Cell Phone Providers AT&T

The days are long gone when the name AT&T was synonymous with the phone company, but the company remains a huge presence in the world of cell phone providers. Overall, they have the best selection of mobile phones available in today’s market. Their wireless network is extensive, covering just about the entire United States, and its 3G data capability is recognized as the fastest available.

Customer service ratings for AT&T have improved steadily over the last couple of years but they’re still generally seen as lacking in this category behind industry leader Verizon Wireless as well as T-Mobile. When it comes to a phone network’s reliability, consumers simply expect it to work all the time. That issue has also made AT&T a target of criticism periodically.

Plans:

Unlimited Plans

The cell phone market is nothing if not competitive so when other providers started offering unlimited pricing plans, AT&T had no choice but to offer them as well. If you feel a sense of déjà vu as you review these offerings, don’t be surprised because they're just about identical to the ones offered by Verizon Wireless.

For individual users, unlimited voice calls are available for $69.99 per month. While there isn’t a specific plan which states that it’s for unlimited voice and texting, unlimited texting can be added to the voice plan for $20.00 a month so it stays right in step with VZW’s Unlimited Voice & Text plan.

The same situation exists for family plans. Two lines with unlimited voice access cost $119.99 per month and each additional line, up to five total, runs $49.99 Unlimited text, picture, video and instant messaging can be added to family plans for $30.00 a month.

Traditional Plans

If there’s a single attribute that distinguishes AT&T’s limited calling plans from the competition, it’s the Rollover minutes. With it, plan minutes that aren’t used during the month can be carried over adding to the available usage time for the following month. Rollover minutes can remain available on an account for twelve months.

AT&T’s base individual plan provides 450 anytime minutes a month for $39.99. Though it’s not likely to be an issue for most customers, free nights and weekend time is limited to 5000 minutes during the month. Usage beyond the plan limit is charged at $.45 per minute. For $59.99 monthly, you can get 900 anytime minutes and free nights and weekends are unlimited. Each minute of use beyond the allowed 900 minutes costs $.40. As with the unlimited voice plan, unlimited messaging for individual users is available for an additional $20.00 per month.

There are four available family plans in addition to the unlimited package. The entry level plan costs $59.99 monthly for the first two lines. It allows for 550 shared minutes. Rather unusually, only one more line can be added to this plan and the cost is $9.99 a month. The other three plans offer 700, 1400 and 2100 shared minutes a month and cost $69.99, $89.99 and $109.99, respectively, for the first two lines. Each minute of additional use beyond the 550 and 700 minute limits are charged at $.45. Excess usage on the 1400 minute plan costs $.40 while additional usage on the 2100 minute plan runs $.35 per minute. Additional lines, up to five total, cost $9.99 each. Unlimited messaging can be added to any of the family plans for $30.00 a month.