Today AT&T announced a new customizable wireless plan that lets you choose the right features for you starting at $15 per month. The new "Build-a-Plan" is month-to-month and kicks off on Wednesday, May 27.
This new plan offering looks to put more control in subscribers' hands. According to AT&T's announcement, it's meant to give you more choice and control while offering lower prices compared to T-Mobile and Verizon.
One way it does this is by letting you customize your plan from month to month, rather than being locked into a single contract for a specified period.
"By giving our customers the freedom to tailor their wireless service month to month, we are giving them an affordable way to connect to America’s largest wireless network and still control their budget," said Jenifer Robertson, AT&T's executive vice president and general manager of AT&T Consumer.
How 'Build-A-Plan' works
Build-A-Plan starts at $15 a month, which includes unlimited talk, text and 1GB of data.
From there, you can add data from one of four tiers: 5GB, 15GB, Unlimited Data with SD video streaming, or Unlimited Data with HD streaming. The increased data selections replace the 1GB from the $15 base plan.
For those who need Hotspots, you can add 5GB, 25GB or 50GB data options.
At its most expensive, you could pay $70 a month for unlimited data with HD streaming, 50GB of hotspot data, and unlimited text and talk.
Personally, I rarely, if ever, need Hotspot data, so I would probably choose the 15GB data plan, which only costs $25 per month all in. For a major carrier, that's a great deal and even beats some of the best cheap cell phone plans, including offerings from Mint Mobile — our top pick.
As mentioned, though, if you know you'll need hotspot data or more data, like when you go on vacation, you can bump up or reduce your plan month to month as needed.
AT&T doesn't specify, but it appears you'll need to bring your own phone to the plan. The announcement and website also don't specify how current AT&T subscribers can switch to this plan.
An AT&T spokesperson told Tom's Guide that the plan is bring your device, which must be eSIM capable. Additionally, initially, the plan is meant for new customers but we were told that as the company gains insights it will refine the experience and exapand the plan to more customers.
Build-A-Plan officially goes live starting May 27, and you'll be able to sign up at att.com/plans/build-plan/.
