AT&T to add unlimited family messaging
by Chris Ziegler 
posted Jun 12th 2007 at 2:15PM
The trend toward all-you-can-eat texting continues! Word on the street is that AT&T subscribers will be able to add unlimited messaging -- that's SMS and MMS -- to family plans for a penny shy of $30 starting next Monday, June 18, covering up to five phones. Unlimited times 5... that's, like, a lot of texts.[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
jennifer alvis @ Apr 25th 2008 1:20PM
My family has been with AT&T for about 8 years now. I want to talk about the "UNLIMITED" Family Messaging. We added this onto our package. The first bill was almost $700.00 when it's usually about $250.00. I called customer service to find out the problem. Melena told me that the charges were from sending photos because you had to use the internet to send them. I still had issues because the ad said nothing about needing a data package to be "free". I called back and talked to James. He said it's a misleading advertisement. Talked to Patrice, she said that wasn't true. Talk to Riley, he said he wasn't sure. Talked to Glen, he said you do get charged internet usage fees to send pictures. Spoke to Nick, he said he has family messaging and sends dozens of picture messages a week and is never charged. Who am I suppose to believe? Does anyone at Cingular know why they charge for half the things they charge for? Does anyone at Cingular know even what day it is? (Oh, Melena refunded $83.05 only with the condition that I put an Unlimited Data Package on the phones but found out later I didn't have to do that.)
Jay Singh @ May 7th 2009 2:47PM
I just got burnt cause of this stupid thing.
Jay Singh @ May 7th 2009 2:47PM
ONLY TEXT is free they charge for MMS which are larger than 300KB. It is not mentioned on their website.
elgee02 @ Jun 12th 2007 2:24PM
Just like the one Verizon Wireless came out with 2 months ago I see.
Will @ Jun 12th 2007 2:29PM
yep verizon added it 2 months ago...but i sure feel sorry for all those people that had to add an extra year to their contract. what kind of company does that kind of thing to their customers?!
elgee02 @ Jun 12th 2007 2:37PM
Huh? What the bloody hell are you talking about?
All it requires is a new 1 yr agreement from that day you change your plan, not tacking it on at the end of your already existing agreement.
Most of the people switched to this plan were still in the first year of their agreement, so their contracts weren't extended at all.
If you're gonna attempt to bash VZW, at least have correct information... damn dude.
Will @ Jun 12th 2007 2:49PM
still doesn't make sense...why not just make it an add-on? what kind of company honestly makes you change your contract just because your needs change over the course of 2 years, or simply because it has taken the industry too long to catch up with your needs?
Will @ Jun 12th 2007 2:51PM
and i'm sure most of the people were in their first year, it would be quite dumb for somebody with 6 months left on their contract to make a change that is gonna allow the company to stick it to them...good to see customers have more sense than Corporate
elgee02 @ Jun 12th 2007 3:14PM
It's not "sticking it" to our customers, if our customers didn't like it, they wouldn't do it. We tell them up front what is involved so there are no surprised. 99% of all customers who come in to switch to an unlimited messaging plan love VZW anyways, so whatever this adds to their contract doesn't bother them... the would stay with us anyways.
After all, we have been kicking AT&T tail in churn for the past 2 years ;-)
Will @ Jun 12th 2007 3:24PM
yes, they change...but dang, would you rather re-do your contract or pay hundreds, possibly thousands of extra dollars in text charges over that same period? they're still being ripped off no matter how you look at it and it has nothing to do with who's better between at&t and verizon. it has to do with ethics and how you treat your customers and you can't honestly tell me it sucks to be the customer in this situation
Dipset @ Jun 12th 2007 9:04PM
with sleazy tactics like that, it's no wonder the churn is low. red is a communist color though, isn't it?
elgee02 @ Jun 12th 2007 9:13PM
Lol you guys are funny... red = commie therefore verizon = bad, I bet you nailed the analogy section of the SAT didn't you? ;-)
Sleazy? I don't hear my customers complaining.
