AT&T dropped the price of its unlimited data plan by $10 per month, to $80 per month, continuing a pricing war for unlimited plans among the largest wireless carriers in the U.S. The operator also added in price discounts and perks to its plans, such as a lifetime subscription to HBO and a $15 video credit for AT&T’s video services.
AT&T’s Unlimited Plus Enhanced package offers unlimited data and 15 GB of mobile hotspot data per line for $80 per month for the first line. That's a $10 decrease over its prior Unlimited Plus plan, and an increase of 5 GB of data for tethering.
AT&T's other new unlimited data plan is now called Unlimited Choice Enhanced. It previously cost $60 for one line and now it costs $65 per month for one line for unlimited 4G LTE data. If customers get four lines the price stays the same at $40 per month.
There are, of course, caveats to these deals. AT&T says the $80 per month price is only available after customers have signed up for autopay within two billing cycles. For the Unlimited Plus Enhanced offer, the $15 video credit is available only through AT&T’s DirecTV, U-verse or DirecTV Now services. For the Unlimited Choice Enhanced offering, the video credit is only applicable for DirecTV Now, meaning essentially that customers can take $15 off their DirecTV Now bill. The discount is applied within the first three billing cycles. For the HBO offer, current pay TV subs will receive a credit for HBO on their pay TV bill; and AT&T's wireless-only customers can receive HBO for free when they create a free DirecTV Now account, and without needing to sign-up and pay for any additional video services, an AT&T spokesperson confirmed.
The news comes amid a heated battle among wireless carriers in offering unlimited data plans, as these plans have become the major driver for signing up new customers in the wireless market. Verizon offers an unlimited data plan for $80 per month for the first line; T-Mobile offers an unlimited data plan for $70 per month for the first line; and Sprint is offering unlimited data plan for free for a full year to customers who bring their own device to the operator (prices start at $60 per month for the first line after the promotion).
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AT&T is also releasing three new regional specials, which offer pay TV and wireline broadband perks to new wireless customers in those markets. Importantly, AT&T is shrinking down its headline-grabbing iPhone X BOGO offerings to just one market.
In New York, AT&T is offering wireless subscribers a full year of DirecTV Now’s basic tier, called “Live a Little,” for free when they sign up for either Unlimited Plus Enhanced or Unlimited Choice Enhanced, and an impressive $35 monthly video credit on any other DirecTV Now package for the first year.
In Chicago, the company is offering free wired home Internet for life to residents who become AT&T wireless customers by switching from a wireless competitor and who sign up for the $80 Unlimited Plus Enhanced plan. The plan is available to new or existing AT&T home Internet customers, and is available for broadband plans offering speeds up to 50 Mbps. AT&T is also offering a $30 monthly Internet credit that can be applied to any of the higher speed tiers.
And finally, in Los Angeles, AT&T is offering wireless customers a buy one, get one (BOGO) deal when they buy a new smartphone through AT&T’s phone upgrade program, called AT&T Next, and add a new wireless phone line to their plan. The deal includes any of AT&T’s latest smartphone models, including the iPhone X phones. Earlier this month, AT&T offered iPhone X BOGO deals nationwide, but it is now limiting that offer to Los Angeles residents.
RELATED: Trading growth for profit, AT&T launches BOGO for iPhone X