AT&T (T) Now Offers Unlimited Phone Service for $50, But There's a Catch
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In a time when companies are trying to squeeze every penny out of the consumer, unlimited data plans for smart-phones are becoming a thing of the past.
But not for AT&T (NYSE: T).
The company just announced its new unlimited talk, text, and web plan for prepaid phones using its GoPhone service.
Sounds too good to be true right? ...well that’s because you're right: unlimited Web is only available on feature phones.
AT&T released this new unlimited plan to better position itself in the prepaid market, already flooded with low-cost plans from Sprint’s (NYSE: S) Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile (Nasdaq: VMED) brands, as well as smaller companies like Leap’s (Nasdaq: LEAP) Cricket and Metro PCS (NYSE: PCS) for example.
The beauty of going with a prepaid phone plan instead of the traditional method is a user can have all the features of a normal plan without signing a contract. One down side of going with a prepaid plan instead of a contract plan forces the customer to purchase their device at full cost instead of a discounted one.
One company which considers prepaid consumer's pockets is Boost Mobile. The company offers a $50 per month prepaid unlimited plan, but drops the monthly price by $5 every six-months the user is with the company. This reduction caps at $15. Under Boost Mobile, one can use one of RIM’s (Nasdaq: RIMM) BlackBerry’s an an unlimited basis for $60 per month. Metro also allows customers to use Android-powered devices for the same monthly price, but does not offer the tiered discount.
But not for AT&T (NYSE: T).
The company just announced its new unlimited talk, text, and web plan for prepaid phones using its GoPhone service.
Sounds too good to be true right? ...well that’s because you're right: unlimited Web is only available on feature phones.
AT&T released this new unlimited plan to better position itself in the prepaid market, already flooded with low-cost plans from Sprint’s (NYSE: S) Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile (Nasdaq: VMED) brands, as well as smaller companies like Leap’s (Nasdaq: LEAP) Cricket and Metro PCS (NYSE: PCS) for example.
The beauty of going with a prepaid phone plan instead of the traditional method is a user can have all the features of a normal plan without signing a contract. One down side of going with a prepaid plan instead of a contract plan forces the customer to purchase their device at full cost instead of a discounted one.
One company which considers prepaid consumer's pockets is Boost Mobile. The company offers a $50 per month prepaid unlimited plan, but drops the monthly price by $5 every six-months the user is with the company. This reduction caps at $15. Under Boost Mobile, one can use one of RIM’s (Nasdaq: RIMM) BlackBerry’s an an unlimited basis for $60 per month. Metro also allows customers to use Android-powered devices for the same monthly price, but does not offer the tiered discount.
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