Last week, T-Mobile began offering a plan with unlimited minutes, unlimited texts, and 2GB of data for only $15 per month. A few days later, AT&T responded by offering its own $15 per month plan with unlimited minutes, unlimited texts, and 2GB of data.
Plan terms
I dug around to learn about the plan’s policies. Here are my impressions at the moment:
- New subscribers need an AT&T prepaid SIM (costs $4.99).
- Mobile hotspot and tethering are permitted.
- Unused data rolls over for one month.1
- Taxes and fees are not included in the $15 base price.
- Unlimited international texting to over 100 countries is included.
- Streaming video traffic will be throttled by default, but subscribers can turn the throttle off.
- The plan is not eligible for AT&T’s discounts for paperless billing or automatic payments.
- Data has a soft cap—once 2GB of regular data has been used, additional data can be used at significantly reduced speeds.
Limited time offer
AT&T has repeatedly described its new $15 plan as a promotion and a limited time offer. I don’t know when the plan will cease to be available.2
T-Mobile Connect vs. AT&T’s plan
AT&T’s $15 plan has a handful of substantial advantages over the $15 T-Mobile Connect plan:
- AT&T has better nationwide coverage.
- SIM cards are cheaper from AT&T ($5 vs. $10).
- Only AT&T offers data rollover.
- AT&T has a soft cap on data, while T-Mobile Connect has a hard cap.
However, it’s not clear how long AT&T’s plan will be around. People who take advantage of AT&T’s offer today won’t necessarily get the same great deal each month for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, it looks like the T-Mobile Connect plans will continue to be available to new and existing subscribers for years.
Update: The $15 plan from AT&T is no longer available.
Super handy analysis. Thanks for this. I’ll probably switch from Republic Wireless to this T-Mobile plan. I agree it would be a hassle to go with ATT and then have them jack up rates soon. More data for less money and on a flagship carrier to boot. Thanks!
It’s $30 per month with autopay now. Promotion indeed.