AT&T’s $180 family plan with unlimited data on 4 lines

The cell phone space is going through continuous change to the benefit of consumers everywhere.

T-Mobile was the real gamechanger in the industry and shifted the landscape, which forced others to adopt. Now AT&T is the latest to do so. There’s actually a history of bad blood between T-Mobile and AT&T. Two years ago, AT&T had the head of T-Mobile roughly removed from a CES event in Las Vegas. That only got T-Mobile more publicity as the renegades looking out for consumers.

Now AT&T is saying, “Wait, we’re looking out for the consumer too!”

AT&T latest salvo in the cell phone wars

So starting January 12, USA TODAY reports that AT&T will be offering a family plan where you get four lines for $180. And get this: Every line has unlimited data. With people streaming more and more video content, having that unlimited data has become key. Because if you’re on a metered plan, a teenager or tween can run up an overage of a thousand dollars in a single month on his or her phone!

As far as the AT&T offering, there is one hoop to jump through: You have to get home TV service from their wholly owned subsidiary DirectTV at a separate monthly charge. If you sign up for that, you will get the unlimited data deal on the wireless side.

So this offer is really a step back to unlimited data from the cell phone carriers, and it’s where we were just a few years ago. Expect to see more bundled offers like this from other technology players in an effort to compete with Google Fiber.

In a lot of ways, this latest offering is AT&T’s response to Binge On. Back on Nov. 15, T-Mobile rolled out Binge On, a new initiative that lets people on qualifying plans stream unlimited video from mainstream providers like Netflix, Hulu and many more without it counting against their data cap. For a complete list of participating content providers, click here.

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