AT&T Just Reshuffled Its Unlimited Lineup. Here’s What You’re Getting (and Paying)

AT&T is unlimited phone programming has just undergone a major upheaval. The operator has replaced its existing plans with 2.0 versions that generally pack more features for less money, a notable improvement once you take into account the recent price hike of older, now-retired plans. But the 150 year old company didn’t stop there: it also launched a new flagship product floor aimed directly at customers willing to pay a premium.

If you’re an AT&T customer suddenly bombarded with notifications about the upgrade, or if you’re looking to switch from another operatorhere is an overview of the new offers.

These plans replace the AT&T Value Plus VL, Unlimited Extra EL and Unlimited Premium PL plans. The operator also removed its Unlimited Starter SL plan, which served as an entry-level plan (you had to know where to look to find the limited, but cheaper, Value Plus VL plan).

Keep in mind that AT&T plans allow each person with an account to have their own plan. So you can set up a plan where one person has the Premium 2.0 plan for unlimited 5G speeds and another, like a child, is set up with the Value 2.0 plan to save money.

Additionally, if you are on a current AT&T plan, you will not automatically be transferred to one of the new plans. If you want to take the plunge, you’ll have to pay a line activation fee of up to $50. And keep in mind that the price below is the autopay amount; Carriers offer a discount (usually $10) if you sign up for automatic payments.

An interesting change is that the new plans are priced with round numbers. For example, the Value Plus VL plan was priced at $50.99 for one line and the Value 2.0 plan was priced at $50 (in the comparisons below, I’ve rounded the old prices to dollar amounts). Taxes and fees add to that, so you’ll never see a round bill, but I’d like to think it’s a quiet acknowledgment that pricing a penny lower than a higher figure is insulting to customers.

Let’s get into the details.

Value 2.0, the budget plan

The Value 2.0 plan replaces both the Value Plus VL plan and the retired Unlimited Starter SL plan and costs $50 per month for a single line or $120 per month when you have four lines on the account. That’s $1 per line cheaper than Value Plus VL.

For this, you get 5GB of high-speed 5G data, then unlimited data which can be slowed down depending on network congestion. Calls and texts are unlimited.

You can also use up to 3GB of high-speed hotspot data to share the cellular connection with other devices, slowed down to 128Kbps after reaching the limit. The Value Plus VL plan did not offer hotspot data.

It also includes unlimited calls, texts and data between the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Extra 2.0, faster data for not much more money

The Extra 2.0 plan costs $70 per month for a single line or $160 per month for four lines, which is $6 less for one line and $4 less for four lines compared to the old Unlimited Extra EL plan.

The Extra 2.0 plan includes 100 GB of high-speed data, which may be temporarily reduced if the network is congested. That’s a boost from the 75GB offered on the Unlimited Extra XL plan.

For hotspot data, the new plan includes 50GB of high-speed data, which is 20GB more than its predecessor. After 50 GB, the speed drops to 128 Kbps for the rest of the month.

As with the Value 2.0 plan, international options include unlimited talk, text, and data between the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Premium 2.0, for everything faster

The Unlimited Premium PL plan is replaced by Premium 2.0, which costs $90 per month for a single line and $220 per month for four lines. These prices are actually higher than the Unlimited Premium PL plan, which was $86 for a single line and $204 for four lines. With the old rate increase, these amounts become $96 for a single line and $224 for four lines.

For that cost increase, you get unlimited calls, texts, and 5G high-speed data without throttling, as well as 4K streaming resolution (although media streams will be streamed in standard definition until you enable the higher option).

Hotspot data has a limit of 100 GB before dropping to a speed of 128 Kbps, which is 40 GB more than the Unlimited Premium PL plan.

As for international calls and data, unlimited calls, texts and high-speed data are available in 20 Latin American countries.

AT&T also offers cellular tablets ($21 per month) and wearable devices like smartwatches ($11 per month). If you subscribe to the Premium 2.0 plan, this price is reduced by 50%.

Elite 2.0, for even more performance

AT&T must have figured that some customers – likely frequent travelers – want even more than what Premium 2.0 offers. The Elite 2.0 plan costs $110 per month for a single line and $300 per month for four lines.

This includes unlimited 5G talk, SMS and high-speed data without throttling and streaming resolution in 4K, just like Premium 2.0.

Hotspot data jumps to 250GB before slowing down to a speed of 128Kbps, giving you a comfortable cushion to share your connection with a nearby laptop or other devices.

Unlimited international calls and texts extend to 210 countries, with 20GB of data to work with before speeds drop to 512Kbps.

The Elite 2.0 also includes data access for a cellular smartwatch and tablet.

On top of that, Elite 2.0 includes AT&T Turbo, the company’s optional add-on that prioritizes high-speed data when streaming, gaming, and video calls. Normally, AT&T Turbo costs $7 per month (and is different from AT&T Turbo Livea separate feature.)

Some thoughts on the new AT&T plans

What AT&T’s plans lack, at least compared to other carriers, are streaming benefits or bundled services. The 4K streaming option on the Premium 2.0 and Elite 2.0 plans opens up a wider data pipeline for services like Netflix that support 4K playback, but you still pay separately for those entertainment subscriptions.

On the other hand, T-Mobile bundles Netflix and Hulu (both with ads) and offers Apple TV for an additional fee on its Experience Beyond and Better Value plans. Verizon takes a different approach with streaming packages, which you can choose at discounted prices instead of subscribing to them separately.

I also want to mention that I’m glad that plan names are no longer loaded with VL, EL, and PL extensions. Mobile plans are full of details as is – always read the fine print before signing up for one – so I enjoy conveying them to customers in a way that doesn’t feel like internal spreadsheet codes.

Even though the new plans have 2.0 version numbers, I would honestly rate them more like 1.5 based on their features and prices, with the exception of the Premium 2.0 plan, which is more expensive than the Unlimited Premium PL plan. As usual, if you’re happy with the plan you’ve chosen, you can stick with it, but be sure to factor in April’s $5, $10, or $20. increase in prices for old packages. But if you’re facing high-speed data caps or considering AT&T as a replacement for another carrier, it’s worth looking into the details to see if one of the new plans works for you.

Learn more: Speaking of AT&T, March 10 marked the 150th anniversary of first phone calland the company is committed to spending 250 billion dollars on improving infrastructure. I also spoke with AT&T FirstNet people at the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix on how they support customers and first responders during high-profile events like the Formula 1 race.