AT&T ditched unlimited data pricing for the iPhone in June of last year, eliminating their $30 unlimited data tier and giving new users the option of either a 200MB $15 plan or a $25 2 GB plan (with $10 per gigabyte overage fees). Now the company is informing users that they're raising these caps ever so slightly -- but they're also raising the price of wireless data. The cap on their lowest tier is being bumped from 200 MB to 300 MB, but the cost of the plan will now be $20. AT&T's $25 plan will now be $30, with the usage cap raised from 2GB to 3 GB. There's also a tethering plan for those too afraid to jailbreak their devices.
In short, AT&T users have three options now:
•AT&T Data Plus 300MB: $20 for 300MB
•AT&T Data Pro 3GB: $30 for 3GB
•AT&T Data Pro 5GB: $50 for 5GB, with mobile hotspot / tethering
Overages remain the same, with users on the Data Pro 3 and 5 GB plans paying a whopping $10 per each additional gigabyte consumed, while users on the Data Plus plan need to pay another $20 for each 300 MB of data consumed. AT&T says they've also changed their tablet data plans as well, with AT&T offering users either 3GB for $30 a month, or 5GB for $50 a month. So far AT&T's promised family plans, allowing you to pool data across family members or devices, is a no show.
Why the hikes now? "Our new plans are driven by this increasing demand in a highly competitive environment, and continue to deliver a great value to customers, especially as we continue our 4G LTE deployment," AT&T says in their press release. In reality, AT&T's concerned about Verizon's lead in LTE deployment, and a promotion Verizon's been running that offers
double data caps for the same price. Customers being hit in the face with ridiculously costly overages tend to leave, and AT&T's giving users a little more leg room to keep them around -- albeit in exchange for an overall price hike.