AT&T Raising Price of Grandfathered Unlimited Data Plans to $45 Per Month

[MacRumors]

AT&T is again raising the price for grandfathered unlimited smartphone data plans by $5 per month, according to a support article on the carrier's website and multiple tipsters who emailed us today. The price hike will be effective this July, and notifications appear to have started hitting the first wave of grandfathered unlimited plan users over the past few days.

In the article, AT&T says that any customer who has a grandfathered $40 data plan will soon begin seeing an email about the $5 per month price increase. Multiple tipsters have already gotten such notifications, and one -- MacRumors forum user jav6454 -- says that his grandfathered unlimited data plan was originally bought for $30 around the time of the iPhone 3G.

The last time a $5/month increase happened was in March 2017, raising grandfathered plans from $35 to $40, and followed an increase from $30 to $35 in February 2016. AT&T originally discontinued unlimited plans in 2010 and didn't introduce new unlimited plans again until 2017.

In its explanation, AT&T says that "record levels" of mobile data use have led to the decision to increase the monthly cost of legacy data plans:

Consumers are using mobile data at record levels and the trend is expected to continue. To help make sure we continue to provide the best service for all of our customers, a small price increase is being made at this time.

Customers who have a grandfathered $40 data plan will receive notifications of a $5 per month rate increase for the data plan. The rate increase will take effect starting with the customer's July, 2018 service.

The carrier promises that the price increase will not impact data speeds, and speeds will only be reduced when 22GB of data in a billing cycle is exceeded or when users are in a congested area. AT&T also points out that customers can change their plan at any time, although anyone who switches out of a grandfathered plan should be warned because they won't be able to go back once a new plan is selected.

Currently, AT&T offers "Unlimited Plus Enhanced" and "Unlimited Choice Enhanced" as options for unlimited monthly data usage. Unlimited Plus is $80/month for one line and then rises to $190/month for four lines (at $48 per line), while Unlimited Choice is $65/month for one line and $160/month for four lines (at $40 per line). The latter plan streams standard definition video, lacks mobile hotspot features, and doesn't include DirecTV entertainment savings (only DirecTV Now).

Before these new unlimited plans launched, AT&T and many other carriers were heavily focused on eliminating grandfathered users through ongoing price hikes, like we are seeing again this summer.

(Thanks Jose and Alan!)

Article Link: AT&T Raising Price of Grandfathered Unlimited Data Plans to $45 Per Month

 

[sputnikv]

This is a class-action lawsuit. How can you modify a "grandfathered" plan?

 

[Baymowe335]

I knew this would happen. I got off my “grandfathered” plan long ago because they made it cheaper to do family plans and throttled you after certain thresholds anyway.

The plan was garbage and overpriced before and is just more so now. Nothing good about them anymore.

 

[sundog925]

Still better than Verizon's $40 increase smh....

I don't switch plans cuz I'm lazy and It's still the same as a the new UDP and I still get monthly discounts.

 

[Vjosullivan]

OK, I'll bite since you've assumed everybody is familiar with US phone rental jargon. What's a "grandfathered" account?

 

[gsmornot]

This is a class-action lawsuit. How can you modify a "grandfathered" plan?

Grandfathered only means the plan features stay the same.

 

[GizmoDVD]

This is a class-action lawsuit. How can you modify a "grandfathered" plan?

Because they can. Or just remove it altogether.

 

[sundog925]

OK, I'll bite since you've assumed everybody is familiar with US phone rental jargon. What's a "grandfathered" account?

Usually a plan or contract that is no longer offered and was a great deal at the the time, but customers are. not pushed off it.
Usually these contracts are month to month and the carriers can push customers off them, but avoid due to the public perception. Rather, they increase the prices to force people to switch.

 

[M.PaulCezanne]

Ditched ATT a couple of years ago. Couldn’t be happier.

 

[sundog925]

This is a class-action lawsuit. How can you modify a "grandfathered" plan?

Guess you need to google the word! lol!

 

[CrAkD]

I got off my grandfathered plan last year because the new one was cheaper and included hot spot. If they change the new plan I'll switch carriers. I had an atrocious experience switching phones this year so i wouldn't bat an eyelash to say peace. They are the worst.

 

[TimUSCA]

This is a class-action lawsuit. How can you modify a "grandfathered" plan?

