Plan Changes Timeline

Ting shows two plans by default — Flex and Unlimited 25 — and keeps Set 5, Set 12, Unlimited and Unlimited Pro behind a "See all plans" link. They are still purchasable, and all four are beaten by the $25 plan. Our earlier note that the lineup had collapsed to two plans was wrong: they were hidden, not retired.

Why it matters: Set 5 costs the same $25 as unlimited data, and the tier named Unlimited costs $45 for 22GB. Anyone comparing Ting on tier names rather than prices will pick the wrong plan, and existing customers on the legacy tiers are overpaying by $20–30/mo.

Patriot Mobile replaced its old 1/3/10/22/40GB ladder with four tiers, and repriced every one of them. The widely-syndicated ~$26 and ~$78 figures from third-party guides no longer describe any plan Patriot sells.

Why it matters: Any comparison built on the old five-tier ladder is wrong at every price point. We publish throttled-speed and activation-fee figures only when Patriot states them — the plans page does not, and third-party claims of a ~$30 activation fee remain unconfirmed.

PureTalk's top four plans all carry the same 50GB high-speed ceiling. Climbing from $34.99 to $64.99 buys hotspot data, phone discounts, and free extra lines — not more phone data.

Why it matters: It changes the recommendation: for most people the $34.99 plan is the whole plan, since $30 more per month doesn't lift the data ceiling. A promotional $15/mo rate on any plan ran July 8 to September 8, 2026, with the 20% military discount starting at month four.

T-Mobile is retiring Simple Choice, ONE, ONE Plus, older Magenta, and grandfathered Sprint-era plans, moving those customers onto Essentials, Essentials Saver, Experience More, Experience Beyond, or Better Value. The migration completes without customer action.

Why it matters: This is the largest single repricing of existing customers we've recorded, and it removes the option people were protecting — T-Mobile has said there is no route back to the retired plans. Notice periods have run about two weeks.

T-Mobile's current flagship structure is Experience More and Experience Beyond, both priced with taxes and fees included. The Go5G lineup they replaced is no longer sold, and legacy-plan holders have faced a series of price increases.

Why it matters: Taxes-included pricing makes T-Mobile's headline numbers directly comparable to MVNO all-in pricing, which the Big Three otherwise aren't. If you're on a legacy plan, the relevant question is whether staying still beats migrating after the increases.

AT&T's support page states the monthly charge on most retired unlimited wireless plans is increasing, landing on the August bill. Unusually, the increase comes with more data rather than nothing.

Why it matters: The rare increase that buys something. Whether it's worth paying depends entirely on whether the holder was near their old data ceiling — for light users it's a straight $10 to $20 loss, and cheaper AT&T-network plans exist either way.

AT&T's entry postpaid plan carries a 5GB high-speed cap before deprioritization, which makes it a narrow fit despite sitting inside the postpaid lineup.

Why it matters: At ~$70 for 5GB it's more expensive than most unlimited MVNO plans on the same AT&T towers. It only makes sense for Wi-Fi-first households that specifically need AT&T postpaid — otherwise Cricket or AT&T Prepaid are better value.

AT&T retired Unlimited Your Way on March 13, 2026 and replaced it with Value 2.0, Extra 2.0 and Premium 2.0, adding Elite 2.0 on April 16. Starter SL, Extra EL, Premium PL and Unlimited Ultra are no longer sold. Existing lines are not migrated automatically.

Why it matters: Our AT&T plan reviews were written on a discounted basis roughly $20–30 below list and have been re-based to list price with the AutoPay discount stated separately. The Unlimited Ultra review is now marked retired rather than deleted, since the plan still exists on customer accounts.

Verizon introduced a single flat-rate unlimited plan with full 5G Ultra Wideband and premium data on every line, rather than a tiered myPlan ladder — and dropped the per-line family discount structure along with it.

Why it matters: Flat per-line pricing inverts the usual math: Verizon plans normally get cheaper per line as you add lines, so Simplicity is strongest for one or two lines and comparatively weak for a family of four.

All myPlan tiers lock the base monthly rate for voice, text, and data for three years. The lock covers the base rate only.

Why it matters: The exclusions are the story. A locked base rate still allows the total bill to rise through fees and perk pricing, and switching plans restarts the clock — so it's weaker protection than taxes-included pricing from T-Mobile or an all-in MVNO rate.

Appalachian's own FCC broadband labels show Unlimited Pro and Unlimited Ultra as "LRA Network — Not available" — meaning the two most expensive plans have no Verizon nationwide roaming, while the two cheaper ones do.

Why it matters: This is the strongest differentiated insight we have on any regional carrier: paying more removes a feature. An earlier draft of our review cited $0.93 USF, $0.44 regulatory, a $40 contract access fee, and an ETF up to $720 from a stale label — all corrected against the current one.

Consumer Cellular reduced its 50+ unlimited rate twice over roughly six months — $50 to $40 to $35 — and made the final price permanent rather than promotional.

Why it matters: A permanent cut is different from a teaser rate, and it repositioned the plan against Verizon 55+ (Florida-limited) and AT&T 55+ (restricted eligibility). Cheaper unlimited exists, but not with this support quality.