Pay Extra $5/Month Says AT&T To Grandfather Unlimited Data Customers

Back in the good old days, people could sign up for unlimited data plans if they had the means and stream, surf, or download whatever all day long. Now, carriers are forcing said customers to either ease up on the data use or face consequences. In the case of AT&T, it’s an additional $5 for those customers.

Several days ago, Verizon threatened unlimited data hogs that they were going to be kicked off their data plans if they didn’t switch to packages that wouldn’t allow them to download over 200GB of files. With AT&T raising the stakes for grandfather unlimited data customers, this brings the total of two major carriers that are putting the screws on some of their oldest consumers.

These moves are in direct contrast with what other companies are trying to accomplish, such as the promise by T-Mobile CEO John Legere that his company would make unlimited data more accessible to consumers, CNET reports. Considering the radical billionaire’s usual stance on greedy corporations trying to take advantage of customers, recent developments prove that he might have a point.

On that note, it’s not as if Verizon didn’t have a good reason for their decision. As Recon Analytics consultant Roger Entner pointed out, downloading 200GB of data a month is cause for suspicion. It’s just beyond the amount that normal users would even come close to consuming.

As for AT&T, the company has been encouraging its customers to drop their unlimited data plans and switch to what the carrier believes are more reasonable packages, Ars Technica reports. The company is saying that there are several benefits that come with switching packages, including the ability to turn devices into hotspots so that the connection could be shared with others in the vicinity. This is something that’s no longer available to grandfather unlimited data plans.