US cellular provider AT&T has announced new data plans for its smartphone subscribers today. The new plans offer beefier data chunks but do away with the old pricing entirely, replacing it across the board with higher-priced options.
The new plans are as follows:
- AT&T Data Plus 300MB: $20 for 300MB
- AT&T Data Pro 3GB: $30 for 3GB
- AT&T Data Pro 5GB: $50 for 5GB, with mobile hotspot / tethering
If you roll over your plan, you can pay $10 for an extra 1GB. If you’re a Data Plus subscriber, $20 will net you an extra 300MB, an extortionate overage charge.
AT&T has also announced new tablet data plans that automatically renew every 30 days but can be cancelled at any time in each billing cycle.
- AT&T DataConnect 3GB: $30 for 3GB
- AT&T DataConnect 5GB: $50 for 5GB
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AT&T offers the explanation that its customers are using ‘more data than ever’.
“Customers are using more data than ever before,” said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “Our new plans are driven by this increasing demand in a highly competitive environment, and continue to deliver a great value to customers, especially as we continue our 4G LTE deployment.”
By AT&T’s own admission, most users (98%) don’t even use 2GB of data a month, and yet the price for the minimum respectable plan just went up $5. In fact, all plans just went up by $5. That’s just the worst.
If you have a current data plan that you’re happy with, including the vaunted $30 unlimited plan, hold onto it for dear life, as these new plans are nothing to jump up and down about.
You can switch to the new plans starting Sunday if that’s your thing and any new subscribers on or after that day will have to pick from one of those.
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