Toward the end of the 3rd quarter of 2022, AT&T held the largest share of the wireless subscription market, 44.8%, making it the leading mobile services provider in the U.S. Part of its success was its many product offerings tailored to different age groups, professions, and income levels. One is the AT&T Family Plan, a subscription plan designed to provide families with cost-effective options for their mobile communication needs.
Under the Family Plan, AT&T has three packages (Starter, Extra, and Premium). Standard features of these packages range from unlimited data, text, and talk between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, to access to AT&T’s 5G network, the most reliable in the U.S., to unlimited texting between the U.S. and over 200 countries. Also, subscribers can access several extra features like 4K UHD streaming, depending on the package.
However, it still has some drawbacks. For instance, some users reported throttled video streams in some packages. Therefore, it’s crucial to evaluate the plan’s suitability, factoring in your family’s needs, because one plan might not be ideal for everyone.
In this article, we’ll dive deeper into the pricing and details of the AT&T Family Plan. We’ll cover all you need to know about the packages to help you determine if they are worth considering.
AT&T Specifications
| Founded | October 5, 1983 |
| Founders | Bell Telephone Company |
| Products | Internet services, Mobile telephones, Satellite television, Fixed line telephones |
| Active users | 201.79 million (2021) |
| Area Served | Worldwide |
| Unlimited Premium Plan (4 lines) | $50/line |
| Unlimited Extra Plan (4 lines) | $40/line |
| Unlimited Starter Plan (4 lines) | $35/line |
| Mobile Network | 5G |
| Security | AT&T ActiveArmor Mobile Security |
©Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock.com
Brief History of AT&T
AT&T is the acronym for American Telephone and Telegraph Company, a telecommunications company with a history of excellent service provision dating back to 1983. AT&T began its operations as a subsidiary of the Bell Telephone Company, founded by Alexander Graham Bell, the telephone inventor. It was the sole provider of telephone services for a long time until 1984, when the United States broke it up into seven regional Bell operating companies.
Still, the company retained its long-distance services and expanded into other telecommunication areas like the internet, Cable TV, and wireless network services. Since its founding in 1983, it has been subject to several mergers and acquisitions, including that of Time Warner in 2018. This merger was what birthed WarnerMedia. As of 2023, it’s the world’s largest telecommunications company by market share, providing several products and services to its consumers.
About the AT&T Family Plan
The AT&T Family Plan provides a pool of data to be shared amongst multiple lines. Each line added to the plan will have its phone number but share the data, talk, and text with other lines. The plan allows up to five lines. Users can customize this plan according to their family’s needs and benefit from unlimited talk time, text, and mobile hotspot data.
Compared to individual plans, it offers more bang for the buck. That’s because the cost per line decreases with an increase in the number of lines. For instance, an individual unlimited Premium Plan would cost $85/month/line. However, adding a second line reduces the cost to $75, then $60 for a third line, $50 for the fourth line, and $45 for the fifth. And if you want to connect other devices to the plan, you can create a Wi-Fi hotspot and enjoy the allocated Hotspot data.
Besides being cheaper, the plan provides flexibility because families can share data across all lines, making it easier to avoid overages. For some packages, once you maximize the set premium data, AT&T might temporarily slow down your internet speeds, especially if the network is busy.
AT&T Family Plan: Different Packages Explained
Earlier on, we stated that the AT&T family plan has three packages:
- AT&T Unlimited Premium Plan
- AT&T Unlimited Extra Plan
- AT&T Unlimited Starter Plan
Each package has different features that make it ideal for different use cases. This section will discuss each offer’s features, pricing, benefits, and drawbacks.
AT&T Unlimited Premium Plan
The AT&T Premium Plan is the most popular package. It boasts several features designed to provide users with a seamless and enjoyable mobile experience. This plan costs $50 per line per month for the four lines option, bringing the charge to $200. However, if you were to include a fifth line, the plan would cost $45. While it’s the most expensive, it has the best features and perks.
Data
Because unlimited text and talk is a standard feature in all the packages, AT&T backs it up with unlimited high-speed data. Unlike other packages, this data never slows down, no matter how you use it. Users can consume as much high-speed data as they want without worrying about internet speed reductions or overage charges.
In addition to the unlimited internet speeds, the Premium Plan includes 50GB of Hotspot data for each line. You can use this data to tether devices like laptops, desktops, and cars to your phone’s internet connection. However, once you use the 50GB, AT&T will cap your internet speeds to a maximum of 128kbps for the remaining billing period. Data capping is a common practice among mobile phone carriers, and it aims at promoting fair usage and prevent network congestion.
Additional Features
Another feature that makes the AT&T Unlimited Premium Plan stand out is the unlimited talk, text, and high-speed data in 19 Latin American countries. This feature comes at no extra cost, making it an ideal choice for those who frequent Latin America.
Even more exciting is the 4K UHD streaming. While the ability to stream 4K UHD content depends on the user’s device and content availability, AT&T guarantees a stable internet connection that ensures this possibility. However, users need to know that 4K UHD streaming uses much more data than standard or high definition. As such, tethering other devices to the limited hotspot data and streaming such content means more data usage.