MobileMonkey @ Jun 13th 2007 4:17AM
I have both carriers because of my job but the Verizon version is still better even if you have to extend your contract. It is $20 more a month versus $30 if you look at it which adds up to $120 in savings a year.
ShortFuse @ Jun 13th 2007 9:28AM
Okay, a lot of you need to sit down and read the facts.
For indidual plan:
Verizon offers unlimited texting as another plan, for $20 more.
Cingular offers unlimited texting as a feature, for $20 month
For Family Plans:
Verizon offers unlimited texting as another plan, for $30 more.
Cingular offers unlimited texting as a feature, for $30 month
For Verizon, this means you might have to extend your contract another year to get on the plan or extend even get off the plan (because you'd have to switch plans again). For Cingular, you can decide to add it or drop it to your existing individual plan at any time. This doesn't affect phoone upgrades since something completely different.
Obviously Cingular has the "better" package for the customer but Verizon will make more money their way, having customer switch plans mid-contract.
Even if it's not required to extend the contract, the CSR always extend it unless you directly tell them not to. This happens a lot to the "average" customer. My friend wanted to get out of Verizon when the contact was over but when her dad switched the minutes on their family plan, they extended it 2 more years. Calling back and fighting it didn't matter. She'll have to wait till August 2008 now.
elgee02 @ Jun 13th 2007 12:51PM
Like I said, if you are still in the first year of your contract, there will be no extension.
Verizon Wireless' plan also does not affect phone upgrades.
dan @ Jun 12th 2007 2:24PM
that's, like, a lot of texts.... and way too much $$$
Stephen @ Jun 13th 2007 8:46PM
Less money than what I'd pay for unlimited texting on each phone.. My family uses 4 phones on AT&T's family share plan and onl one has unlimited texting because our bill would be in the upper $300's with the 3 that use the feature haveing it activated. This will be a lifesaver - for $10 more I can give everyone wory-free texting...
*Note:* Unlimited texting is currently ~$20 per phone on AT&T
Joe @ Jun 12th 2007 2:55PM
if you want unlimted messaging on a famly plan come to tmobile its only 19.95 and unlimted to anyone
Will @ Jun 12th 2007 3:02PM
what good is it to have cheap prices if you can't deliver signal to your customers outside of major cities? and STILL don't have 3g
The Pope @ Jun 12th 2007 3:06PM
First, T-mobile is $10 less, but you never get signal in half the places you are in. AT&T has much better coverage than T-mobile, so paying a little more is worth the cost. Besides, Rollover is still the best deal. Second, Will is right. Why should someone have to put up with having to get another year of service to just to change a feature. The only time you should have to renew a contract is if you want to get a new phone for a discounted price. The freedom that AT&T gives you to just add this on as well change any part of your plan is the best. Besides, most family plans usually pay more for texting now considering that odds are that each member of that plan has an individual texting plan ranging at least in the $10 range. $10 x 5 = $50 as opposed to $30 for unlimited across the board. You tell me which is the better deal.
Novey @ Jun 12th 2007 3:08PM
AT&T is losing to Verizon Wireless and i think that's why they're doing this. T-Mobile family plan is better than AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
The Pope @ Jun 12th 2007 3:15PM
Novey, I will give you that T-mobile gives you more minutes for the same price, but the coverage is key. T-mobile drops all over the place. AT&T is much wider coverage, plus 3G. T-mobile's Fav 5 will never compare to AT&T's rollover and their mobile to mobile coverage.
Mark @ Jun 12th 2007 3:21PM
Wow, I didn't know Engadget had such a lot of shills posing as commenters. There's Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile employees all shilling for their respective companies. Jeez.
Will @ Jun 12th 2007 3:38PM
ha, notice there's no Sprint guy here...i feel worse for them than i do T-mobile lol
Richard @ Jun 12th 2007 3:53PM
What good is rollover? If you are rolling over consistently that many minutes per month to make a difference, you are on the wrong plan. Change plans and save some dough.
