AT&T Sweetens Offer for Family Plans

AT&T, the second largest American phone carrier, said it would offer a cheaper phone plan for families with multiple devices. It was AT&T’s latest big move amid intense competition coming from rivals, especially T-Mobile US.

Under the new plan, AT&T is offering families unlimited minutes, unlimited texting and 10 gigabytes of data to share among themselves. The price for monthly service depends on the number of phone lines in the family. A family of two can pay $130 a month, a family of three can pay $145, a family of four can pay $160 and any additional line after that will cost an extra $15. Customers who are brand-new to AT&T either have to sign up for AT&T’s Next program, which allows the customer to spread payments of the device over up to 26 months; bring their own device; or pay for the full price of the phone. So the new family plan may be more expensive than some of AT&T’s other plans if each family member chooses a high-end smartphone. But it can be a good deal for families where at least a few people — like the children — choose cheaper smartphones.