AT&T debuts $100/mo “unlimited” data plan that doesn't require DirecTV subscription, but speed is throttled after 22GB usage; additional lines cost $40/mo each
AT&T on Thursday announced an expanded version of its unlimited data plan that does not require an additional subscription to a pay-TV service.
Context & Ripple Effects
When AT&T brought back unlimited data in early 2016, it was gated behind a DirecTV or U-verse subscription — a deliberate push to prop up its pay-TV base. That gate is now gone: the new $100/month plan stands alone, with additional lines at $40 each.
The move lands four days after Verizon launched its own unlimited plan at $80/month, ending Verizon's years-long refusal to offer one, and against T-Mobile's $70 unlimited plan that has been pressuring both rivals since last summer. AT&T is also hedging on the TV side, having launched DirecTV Now streaming with bundled mobile data late last year.
First-order effects
- AT&T can now sell unlimited data to the growing pool of cord-cutters it previously locked out, competing head-to-head with Verizon's $80 plan and T-Mobile's $70 plan without requiring any TV attachment.
- Existing DirecTV/U-verse subscribers lose their exclusivity advantage — the bundle perk that justified keeping pay-TV is now available to everyone at a flat price.
Second-order effects
- With headline prices stacked at $70/$80/$100 across the three carriers, competition shifts to multi-line math and fine print — AT&T's $40/additional line versus Verizon's $45/four-line structure becomes the real comparison shoppers run.
- Verizon and T-Mobile must respond on video-quality and tethering terms rather than caps, since all three now throttle around the same 22GB congestion threshold AT&T set back in 2015.
Third-order effects
- 'Unlimited' is becoming the industry's default postpaid structure with a de facto soft cap near 22GB, meaning carriers compete on network priority, video resolution, and bundled services instead of data allowances.
- For AT&T specifically, decoupling wireless from DirecTV signals that content distribution will be sold à la carte through streaming (DirecTV Now) rather than forced via subscription requirements — an unbundling pattern likely to spread across carrier-TV bundles if the plan sells.
The trend: US carriers are converging on 'unlimited' plans with hidden speed thresholds as the standard postpaid product, shifting competition from data caps to price-per-line and video bundling.