AT&T's raising the prices of legacy unlimited data plans
“Consumers and businesses are using mobile data at record levels and the trend is expected to continue,” AT&T said on its support page announcing the price hike. “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.”
AT&T says anyone who doesn’t like the price increase will be able to cancel their contract without incurring any early termination fees if they do so within 60 days after the price hike first shows up on their bill.
The story behind the story: For an offering that hasn’t been offered to new customers for three years, AT&T’s unlimited data sure has been in the news a lot in 2015. In June, the Federal Communications Commission said it intended to fine AT&T $100 million for misleading customers by throttling data speeds for unlimited customers. Then in September, AT&T upped the throttling cap to 22GB from 5GB, which likely avoids throttling issues for all but the most extreme data users on AT&T’s networks.
AT&T’s price hike follows a similar move from Verizon in October and then T-Mobile in November. Big Red tacked a whopping $20 onto its unlimited plans, upping the cost to about $50, while T-Mobile upped its price by $15 (T-Mobile’s plan includes unlimited talk and text). Both of which make AT&T’s price hike seem like a bargain.
Nevertheless, if you’re unhappy with AT&T’s price hop check out Macworld’s breakdown of what the other carriers have to offer prospective new iPhone owners.