Skip to main content

Do you use AT&T? You need to keep a close eye on your next bill

Person holding a phone while laying on a bed.
AT&T

If you have an older unlimited plan from AT&T, it will soon cost you more. Starting in August, the second-largest mobile company in the U.S. will charge extra for several different legacy plans. At the same time, it’s adding new benefits for those customers.

According to an AT&T support document, prices are rising by $10 per month for single lines and $20 per month for those with multiple lines, regardless of the number of lines. The document explains, “This change will allow us to provide additional benefits to your plan and continue to deliver the great wireless service you expect. ”

Those with AT&T Unlimited Choice, Choice II, Choice Enhanced, Unlimited &More, and Unlimited Value plans will now receive 75GB of high-speed data and 30GB of hotspot data. Meanwhile, customers with AT&T Unlimited Plus, Plus Enhanced, Unlimited &More Premium, and AT&T Unlimited (with TV) plans will receive 100GB of high-speed data and 60GB of hotspot data.

If you are no longer interested in keeping an older Unlimited plan, AT&T recommends switching to a newer plan. These plans, including Unlimited Premium PL, Unlimited Extra EL, and Unlimited Starter SL, come with the bonus of 5G access.

You can also cancel your service by contacting the company.

Carriers often raise the price of older plans to incentivize users to switch to a new plan and possibly upgrade their devices. T-Mobile, for example, announced price hikes last month. However, those price increases on older plans only amount to between $2 and $5 monthly.

It’s good to see AT&T adding benefits to legacy plans as it raises prices. However, not everyone is likely to need the new features. For instance, the hotspot feature is only useful if you have other devices to share the connection.

Bryan M. Wolfe
Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.
5G home internet: What is it, and should you get it?
T-Mobile 5G home internet router on tabletop with a person's hand plugging in the power adapter in the background.

Among the many promises of 5G technology to deliver faster speeds and global connectivity is the ability to bring that world without wires to where you live — beyond your mobile phones and tablets and into your home.

Today, most of us rely on home broadband networks that operate over wires — cable, fiber optic lines, or even plain old telephone service (POTS) lines. However, as 5G coverage and capacity expand, wireless technology has begun to give even the fastest wired broadband connections a run for their money.

Read more
How fast is 5G? What you need to know about 5G speeds
OnePlus Nord N300 5G speed test.

Cellular carriers around the country are doing everything they can to expand their 5G coverage networks. Millions of people are already covered by a 5G tower in their area, and more are scheduled to arrive throughout 2024 -- bringing increased speeds to folks everywhere from the biggest city to the most remote mountain town. Nearly all modern smartphones now support 5G, making it the new standard for wireless devices.

That means anyone with an iPhone 15 or Galaxy S24 has a phone capable of accessing 5G networks -- but how fast is 5G? And is it noticeably faster than 4G speeds? There are a lot of benefits to 5G networks, but they're not without their growing pains. And like its predecessor, your mileage may vary based on how many people are using the same towers as you or how far away you are from the nearest access point.

Read more
Have T-Mobile? Your 5G service is about to get much faster
U.S. map illustrating T-Mobile's 5G Ultra Capacity network expansion.

T-Mobile’s 5G network already offers unmatched 5G speeds and coverage throughout the U.S., with 98% of the population covered by some flavor of T-Mobile’s 5G and more than 90% benefiting from its higher-speed 5G Ultra Capacity (5G UC) network.

That translates to the “Uncarrier” taking first place in 5G performance in 46 U.S. states. However, T-Mobile isn’t content to sit at 90% coverage. It’s been working steadily to increase the footprint of its 5G UC network to reach even further, and is bringing those top speeds to areas previously served only by its lower-frequency 5G Extended Range network.
A ‘Massive 5G Boost’

Read more