AT&T announced it will raise its smartphone data plans $5 across the board starting Sunday, causing some to speculate that the price hike could cause many to leave the wireless carrier.
Despite AT&T informing us that the new plans give customers "more data and value," the truth is it's not that different from the old plans.
- 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
- AT&T DataConnect 3GB: $30 for 3GB
- AT&T DataConnect 5GB: $50 for 5GB
Previously the lowest data plan was $15 for 200MB of data, the next was $25 for 2 GB and $45 for 4GB -- so the rise is $5 across the board and a small rise in data. The tablet plans still have the lowest plan, $15 for 250MB, but the rest have a $5 rise and similar gain in data. Last year, AT&T did away with its unlmited data plans.
The news plans don't affect current subscribers and those renewing plans can stay with their old plans, but any new customers coming Sunday or later will get the higher rates. AT&T said it needed to raise rates to keep up with higher data usage.