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The Almighty Buck The Internet

AT&T Will Raise Cost of Old Unlimited Data Plans By $5 In February (theverge.com) 56

Posted by samzenpus from the pay-up dept.
An anonymous reader writes: AT&T customers trying to hold on to their old unlimited-data plans will have to pay a little more starting in February. AT&T's legacy plans for unlimited data will soon be $35 a month, instead of the current $30, on top of normal monthly bill costs. The Verge reports: "This is the first price hike AT&T has levied on grandfathered unlimited customers in seven years; the plan in question was discontinued in 2010 and as such is no longer offered to new customers. The $35 unlimited data feature is in addition to the costs associated with your voice and texting plan(s)."
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AT&T Will Raise Cost of Old Unlimited Data Plans By $5 In February More

AT&T Will Raise Cost of Old Unlimited Data Plans By $5 In February

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  • Switched to Metro-PCS. $60 a month unlimited 4G which now includes either 6 or 8GB (don't remember which) of tethered data to go with that. Other than getting no signal in West Texas and parts of New Mexico (no one gets signal in West Texas or parts of New Mexico) I've been pretty happy with bandwidth and coverage.

    Yeah it's kind of a ghetto company, but frankly I'm not that stuck up. Data is data. I also like the fact that every month is the end of the contract. If they piss me off I walk.

    Downsid

    • StraightTalk gives you 5GB of 4G data (plus "unlimited 2G" but nobody is that nuts) and unlimited voice and text. Anybody who can operate a savings account can handle a BYOD - I don't get why so many people pay so much more.

    • Because I'm getting great deal with ATT. I still have the unlimited LTE plan for $50/mo and now it's going to $55/mo. Still cheaper than that Metro PCS plan and ATT LTE is a better and faster network, at least in my location.

      Plus they still give me discounts on new phones so I only pay $199 for my new iPhone every 2 years.

      • That plan doesn't exist anymore for new customers it would seem. It's $100 a month for 5GB data and 5GB tethered. I get unlimited data and 8GB tethered for $60 with no contract.

        • Right, but you asked why do people still use them. Well that's why many, many people still use them. They have great grandfathered legacy plans. For a new plan, sure you can get a better deal elsewhere now.

  • Contract's up on January 5th. The last straw for me was when they refused to unlock my old iPhone so I could sell it after I upgraded to the 6s.

    I'll be on T-Mobile before they get that $5.

    • Re:Already leaving. (Score:5, Informative)

      by erp_consultant ( 2614861 ) on Monday November 30, 2015 @08:25PM (#51030635)

      Did you know that they are legally required to unlock your phone? I just upgraded a few months ago and they unlocked mine. It used to be that you could call them and they would give you the unlock code over the phone. Now you have to go to a website and request it. They will email you the code. The only criteria is that your account has to be paid up in full and that your contract is up.

  • ATT pretty much made this plan useless (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    6 or so years ago when they disabled tethering or wifi on this service. I know I used to have it until 2 years ago.

    Since then I ditched all plans and just do pay as you go. $60 bucks a month and I don't pay a dime extra....like it should be. I seemed to remember no matter what carrier I used to use they always ended up jacking the price up dollar by dollar every few months...until somehow you're $80 plan somehow morphs into a $130....for one line. Screw these assholes and their contracts.

  • ...since I usually use less than a GB a month. I have WiFi turned on and I don't watch movies on my damn phone. I have a TV for that. I have the 10 GB plan. My teenage daughter uses about 4 GB a month. If it ever gets close to going over, I try to turn off her data until the end of the month or have her pay for overages. Haven't run over yet.

    It will effect my friend who pays out the nose because he has a 30 year old daughter with a college degree on the plan. Our company got bought out and now we get

  • I'm one of the grandfathered ones and it's the main reason I stick with AT&T. Sure it sucks that I have to pay another $5 a month but to have unlimited data (even if they throttle it after a while) is worth it to me.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      My wife and I pay $100/month for unlimited, no throttle 4G, with unlimited texts and 7gb hotspot. Those grandfathered contracts used to be awesome, now you're paying too much.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      I'm another grandfathered plan holder.

      I'm surprised they haven't raised the rate before.

      It's still worth it.

      It seems to me that most of the people making negative comments don't have the grandfathered plan.

      A side note. When I have needed to call customer service the reps have noted that I'm a long time customer, and solved the issue quickly. Much better service than I'm accustomed to phone companies giving. I even get good service when I've gone into the local AT&T store to get a my sim card replaced

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by KGIII ( 973947 )

        An observation about your complaint comment;

        The people who complain loudest about Microsoft don't buy Microsoft products.
        The people who complain most about Apple don't use Apple products.
        The people who complain most about Linux don't use Linux.

        I may be noticing a trend - one might even call it trendy.

        Aside:
        Some systemd users are really vocal about using it and not wanting to use it.

        So, there are some exceptions (like game console owners who don't appear to ever be happy but buy regardless of their complaint

  • It's because networking equipment costs are rising (Score:4, Insightful)

    by QuietLagoon ( 813062 ) on Monday November 30, 2015 @08:48PM (#51030767)
    We all know that the cost of networking equipment is rising and the performance of said equipment is dropping. So it is getting much more expensive to provide the same amount of data. /sarcasm

    • I know it is fashionable to make fun of AT&T, but per network device costs are not rising, but investing in more infrastructure, like replacing one tower with 6 towers is, as you can imagine, expensive.

    • Meh. I've been paying the same rate since 2008. I wish all my other services worked like that. AT&T can have the $5.

  • AT&T can hold the customer to the terms of a contract, but the customer cannot hold AT&T to the terms of a contract.

    • AT&T can hold the customer to the terms of a contract, but the customer cannot hold AT&T to the terms of a contract.

      What do you mean? The customers have been able to cancel this contract for years. AT&T would be very happy if the customers with unlimited contracts cancelled. Even if the customers did not have a pre-existing right to cancel, this rate rise would create a right to cancel.

      • AT&T can hold the customer to the terms of a contract, but the customer cannot hold AT&T to the terms of a contract.

        What do you mean? The customers have been able to cancel this contract for years. AT&T would be very happy if the customers with unlimited contracts cancelled. Even if the customers did not have a pre-existing right to cancel, this rate rise would create a right to cancel.

        These change come after I renewed my contract. If the terms have changed, we should be able to cancel without penalty.

        • These change come after I renewed my contract. If the terms have changed, we should be able to cancel without penalty.

          You can.

      • All the customer can do is cancel, and AT&T is graciously giving 60 days after the change to cancel without penalty which they would charge at other times. The customer cannot change any of the terms at any time.

  • Voice and Data for modern cellphones? Are they transmitted or handled differently, or is the only difference in how they are billed?

  • I just bought a phone in September (son destroyed previous 4-year old phone), so I had to renew my 2-year contract. Since the terms of the contract have changed (notably the monthly charge for data), can I cancel the contract without having to pay an early cancellation fee?

  • Increased data cap prior to throttling?

    Oh here's the rub... so for the past few years I have averaged around 5-7 gigs a month on my Unlimited plan. Recently, AT&T upped the throttling cap to 22gigs. And suddenly, this past month I received a warning that I was approaching my 22gig cap.

    My average for the year prior was 8 gigs. And that is higher than my long standing average with an increase the last few months before AT&T announced the change. My average since the change 14gigs, with last month

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