AT&T launches unlimited calling to any mobile number
AT&T has dropped a major gift in to the laps of its customers today: unlimited free calling to any mobile number. — Of course, there are a few catches. The numbers do have to be based in the United States, but it doesn't matter which wireless network you're calling.
Context & Ripple Effects
AT&T has been circling 'unlimited' for years: it flung its cellphone network open to outside devices in late 2007, then rolled out an $99 unlimited plan in February 2008, and by March 2009 a startup was promising unlimited 3G data and VOIP as a wedge against incumbent pricing. What is new today is that unlimited now covers the call itself, across networks — not just AT&T's own subscribers.
The timing is competitive, not charitable. Verizon won the iPhone weeks ago after AT&T revealed it [[relationships:let Apple out of its iPhone exclusivity deal a year early]], and AT&T has been answering with Android commitments, 'Answer' ads touting simultaneous voice-and-data on HSPA phones, and Wi-Fi hotzones to relieve congested cell sites — while fighting a class action alleging it overbilled iPhone and iPad users for data.
First-order effects
- AT&T customers can now place free unlimited calls to any US mobile number on any wireless network, removing cross-carrier minute charges as a reason to leave or to ration calls.
- The move lands directly against Verizon's just-launched iPhone, giving AT&T a talking point for switchers alongside its simultaneous voice-plus-data advantage on HSPA handsets.
Second-order effects
- Rivals like Verizon and T-Mobile face pressure to match network-agnostic free calling or reposition their pitch entirely around data, since voice differentiation collapses once one major carrier gives it away.
- With minutes devalued, AT&T steers customer attention and billing toward data plans — awkward given the pending class action over alleged data overbilling on iPhones and iPads.
Third-order effects
- If voice-to-any-mobile keeps trending free across carriers, US mobile pricing structurally migrates from metered minutes to metered data, with unlimited voice becoming a table-stakes bundle feature rather than a premium tier.
- Cross-network free calling erodes the last consumer-facing penalty for switching between carriers, sharpening competition on devices and data quality instead of on-network loyalty.
The trend: US carriers are unbundling voice from value — first unlimited within-network, now free across networks — as competition shifts decisively to data plans and smartphones.