Will @ Jun 12th 2007 3:58PM
that's not the point, most customers have a few months out of the year where they use more minutes...mostly around the holidays and kids during the summer. other than those few months they can consistently stay under 1 plan, well those minutes that they save up in those months help in the 2-4 months that they usually go over and keeps them from paying overages
Jason @ Jun 12th 2007 3:48PM
What, no Tracfone fanboys? Bueller? Bueller?
Joe @ Jun 12th 2007 4:45PM
if at&t is awesome with there coverage then why is it that tmobile is the one that wins the JD power for there network most people will pick there carrier for there cusotmer service not just there network anyway and again that goes to tmobile cause we have all of the JD Power awards at&t or VZW can say that.
Will @ Jun 12th 2007 5:13PM
you can have all the dang JD Power awards you want, the coverage sucks and you can't dispute that...in the south if you're not in ATL you have NO coverage. if customer service and pricing was such a deciding factor wouldn't T-mobile have at least twice the number of customers that they currently have? who wants a phone that they can't use when they travel?
Stephen @ Jun 13th 2007 8:46PM
And how about the fact that JD P&A awards are bought?
Joe @ Jun 12th 2007 5:21PM
there is a lot of places in the south we have service besides atlanta so im not sure where your getting your info form but you might want to check are coverage map at tmobile.com and im not going to say that the service is perfect but what carrier can say that
Will @ Jun 12th 2007 6:19PM
i get my info, bc i live in the south...yeah, how about checking out that coverage map. i-75 and i-10 are just about the only places covered. 1/2 of tallahassee doesn't have coverage...i know, bc i used to be a customer...worst 6 months of cell phone service ever
The Pope @ Jun 12th 2007 5:21PM
Will is right, T-mobile gets the customer service awards because they always have to credit their customers for minutes on all the coverage losses that they get. What good is getting all those minutes when you cant even get a signal and they are going to expire at the end of that month. It is pointless. When I had friends that had t-mobile, we would be driving on the freeway and they would need to use my phone to make a call because their t-mobile phone had no signal. Why pay for service you can't use. AT&T has more than double the subscribers than t-mobile, so you tell me who wins?
JeffNLA @ Jun 12th 2007 5:25PM
For my ignorance - is MMS just picture/video messaging or email type messaging?
Will @ Jun 12th 2007 6:16PM
just pic/video messaging
Robbie @ Jun 20th 2007 2:55AM
it can also be email type messaging
for example, you can email a picture to a cingular customer at theirphonenumber@mms.mycingular.com
you can also send a mms to a email address instead of a phone number from your handset
casey lewis @ Jun 12th 2007 5:41PM
ok so heres the deal as to why MOST people dont piss and moan about the extension and just another reason it make sense for OUR customers.....due to the large number of customers that have an employee or corp discount of some kind this plan works great and is WAY more cost effective...instead of your text pkg not being discounted NOW it is because the primary lines cost(which is what gets the discount) has the text package bundled into it therefore bigger dollar amount of a discount!! so congrats to Att for once again riding our coat tails and bringing up the REAR....ENJOY THE VIEW....
Will @ Jun 12th 2007 6:15PM
you keep believing that BS corporate tells you...there's no part of changing your contract that benefits the customer. don't be so naive. sure, we'll change that plan for u...but don't try to get another phone anytime soon! that's the part that's over looked...the customers in their last year of the contract end up having to wait even longer to get a new phone, when most phones don't last 2 years and they're now expected to wait longer
elgee02 @ Jun 12th 2007 6:26PM
Will stop spreading your lies, extending a contract DOES NOT push back the date a customer can upgrad their phone. You hear me?
IT DOES NOT PUSH AFFECT WHEN THE CUSTOMERS CAN UPGRADE THEIR PHONES, EVER!!