They can raise the price all they want, especially if they can show that expenses go up. And considering that's exactly what expenses do, nobody should be surprised that it isn't staying at $35 for the rest of eternity.

 

[TheAppleFairy]

This is a class-action lawsuit. How can you modify a "grandfathered" plan?

If you sign a 2-year contract on a plan, I would say they can't change the price during the 2-year contract. After that, you are out of contract and they can do what they want.

I would say they could force you out of the unlimited plan if they wanted to as well, though that would probably be a bad move.

 

[enrincon89]

I knew this would happen. I got off my “grandfathered” plan long ago because they made it cheaper to do family plans and throttled you after certain thresholds anyway.

The plan was garbage and overpriced before and is just more so now. Nothing good about them anymore.

You still get throttled with the grandfathered plan.

 

[shareef777]

I'm so confused. ATT went back to offering unlimited plans (thanks T-Mobile!) with throttling starting at 22GB. From what I've seen, ATT also throttled the "grandfathered" unlimited plans. Soooo, what's the point of staying on a grandfathered plan at a higher price?

 

[69Mustang]

OK, I'll bite since you've assumed everybody is familiar with US phone rental jargon. What's a "grandfathered" account?

grand·fa·ther
ˈɡran(d)ˌfäT͟Hər/
verb
NORTH AMERICANinformal
past tense: grandfathered; past participle: grandfathered

1. exempt (someone or something) from a new law or regulation.
   "smokers who worked here before the ban have been grandfathered"
   synonyms: exempt, excuse, free, exclude, grant immunity to, spare, absolve;
   informallet off (the hook)
   "federal funding was eliminated for these air-polluting road projects, but a loophole has grandfathered the previously funded projects"

Grandfather isn't phone rental jargon.

 

[MikhailT]

This is a class-action lawsuit. How can you modify a "grandfathered" plan?

You might want to read the contract you sign with companies, almost all have a clause allowing them to have the ability to do this. Considering the US congress loves the lobbying money they get from the companies, they won't do jack to protect their citizens, nothing is going to change.

 

[MrMaxwell]

Shouldn't this plan be called the 22GB plan not unlimited? What's unlimited about being speed throttled at 22GB?

 

[UltimaKilo]

This is why I left AT&T after 13 years for T-Mobile over 3 years ago.

 

[deeddawg]

Let the wailing and gnashing of teeth commence...

 

[Greenmeenie]

This doesn’t apply to the ipad unlimited data plan. I’ve been grandfathered in that since 2010 and still only pay $29 a month for unlimited data. I have transfered it to every new ipad i’ve bought since. Currently using an ipad mini 2 and plan to buy one of the new ipad pros once they are announced. I believe the AT&T unlimited data plan for the ipad was only given for a few months back in 2010 and was discontinued by AT&T after they probably realized too many people were buying into it. Guess they didn’t put a clause in the contract that said they could raise the price anytime they wanted and were like...Oops! Lets cancel this thing before it gets out of hand. I’m one of the lucky ones who never cancelled and am still granfathered in. I will keep transfering it to every new ipad i own.

 

[Dominicanyor]

Someone has to pay for their lawsuits..

 

[gavroche]

This is a class-action lawsuit. How can you modify a "grandfathered" plan?

I have a lot of trouble understanding this line of thought. Businesses raise prices on products and services all the time. There is thing called inflation, and it costs them more money to operate year over year. Do you want to sue the grocery store because chicken costs more this year than it did last year? Ha, there is some old person somewhere angry because a gallon of milk used to cost .20 cents.
We are getting a very entitled attitude here in America now.

 

[kevswords]

Part of my reason for keeping mine is because ATT seems to want me off it. I don’t trust them. Is there any difference between the old grandfather’d unlimited plan and the newer ones?

 

[mattopotamus]

I have a lot of trouble understanding this line of thought. Businesses raise prices on products and services all the time. There is thing called inflation, and it costs them more money to operate year over year. Do you want to sue the grocery store because chicken costs more this year than it did last year? Ha, there is some old person somewhere angry because a gallon of milk used to cost .20 cents.
We are getting a very entitled attitude here in America now.

exactly. They could just nuke the plan all together. They have no obligation to even keep it around.