It does seem to be the case that the prepaid market in the US is one which carriers are fighting fairly aggressively over. All of the carriers do offer prepaid services both directly and indirectly (through their related MVNOs and so on) and all of them including Verizon do seem to be looking to increase their share as more consumers move towards low-cost and no-contact solutions for their wireless services. In AT&T’s case, their prepaid services are most commonly encountered indirectly by way of their Cricket Wireless service and directly by way of their GoPhone service. Which, according to a new report out of FierceWireless today, is about to see some fairly big changes going forward.
Although not confirmed publicly by AT&T, FierceWireless is reporting that they have today received confirmation form the carrier that they will begin to introduce new family plans for their GoPhone service. As is the case with most family plans, the more lines you add, the more collectively can be saved off the monthly bill. However, in terms of AT&T’s reported GoPhone Family Plan service, there will be a limit with $20 seemingly the most which can be saved on a monthly basis. A figure which would require as much as five lines combined on the account.
The easiest way to digest the AT&T Family Plan is that AT&T will deduct $5 per month from the bill for every line that is added. So two additional lines will equate to a monthly saving of $10. It is also worth pointing out that not all GoPhone plans will be eligible to be Family Plans with the report detailing that the unlimited talk, text and 3GB data plan (typically $45) and the unlimited talk, text and 6GB data plan (typically $60) will be eligible. As such, if you do not currently subscribe to either of these plans, chances are the plan you are on will not be eligible.
It is worth keeping in mind, that these plans have yet to be confirmed by AT&T and so the details are liable to change. Although if correct, this does seem to be a clear indication that AT&T is looking to further establish its presence in the prepaid market by offering discounts for those who bring family members over and combine their plans into one straightforward paid service. Which in reality, is not only good for the carrier, but also for consumers.