Seriously dude, that's pretty weak you gotta spread lies like that to bash VZW
Will @ Jun 12th 2007 6:29PM
yeah, like lies about how extending a contract is not bad for the consumer? RIGHT!
elgee02 @ Jun 12th 2007 6:44PM
No, it's a blatant lie that extending your agreement also pushes back when a customer can upgrade their phone with us, that is simply 100% not true.
Like I said, by a huuuge margin our customers do not mind that this is extending their contract, they would stay with us when their contract is up anyways.
I run into hardly any objections when I change customers plans to one of our unlimeted ones.
If this was a "terrible" as you claim it to be, our customers would be pretty upset with us about it... but ya know... they arent.
Will @ Jun 12th 2007 7:54PM
keep thinking that...i guess you probably believe there are only about 8 countries in the world since your new "world" blackberry works in 8 countries! what a joke, i can take an old tri-band phone to way more than that and a quad-band phone to almost 200 countries worldwide. don't guess upper mgnt at verizon ever took history or geography :/
elgee02 @ Jun 12th 2007 8:02PM
Will you are proving yourself to be more and more ignorant.
Our Blackberry 8830 does data in over 90 countries and voice in 160+ countries... resorting to blatant lies about VZW is really sad dude. I am sorry you hate us so much.
Will @ Jun 12th 2007 8:20PM
i was simply joking about the blackberry, i just knew it wasn't very many by t-mobile and at&t standards...yet it's a "WORLD" phone!
The Pope @ Jun 12th 2007 5:50PM
I will give to verizon for coming out with the package first, but it is a competive market and AT&T is doing just that, competing. AT&T knows it has to come out with it now that our biggest compeditor has it. When it comes right down to it, AT&T now has it, and they will not stick their customers with new contracts to get it. You say to enjoy the view? I will..... I will enjoy the view of my new iPhone come June 29th.
myke3630 @ Jun 12th 2007 6:47PM
Extending your contract doesn't change upgrade dates. Upgrade dates are changed by discounted phones only.
Richard @ Jun 12th 2007 7:03PM
It is true that the contract extension does not extend when you can actuaqlly get a new phone. And if you are eligible for a new phone/new 2yr agreement, that overides the one-year contract extension if you do a pp change. 800-2join-in my brother ;-)
Squirrels @ Jun 13th 2007 1:55AM
It really is a shame; I have a 9.99 unlimited any messaging (video, MMS, SMS) on a family plan. Why spend 30 when you can spend 9.99? It's called getting onto the bandwagon at the right time with the right company.
Rob @ Jun 13th 2007 4:28AM
First of all I the Verizon plan is still better because it only adds 20 a month to the plan instead of 30. Second, your upgrade qualification on Verizon doesn't get affected by changing plans. And third, at least Verizon has an early upgrade program if you want a new phone sooner. Oh, and I have Verizon, Sprint and AT&T so don't think I'm just trying to defend Verizon on this one.
Coasterjob @ Jun 13th 2007 7:42AM
I have T-mobile and absolutely love them. However, I am in ATL and no coverage issues. I have had T-mobile(powertel, voicestream) since 2000 and have never had any problems.
I have tried switching to VZW, Cing, Sprint, Nextel, and everytime end back up with Tmo becuase of the crazy azz contract terms.....reset my contract because I change my plan, or add internet, or up my msg plan? What? that's crazy!
It really boils down to customer service and value. That's why they win those awards, not because of OOS service credits. dumaz.
I have 2000min family plan, unlimited msg, and blackberry unlim for $129 a month, try finding that with any other carrier, I dare you. You can say what you want about coverage, but I have had no coverage issues that wouldn't be expected[tunnels, occasional marta station that's underground etc]
I actually work for one of the top 2 carriers, and yet I still choose to use another company's service because of it's *value*. You guys can argue who has the better plan, contract, but honestly, $30 for messaging is asinine, you guys need to know it's PURE profit and nothing but a revenue generator that really shoves it to the consumer. Making you commit that much longer to get shoved in the azz drives me nuts.