AT&T Announces Rate Increase for Grandfathered Unlimited Plans

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Posted December 1, 2015 at 5:14am by iClarified

AT&T has announced a rate increase for its unlimited smartphone data plans. The increase takes place in February.

Consumers and businesses are using mobile data at record levels and the trend is expected to continue. To help ensure we continue to provide the best service for all of our customers, a small price increase is being made at this time. This is the first price increase in 7 years. Customers who have a grandfathered unlimited smartphone data plan will receive notifications of a $5/mo. rate increase for the data plan.

Details:
● This price increase will not impact your current unlimited data speeds. You’ll still be able to enjoy the nation’s most reliable network and will only see reduced speeds if you exceed 22GB of data in a billing cycle and are in a congested area. Learn more about reduced speeds for smartphone unlimited data plans.
● You can change your plan at any time. Learn more about the benefits of Mobile Share Value and how to switch today. If you switch to a different plan you will not be able to switch back to your Unlimited Data plan in the future.
● Should you decide to cancel your wireless service because of the $5/mo. increase, we will waive the early termination fees (ETFs) for the lines impacted by the price increase, so long as you cancel within 60 days after the price increase first appears on your bill. If you cancel after that time, you will be subject to the usual ETF.
● As with all service cancellations, if you have a smartphone on an AT&T NextSM installment plan for the lines you are canceling, the cancellation will require the remaining NextSM balance to be paid.

Back in September, AT&T announced that it won't throttle unlimited data plan users until they hit 22GB of usage. That's 4.4x more data than the previous 5GB of cap. The move followed an FCC investigation into its throttling practices.

AT&T Announces Rate Increase for Grandfathered Unlimited Plans

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clown - December 2, 2015 at 5:58am

Per grandfather rules they have to raise rates for single person on the plan. This article author should request the amount of people this effects to see how many people still have the plan. They also can not just cancel the plan for all subscribers, they have to offer a comparable plan that include unlimited data ( or know at 22GB data).

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Fed Up - December 2, 2015 at 4:41am

I had unlimited plan and fave it up for t-mobile but I'm sorry I made the switch. I'd gladly pay $5 more for all that data every month.

Janbak - December 2, 2015 at 8:36pm

May i ask why? Tmobile has been great in my area, not to mention unlimited music streaming and now netflix streaming is beat by no other. The only reaso. I see tmobile on the bad side is if you live in an area with sucky coverage-

Joneser3 - December 1, 2015 at 11:41pm

AT&T gave me unlimited talk and text this year. With data getting faster and larger I'll happily pay an extra $5 as long as they don't keep increasing it every year. I'm very happy. With my company (not AT&T) discount I'll be at 80 a month after the increase. Pretty solid if you ask me.

Meeker - December 2, 2015 at 4:40am

Joneser - you mind me asking what plan you had for minutes/texting prior to noticing that AT&T upgraded you to unlimited for both while still being grandfathered into the unlimited data? Just curious if they did this for customers who maybe were previously paying higher monthly bills for larger minute plans, etc since I didn't receive the unlimited talk/text while being on monthly 450 rollover & $20 for unlimited texting. I am not a super user, probably averaged about 5gb of data/month until I got the 6 & now average about 8-12gb of usage a month. Thanks buddy

Fed Up - December 2, 2015 at 4:43am

Had did you get an unlimited plan this year as they haven't offered that to new customers for about 5 years now?

Joneser3 - December 2, 2015 at 4:47am

Yeah I had the 450 min w/ rollover. And I had unlimited text which they discounted off the bill. I've had the plan since it came out and I'm pretty sure everyone is getting it who had it but the rollout may have not hit your area. I'm sure if you called and asked for the retentions department they will gladly hook you up. Hope that helps.

Joneser3 - December 2, 2015 at 4:50am

As fed up said I think they did this mainly for the unlimited data grandfathered in customers who were upset over the throttling; also to compete with all the other services who basically over unlimited voice and text anyway.

Meeker - December 2, 2015 at 4:51am

I also will gladly pay the $5/month assuming they can really do this; they are just more cautious after the $250m FTC fine for throttling data. I'd just like to know why I didn't get the unlimited talk/text & others did just so I can try to come up w/ some leverage plan to use against them about myself not being a crazy data super-user & say I am going to leave AT&T for someone else. My only gripe is that I'd really like to be be able to use my phones data by somehow tethering my iPad/MacBook to my AT&T plan but obviously there is no way around that & id rather not pay another $x/month for data on top of a cellphone bill & also Uverse @ home. If anyone has read all these book length comments (sorry) I have been writing & has any ideas pls reply & if there is some ideas/tools to help me achieve any of this I will gladly PayPal you a 'favor bonus' for any help. Thanks again gents.

