AT&T's grandfathered unlimited data dates to the era when the iPhone was exclusive and unlimited was the default. Holders have kept it through a decade of pressure to migrate. The question isn't whether it was a good plan — it was — but whether it's still better than what AT&T's own prepaid brands sell on the identical network today.
How to tell if you're on it
The plan won't map to anything in AT&T's current postpaid lineup — not Value 2.0, Extra 2.0, Premium 2.0, or Unlimited Ultra. It shows on the bill under a legacy name with unlimited data as its own line item. If the plan-change screen won't offer it back to you, it's grandfathered.
What it costs you now
Total the line: base rate, per-line access charge, administrative fee, and regulatory recovery. As with any legacy plan, the protection tends to cover the advertised rate rather than the charges around it, so the all-in figure is the one to carry into any comparison.
What the same network costs today
- PureTalk — $24.99/mo for 7GB, or $34.99/mo for unlimited with a 50GB high-speed ceiling. AT&T network, online only. Taxes extra.
- AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Enhanced Plus — $45/mo on AT&T's own prepaid brand.
- Cricket Supreme Unlimited — $60/mo ($55 effective with AutoPay), and the only plan on this list with QCI 8 priority data that doesn't slow during congestion. 50GB hotspot, HBO Max with Ads included. AT&T-owned.
- Cricket Smart Unlimited — $50/mo ($45 with AutoPay), 15GB hotspot, deprioritized during congestion.
Why T-Mobile is doing this
The plans being retired were built for a 3G and 4G network that no longer reflects what T-Mobile operates, and they sit outside every pricing structure the company sells today — which makes them both an accounting nuisance and the cheapest seats in the house. Legacy customers are also, by definition, the ones who don't shop: they stayed through years of better-marketed offers. That combination is why retired plans have become the industry's preferred place to find revenue, and it's the honest answer to "why now" — not the network-modernisation framing in the announcement.
The honest case for keeping it
- You're a genuinely heavy user and your plan still isn't throttled — worth confirming rather than assuming, since throttling thresholds were applied to legacy unlimited plans years ago.
- You tether a lot on an unlimited allowance; every current AT&T-network plan meters hotspot separately.
- Multi-line legacy pricing whose total can't be reproduced today.
- An employer or association discount, e.g. AT&T Signature-style programs, that a plan change would end.
The honest case for leaving
- You use under 30GB. PureTalk at $34.99 covers that comfortably on the same towers.
- You're paying more than $50 all-in for a single line, where Cricket Supreme gives you priority data for less.
- Your speeds already fall off past a monthly threshold, which means you're paying unlimited prices for capped service.
- You want a bill that doesn't drift — MVNO pricing is published and stable in a way legacy postpaid pricing has not been.
Priority data, hotspot, and price for each one — including AT&T's own prepaid brands.
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Jean Gilles has researched personal finance, consumer technology, and wireless pricing for over a decade. He founded ShopCellPlans in 2019 and writes every review on the site.
Frequently asked questions
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