The plan also comes with a security app (AT&T ActiveArmor). This app provides advanced mobile security features, protecting your devices from unsecured public Wi-Fi, providing identity monitoring, and other features that ensure your data and identity is secure. And if you are part of the Signature Program, you can save up to $10 per month per line.
AT&T Unlimited Extra Plan
The Unlimited Extra plan is AT&T’s second most expensive package in this category, costing $40 for the 4 lines option.
Data
Like the Premium Plan, it offers unlimited text and talk. However, it caps its data at 50GB. This feature means that users can consume up to 50GB of high-speed data before they can experience any data speed reduction. Once they reach this threshold, AT&T might temporarily slow down data speeds. That’s especially true if the network is busy or there’s congestion. Besides the 50GB premium data, AT&T Extra Plan subscribers have access to 15GB of Hotspot data for each line. Users can tether to other devices until they exhaust the data, upon which the speed slows down to a maximum of 128kbps.
Additional Features
Like the Premium Plan, this package also includes AT&T’s ActiveArmor advanced mobile security. This free application provides users with security features like identity monitoring and public Wi-Fi protection to help keep their devices and personal information secure.
One limitation of the Extra plan is that it doesn’t offer UHD streaming. The available option is Standard Definition (SD), meaning users won’t have access to quality video streaming on their devices. Still, it is a sufficient option for users with low data needs or who don’t prioritize video streaming.
AT&T Starter Plan
The cheapest of the three is the Unlimited Starter Plan. This plan costs $35 per month per line when you get four lines.
Data
It grants users access to unlimited talk text and data. The unlimited data feature means that users can consume as much data as they need. However, the company may temporarily slow down internet speeds with high demand. While it’s a cheaper option, the limitations could impact user experience. That’s especially true if the user has high data usage needs. Besides the unlimited texts, talk, and data, there’s a 3GB hotspot data for each line every month. Like the Extra Plan, users can tether other devices, but once they maximize the set data, hotspot speeds slow down to a maximum of 128kbps. This plan is only ideal for light users or those not prioritizing data usage.
Additional Features
Another feature is AT&T ActiveArmor Security. While it’s the same app you get after subscribing to the other three packages, it doesn’t offer similar advanced protection features. With this plan, users can only access basic security features like spam call blocking. Video streaming is also not as glorified as the Premium Plan. You’ll only have access to Standard Definition streaming.
©TippaPatt/Shutterstock.com
AT&T Family Plan Pros and Cons
The following section discusses the overall pros and cons of the AT&T Family plan.
Pros
- Fast download speeds
- Good 4G LTE coverage
- Decent discounts
- Fast 5G network speeds in the select areas
- Good international perks
- High data caps compared to other providers
Cons
- Relatively expensive compared to other plans
- Hotspot allotments aren’t as generous
- Sparse 5G coverage
AT&T Family Plan: Is It a Buy?
The AT&T Family plan offers various benefits and drawbacks for consumers to consider before signing up.
Buy it if…
If you consume a lot of data for work, entertainment, etc.
The amount of data you get before a company implements caps is integral to your decision. Accessing high data speeds is crucial for users relying on their phones for entertainment, work, and communication. With AT&T’s Unlimted Premium and Unlimted Extra plans, users have access to high data caps with generously high speeds, making it the perfect choice for user who consume a lot of data.
For example, if you enjoy streaming high-quality music videos and games, the Premium Plan is for you. It promises unlimited high speeds regardless of how much you use the internet. Also, you don’t have to worry about throttled or reduced speeds because this package doesn’t have a limit. Even for packages that do, the data caps are so high. For instance, 50GB for the Extra Plan is quite generous.
If your devices are 5G compatible and you live in an area with 5G infrastructure.
AT&T’s 5G network is a powerful infrastructure that guarantees fast internet speeds. The company uses millimeter wave technology for its 5G Plus offering, ensuring speeds exceeding 100Mbps. While this speed is comparable to what you’d expect from your home internet connection, mobility matters.
Users can stream high-quality 4K videos on the go, and coupled with the low latency of the 5G network, gamers and users running augmented reality applications can have a seamlessly immersive experience. The only drawback is that AT&T’s 5G is only available in 45 cities for now. Still, as the 5G network continues to evolve, AT&T is well-positioned to meet the increasing demands of its businesses.
Don’t buy if…
If you are a single person who doesn’t need a lot of data or international perks.
While the AT&T Family Plan offers many benefits, it’s only cheaper if you want to use it with others. You’ll also notice that other providers like T-Mobile have relatively more affordable individual plans compared to what you’d pay AT&T.
If you don’t need international perks.
For starters, AT&T is relatively expensive compared to other providers. The high cost may be due to added features like unlimited international call rates. Now, if you don’t need such a feature, opting for another provider with cheaper rates would be best. Essentially, if you rarely leave the country or don’t have relatives living in other countries, you may not be getting your money’s worth with an AT&T plan.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock.com.