Joneser3 - December 2, 2015 at 4:57am

Bro you are on the site for it right now. Jailbreak that phone when the new one comes out and download the tether me app from one of the repos. Free tethering has been possible for ages this way. As for unlimited talk/text just call them up. They will take care of you if you have been a loyal customer.

Meeker - December 2, 2015 at 5:00am

Jonser & Fed-up - 1st thanks a lot Jonser. Much appreciated for the response amigo. Fed-up - I've had the unlimited data plan for probably 6 years or so & never changed my plan. As Jonser said, the way the whole telecom/data market is going, it would be stupid to cancel it at this point. Well, maybe atleast until a couple more years when all the carriers are n a full out war & data/throttling doesn't even exist anymore. They are already building out the infrastructure for it to be ahead of the curve but we still have some time before the technology would really allow it without all carries going BQ. I would assume ..

Meeker - December 2, 2015 at 5:08am

Jonser the man again! Now I need to do alittle googling about that to get a better idea behind the whole jailbreaking etc. I am going to call AT&T in the morning & see if I can work some magic with some con-talk of leaving AT&T, etc. I've got a early meeting so need to hit the sack. Joneser - check back sometime tomorrow & I will leave a comment. If you get some free time sometime I'll gladly take care of you for a quick call/email just to pick your brain about this. Again, thanks a lot bro.

Joneser3 - December 2, 2015 at 5:15am

Enjoy it while it last, my guess is they will make everyone move off of a unlimited data plan within the next 2-3 years which is the reason for the increase. The second they have enough people off to not feel the impact of losing them as customers you can count on it. All good things come to an end.

JoshvanHulst - December 2, 2015 at 5:21am

They definitely are trying to get money when an unlimited data plan is already pricy as it is! They make so much money for $30 a month. Who wants a stupid mobile data share plan?

JoshvanHulst - December 2, 2015 at 6:40am

Exactly!! They did this to get back at users who are grandfathered in against their fake throttling hype. I hope they don't get rid of unlimited data and force customers off the data plan

JoshvanHulst - December 2, 2015 at 6:42am

Meeker lets craft something against AT&T. They are definitely scamming their customers ontop of the horrendous charges they place on your monthly contract

focus - December 2, 2015 at 10:10am

The main reason to increase is those getting fatty bonus will feed them continuously.

focus - December 2, 2015 at 10:12am

The main reason for increase is those keep getting fatty bonus will make sure get continuously.

Zesty - December 3, 2015 at 5:34am

There is jailbreak your iPhone and there is a low cost tweak that u can get I used to give wifi to my daughters iPad I used about 20 gigs per month on att . Running YouTube and apps using data

moooooo - December 1, 2015 at 8:31pm

Why tax your loyal customers at&t? If anything award them for being stable with you for so long. This is dumb!

City023 - December 1, 2015 at 8:09pm

Problem with you guys saying, I moved onto Verizon, T-Mobile or Sprint is that the iPhone works best and to its max with AT&T.

Meeker - December 1, 2015 at 8:15pm

How come it works best with AT&T? It have something to do with the GSM or whatever else the crap the other providers have? Sorry, not the most technically up-to-date person in regards to technology generally speaking. Thanks

Meeker - December 1, 2015 at 8:04pm

I literally went into the AT&T store last week & paid the $499 for a 132gb iPhone 6s Plus because I was due for an upgrade & agreed to the 2 year commitment since I didn't choose the next plan. It only took me about an hour to get the point across that I wasn't going to select the next plan. I can guarantee you that they won't even have the price discount on iPhones in a years time, it will solely be the 'leasing of a phone' (aka AT&T Next) or the full price for the phone (which if you do this go the Apple Store since it's ready unlocked). I guess I got lucky w/ the timing? Now when the $5 price increase happens I can sell my iPhone & get out of the brand new 2 year agreement I just signed? Just making sure I understand this correctly. If so, I would go buy a phone from AT&T right now if you have the unlimited data & signing the 2 year agreement won't mean sh*t. This would assume you can still do this given they have made the announcement already. Idk. For just myself I pay about $117/month for the grandfathered unlimited data with the addition of unlimited texting & 450 minutes of talk time each month. That $117 also includes AT&T's $9.99/month (or something close to that) for their insurance plan. THEIR IS SO MUCH CRAP out there now that it drives me nuts when I try to figure out who I would choose if I left AT&T. Anyone have any good suggestions from personal experience? Specifically with service in Dallas? Thanks much & good luck to all of us as the cellular providers continue to throw spaghetti against the wall every month to see what sticks or what the competition will respond with. Remember, without us, they are nothing.

