I just read through the entire set of comments posted in the last day. Wow!
Clearly, there is a ton of confusion and interest about these plans, what AT&T does, what Verizon offers, how they compare, and how T-Mobile has caused both of them to start to offer SOME value.
I realize that there are many reasons why someone would want to stay with their current carrier: phone purchase contract, grandfathered plan, coverage in areas you use, conference calling capabilities, travel abroad, etc.
As someone who had been with AT&T for 10 years until last week, I too had stayed for much longer than was probably smart due to inertia and perceived network coverage.
I made the switch to T-Mobile, am saving a ton of money and find that the coverage is comparable and MUCH faster than with AT&T.
For those who are locked into AT&T for one reason or another, I sincerely hope that the new Unlimited Plus plan gives you a good alternative. I also hope that FAN discounts apply (although it seems not, at least not until Verizon starts offering discounts). However, for those of you NOT locked into AT&T, what do you have to lose by trying T-Mobile out?
I would argue that the plan offerings and features are much better and you won't know about coverage until you try it out. Even if you've anecdotally heard about how bad their network is, that information could be old or it could come from people who did not have phones with the right bands on them.
So, if their coverage is good where you need it to be, your could save a ton of money (2 lines for $100, 3rd line free, 20% off lifetime of account, taxes and fees included, international data included, etc., etc.). Furthermore, you will get back $150 per line after 4-6 weeks.
Worst case scenario, their network is not as good for you (or you have a phone which doesn't have their bands), and your coverage sucks. If so, then simply go back to AT&T. Collect your $150 per line when passing Go and simply transfer back at that time. Will you have lost your FAN discount? Possibly, but maybe only if you can't qualify for it again.
As a final point, I think that the more people leave (myself included) the more that AT&T and Verizon will have to realize that their plan features and pricing need to change to stay competitive. While those carriers clearly have many more business customers who are unlikely to change, clearly there were enough people who switched in the last two weeks to make AT&T take a MASSIVE about face on the plan introduced only 11 days ago.
. Cheers!
