Starting Oct. 25, AT&T will require new customers to sign up for one of its Mobile Share plans rather than separate plans for different devices.
"Our customers have expressed an overwhelming preference for simplified options that allow them to share data across multiple devices," AT&T said in a blog post.
Current customers will not be required to switch to a Mobile Share plan. "Unlike some wireless providers, none of our customers will be forced to switch plans if they'd like to stick with what they have – even when upgrading to a new device," AT&T said, in a dig at Verizon.
AT&T unveiled its shared data plans in July 2012. In terms of plan details, customers first select how much monthly data they want - from 300MB to 50GB - and then choose up to 10 devices to connect to the account.
The 1GB per month plan runs $40 per month, 4GB is $70, 6GB is $90, 10GB for $120, 15GB for $160, and it goes all the way up to 50GB for $500. Adding a smartphone (with unlimited talk and text) to the 1GB plan is an additional $45, while it's $40 on the 4GB plan, $35 on the 6GB plan, and $30 on the 10-50GB plans.
Adding basic or messaging phones is an additional $30 per month. Laptops, Latop Connect cards, and netbooks are $20 more, and tablets and gaming devices run $10 per month.
So, for example, if you selected the 4GB monthly plan ($70) and added a smartphone ($40) and a tablet ($10), your monthly bill would be $120. For comparison, I am currently grandfathered into AT&T's unlimited (unless throttled) plan with an iPhone for about $90 per month, plus a 4G iPad for another $15 per month for 250MB. For 1GB on the iPad, it's $30 per month, while 5GB is $50 right now.
According to AT&T, the Mobile Share plan is its most popular plan among new customers. Requiring it for them is intended to streamline its offering, AT&T said.
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