AT&T has finally announced its plans for shared data, and they look awfully similar to what Verizon introduced last month. Essentially, AT&T will give you unlimited minutes and text messages, along with a set amount of data to share between up to ten devices, for a monthly data fee plus an additional fee for every device you add to the plan. The company is expected to introduce its Mobile Share plans in late August.
Unfortunately, AT&T’s plans are just as expensive as Verizon’s. The matrix above shows just how much each plan costs. Thankfully, AT&T decreases the price of each additional smartphone (which starts at $45 and goes down to $30) as you add more data to your plan. “Dumb phones,” laptops, mobile hotspots, tablets, and gaming devices each cost progressively less to add to your plan as well (although the monthly fee remains the same regardless of how much data you’re paying for). As with Verizon, you’ll have to give up your unlimited data plan in order to switch to a new Mobile Share plan. In return, however, you’ll get free access to tethering on your smartphones.
AT&T Mobile Share certainly isn’t for everyone. It might be slightly cheaper for some users with multiple smartphones (or multiple family members with smartphones), but it doesn’t allow you to add all of your devices onto your plan for a low cost. Then again, did anyone really expect AT&T to offer a low-cost data plan?
[AT&T]
