Last week, AT&T introduced its newly revamped unlimited phone plans, but that’s not the only change to its services lineup. On a support page that went live around the same time, the carrier revealed that the prices of its “retired” unlimited wireless plans — the ones customers who haven’t upgraded are still using — will go up by as much as $20 starting next month.
AT&T is implementing two price changes in April. If your account with a “retired” plan has a single line, the price goes up $10. If you have two or more lines on an account, the price increase is capped at $20 for the account.
Perhaps to offset the sting, affected plans will get an extra 20GB of hotspot data each month. AT&T’s support page reads, “This change helps us continue providing reliable network service, quality products, and great customer experiences.”
In a statement to CNET, an AT&T spokesperson said, “We recognize that any price increase matters to our customers and their budgets. This increase reflects the real cost of continuing to deliver the speed, reliability, and support our customers expect every day.”
AT&T maintains that its new plans are priced competitively with other carriers’ plans and “better aligned with how our customers use our services.”
The change only applies to wireless plans activated prior to July 24, 2025, according to the support note. That includes legacy plans, not just the recently discontinued plans that the 2.0 plans replace.
It also means if you signed up for the company’s previous AT&T Value Plus VL, Unlimited Starter SL, Unlimited Extra EL or Unlimited Premium PL plan in the last half of 2025, this increase won’t apply to you.
The increases make it worth comparing prices between holding onto an existing plan or switching to the new plans. For example, this change makes the Premium 2.0 plan more appealing. When it was announced, the Premium 2.0 plan was more expensive than the older Unlimited Premium PL plan: $90 a month for a single line instead of $86, or $220 for four lines instead of $204. With the new price increase, keeping the Unlimited Premium PL plan will cost $96 a month for a single line and $240 a month for four lines.
AT&T isn’t the only one to change its plan pricing in the last few months. After Verizon replaced its CEO, it dropped prices across the board to be more competitive. And T-Mobile introduced a new limited-time Better Value plan priced similarly to its Experience More plan but with more perks intended to appeal to families.
If AT&T’s increases prompt you to shop around, we have recommendations for the best cellphone plan and the best unlimited data plan, as well as a comparison of AT&T and Verizon plans.
