AT&T expands unlimited plans

AT&T yesterday announced two new unlimited plans and benefits to AT&T wireless customers who also subscribed to one of the company's pay-TV services - either DirecTV, or U-verse TV. 

In one of the plans, clled Unlimited Plus, the first unlimited line is being offered at $90 per month, with two lines available $145 per month, and each additional line for $20 per month.

AT&T wireless customers who also subscribed to an AT&T video product (either DirecTV, DirecTV Now, or U-Verse TV) would be eligible for $25 monthly bill credit on their DirecTV or U-Verse bill.

The plan also includes 10 GB of tethering per smartphone, which allowed connection of a tablet and other devices for $20 a month, and the ability to add premium video through DirectTV.

The second plan, Unlimited Choice is less expensive and offered lower rates with lower speeds. Video is limited to 480p or 1.5Mbps, and overall data connections capped at 3Mbps. The plan started at $60 per month for one line and $155 per month for four lines with no discount for AT&T video subscribers.

On both plans, after 22 GB of data usage per line, AT&T might slow speeds on the lines, during times of network congestion.

According to AT&T, the cheaper plan was ideal for customers who wanted to surf the web or for streaming standard definition (about 480p) video at a maximum of 1.5Mbps. The plan included unlimited text and data, and the pricing also factored in an AutoPay and paperless bill wireless discount.

USA Today quoted wireless analyst Jeff Kagan, ''AT&T is reinventing the traditional television space and wireless space and they're bringing them together in ways that no other carrier has before and creating a new marketplace.''

The offering from AT&T comes after competitors Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint also launched or updated their unlimited talk, text and data plans.