic unlimited talk and text and unlimited international messaging from the U.S. to select countries — as perfect for families and small business customers.
“We’re now making our simple and flexible plans a greater value by doubling the data for the same price,” said David Christopher, chief marketing officer for AT&T Mobility. “Families and small businesses can share a huge bucket of data on the nation’s most reliable 4G LTE network, which now covers more than 300 million people. With these new double data plans, and smartphones for $ 0 down with AT&T Next, there’s never been a more affordable time to be with AT&T.”
Double Data Plans
You can do quite a lot with 30 GB of data over the course of a month. Specifically, you can surf the Web for up to 600 hours, stream high-definition video for 40 hours, or stream music for 250 hours. That 30 GB of data also translates to up to 1,000 photos uploaded to social media sites, 200 apps, games or song downloads, or 1,000 e-mails (with attachments) sent.
Consumers can share data on up to 10 lines. If you are a business customer who needs more lines, you can share 60 GB to 100 GB on up to 25 lines. So what’s it going to cost you? You’ll pay $ 130 a month for 30 GB of data plus $ 15 per line with an AT&T Next or no-term contract, or $ 40 a month with a two-year contract.
If you want 40 GB under those terms, you’ll pay $ 150 a month. It’s $ 225 a month for 60 GB; 80 GB runs $ 300 a month and 100 GB will cost you $ 375 a month. If you sign up by Oct. 31, you can keep this rate as long as you want. In other words, it doesn’t expire. But you can downgrade at any time. For a limited time, new AT&T Next customers get a $ 100 credit on their bills.
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Jeff Kagan, an independent technology analyst, told us he couldn’t find any downside to the deal. As he sees it, this deal may be a big surprise to the industry but he doesn’t think there are loopholes. Customers should love it, he said.
“AT&T has been very aggressive over the last few years at reinventing their offerings, charging less and offering more,” Kagan said. “In fact, AT&T seems to be leading the way transforming the entire wireless industry with regards to price, data and reach.”
What is AT&T reacting to? In August, Sprint rolled out a new aggressively competitive price plan. Dubbed Sprint Family Share Pack, the new shared data plans promised twice the high-speed data — and at lower prices — than AT&T and Verizon Wireless. A family with four lines can get 20 GB of data for $ 160 a month.
Earlier this month, T-Mobile announced its “Wi-Fi Unleashed” initiative, which will allow customers to use the calling and texting functions on their smartphones even when they find themselves in places without cellular coverage. With AT&T’s new plans, the competition is on.
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