AT&T launches cheaper family plans; could save current customers $40 to $100 per month

AT&T has just launched a new “Mobile Share Value Plan” for families and small businesses, which gives both new and existing AT&T customers an option to share unlimited talk and text, and 10GB of data starting at $130 for two smartphones.

Based on AT&T’s pricing table, it looks like you’ll be paying $100 for the unlimited talk and text, and 10GB of data, and $15 for each smartphone (and up to 10 smartphones for small businesses).

Existing AT&T customers on a 2-year contract are also eligible to move this family plan. They could end up saving between $40 and $100 per month, depending on their current plan. However, there is a caveat:

Customers who choose to upgrade at the end of their current agreement are required to sign-up for NEXT, bring their own device or purchase a phone a full retail price in order to keep this plan.

Verizon is currently offering a comparable plan for $260 per month. AT&T is also offering new and existing customers a $100 bill credit for each new line of service for a limited time.

AT&T seems to be feeling the heat from T-Mobile’s Uncarrier 4.0 program.

Let me know if you save any money with AT&T’s new family plan.

[Via AT&T]

AT&T Will Release Law Enforcement Request Data in 2014

Never let it be said that AT&T and Verizon don’t follow each other’s leads. Just one day after Verizon announced it would start publishing a semiannual transparency report that details all of the law enforcement requests it receives, AT&T announced that it would being doing the same in early 2014. The carrier’s report will include info on the total number of law-enforcement data requests received from the government in criminal cases, the number of subpoenas, court orders, and warrants received, and the total number of customers affected. The first report issued should cover all of the requests from 2013. AT&T also reiterated that it ensures all data requests and its responses are “completely lawful and proper in that country” and that it doesn’t allow the government direct connections or access to its network or customer information.

Read the full story at The Verge.

T-Mobile Jump, AT&T Next, Verizon Edge: Which Saves You the Most Money?

Within the space of little more than a week, three of the largest carriers in the US have introduced completely new plans to go alongside traditional contract agreements and prepaid services. T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon Wireless, with their new plans called Jump, Next, and Edge, respectively, are all going after the same thing: subscribers who want to get the newest smartphone as quickly as possible. That’s not the only thing that brings these new plans together, however. They’re all extremely complicated. And make no mistake, carriers like it that way – it’s easier to overcharge if customers don’t know it’s happening. So let’s untangle the secrets behind these plans to see which (if any) are a good deal. The best way to analyze these plans is to take a real-world example. For the charts below, we’re looking at what you’d expect to pay for a Galaxy S4 on each of these carriers using one of their new plans.

Read the full story at The Verge.