A little over a year after AT&T first launched its Mobile Share plans, the big blue carrier has announced some major changes to the pricing of its shared offerings. Dubbed Mobile Share Value, the new rate plans save smartphone customers that aren't in a contract some cash each month, flatten the monthly smartphone access fees and alter the prices of several of its data tiers.
First up are the no contract smartphone customers. Under the new Mobile Share Value plans, they'll end up paying $25 per month for access to a data bucket, while those customers that are locked into a commitment will pay $40 per month. Customers that either bring their own device, finish a two-year contract or sign up for AT&T Next are eligible for the $25 per month rate. Basic and messaging phones can be added to a Mobile Share Value plan at a rate of $20 per month.
AT&T has also altered the prices of some of its data tiers with the new Mobile Share Value plans. While some of the offerings have remained the same, like 300MB for $40 per month or 4GB for $70 per month, the 6GB plan will be $10 cheaper at a rate of $80 per month while the 10GB option is dropping $20 to a rate of $100 per month. It's also worth noting that some of the rates will increase under the Mobile Share Value plans, with the costs of both the 1GB and 2GB tiers increasing $5 per month to totals of $45 and $55 per month, respectively.
Finally, AT&T has announced a new tier of its Next upgrade program. Under the new AT&T Next plan, consumers will be able to stretch the cost of their new devices out over 26 months rather than the 20-month period of the existing Next plan, which will result in lower monthly payments. The new Next allows customers to upgrade after 18 months rather than the 12-month cycle of the original plan.
The new AT&T Mobile Share Value and AT&T Next plans will be available beginning this Sunday, Dec. 8. It's great to see AT&T giving a break to its no-contract customers and standardizing its monthly access fees, though it's also kind of disappointing that some of the smaller and likely more popular data buckets will actually get slightly more expensive under the new plans. For more on the new Mobile Share Value and AT&T Next offerings, you can find AT&T promotional page for the plans right here.
Via AT&T