Meeker - December 1, 2015 at 8:10pm

Also, I forgot. I heard that some grandfathered unlimited data customers were upgraded without notice to unlimited talk time? Sure didn't happen to me because I still have 450 minutes a month & rollover. Anyone else get unlimited talk time that has the grandfathered unlimited data plan? I'd imagine some type of lawsuit will happen in-regards to this given the only reason they have to still offer it is because of the "grandfathered" aspect.

gamerscul9870 - December 1, 2015 at 9:30pm

T-Mobile doesn't make their plans confusing or baffled to deal with. It's all straightforward once you switch. I'm glad I did.

RAV4 Rich466 - December 1, 2015 at 6:52pm

At least give us something for the five dollars like some text messaging

clown - December 1, 2015 at 6:07pm

Will get sued

firefish - December 1, 2015 at 5:46pm

This is BS. Why did I keep my iPhone data plan unlimited month after month for $29.99 without cancelling it once?! So that I get that rate locked in!!

clown - December 1, 2015 at 5:24pm

Better off buying a new phone , then cAncel it and sell phone. Then switch

joshWUa - December 1, 2015 at 4:04pm

That's why I love my unlimited plan with tmobile, not only it's faster but they never over charge me on anything and only pay around $70 bucks.

TechnoFreak - December 1, 2015 at 6:40pm

Only problem with t-mobile is the lack of coverage in so many places. You pay for what you get.

gamerscul9870 - December 1, 2015 at 9:28pm

I have the best coverage anywhere I go in Texas and I'm on T-Mobile. They listen well and I sure will say their coverage will grow from their 2015 map. They have extended.

prostovanka - December 1, 2015 at 12:14pm

This his just pure greed, any other reason is a blatant lie! Have been wi h att with 5 lines since iPhone 3G launched. Will be moving my 5 lines else where.

JoshvanHulst - December 2, 2015 at 5:27am

My situation is exactly the same as you. I have 5 lines unlimited with AT&T since the iPhone 3G came out. I was astonished now pricy $30 dollars was for a forced data plan with an smartphone purchase. Thankfully I get a corporate rate discount on mh bill each month, but to suggest $5 when I don't even use that much data is crazy!! They should reimburse customers that don't go crazy on their data. I actually have a 6th line on AT&T and took it over T-mobile because the placed a data becon on that unlimited data line for unauthorized tethering (using an app to circumvent paying for tethering). I was so angry when they took away my unlimited data on that line!!!

focus - December 1, 2015 at 10:32am

Already changed to T-Mobile from AT&T. AT&T service is sucks after many complain and use there "Mark The Spot" app to inform them the service issue and they still do not care. They do false advertisement. I'm happy with T-Mobile fastest service and savings including issue solved with the service with AT&T on some spot. I was with the att last 12 years. Very disappointed. I even paid $190 ETF and change it to T-Mobile. I will never going back to them as long as others is providing the good service and savings.

ywhat - December 1, 2015 at 6:25am

Hope Verizon don't do this to me....

gamerscul9870 - December 1, 2015 at 5:29am

I'm done giving these greedy basterds any more chances. I've had it with this Death Star.

joshWUa - December 1, 2015 at 4:05pm

GHEEEEEY!!!

gamerscul9870 - December 1, 2015 at 4:54pm

LLLOOOOOWWWWKKK WWHHHHEEEWWW'SSSSS TTAAAWWWWLLLLKKKYYYNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meeeeeeeeeeeee - December 1, 2015 at 5:25am

They should lower their prices for the most loyal customers like us. we have this plan for over 5y

JoshvanHulst - December 2, 2015 at 6:46am

You said it!!

Sambadaddy - December 1, 2015 at 5:21am

Thirty-one years after divestiture… AT&T still can't market.

K d - December 1, 2015 at 5:21am

Da Fuc!! I'm still not giving up my unlimited data att

netsam2k - December 1, 2015 at 11:04pm

Im with you there, i use so much damn data a month (average 25-30gb a month and thats on my line, still have 2 other lines with unlimited that use the about the same) that for me its not liable to switch to tmobile or sprint, their unlimited data gets throttled after 5gb from what i seen, and verizon has no unlimited, $5 extra a month is not going to break my bank

gamerscul9870 - December 1, 2015 at 11:13pm

Tmobile recently announced free unlimited lte for 3 months?