AT&T is finally rolling out its shared data plans, called Mobile Share plans, later this month on August 23.
The new AT&T plans let users share data limits across multiple devices easily. With the new plans users can choose data plans starting at 1GB per month up to 20GB a month, though AT&T offer less granularity than Verizon. Verizon offers users 11 choices for their data caps, while AT&T offers only six.
Like Verizon, AT&T’s Mobile Share plans include unlimited talk and text for all phones. Unlike Verizon, AT&T doesn’t have a uniform price for each smartphone added to the plans. To add a smartphone to each plans can cost anywhere from $30 to $45, depending on the amount of data. The full breakdown is here.
AT&T also lets users add tablets to the plans for $10 a month. Laptops, netbooks, and LaptopConnect cards add $20 each month. The latter devices aren’t necessary, however, as AT&T includes tethering in the Mobile Share plans.
Users don’t have to pay AT&T extra to use the built-in hotspot feature on their smartphones. It is a good idea to account for tethering when calculating data plans, however, as every GB used over the cap costs $15 extra.
Overall, AT&T’s plans are very similar to Verizon’ Share Everything plans. Both are relatively expensive, and will likely cost most users more instead of less. They’re great for families with one heavy data user and others who barely use data, but they’re definitely not for everyone. Thankfully, AT&T will still offer it current family plans after it launches the Mobile Share plans.
