Headquartered in Atlanta, AT&T GoPhone offers one of the more flexible prepaid plans of the major providers. They take full advantage of their national network and provide a comprehensive prepaid service.
Pros: Having both a true prepaid (pay-as-you-go) service and a monthly plan prepaid service helps AT&T appeal to a wider audience. Their rates are reasonable, and they offer ways you can save even more (like the one dollar per day fee, on days the phone is used, that reduces call rates to 10 cents per minute). Great phone selection. Having a national network is useful for those who travel frequently.
Cons: The rates are still a little higher than many other prepaid services.
Detailed Provider Information
Plans: AT&T offers two styles of prepaid service. Pay As You Go is a traditional prepaid service with three tiers. The first is 25 cents per minute. The second is 10 cents per minute, but requires a 1 dollar per day access fee, which is charged only on days the phone is used. Customers with this plan can enjoy unlimited mobile to mobile minutes, and can add unlimited nights and weekends for $19.99 per month. The final tier is unlimited calling, which costs $60 per month and includes unlimited minutes and text messaging. Pick Your Plan allows customers to purchase a package each month, similar to monthly contract plans. The difference is that the money is used for all services -- voice, messaging, data, downloads, etc. -- so each package is advertised as having "up to" a certain number of minutes. The first package costs $29.99 per month and offers minutes at 15 cents each, so up to 200 each month. The second costs $39.99 and offers minutes at 13.3 cents each, up to 300 per month. Customers with this plan can enjoy unlimited mobile to mobile calling and 500 free night and weekend minutes. The third package costs $49.99 and offers minutes at 12.5 cents each, up to 400 per month. Customers with this plan can enjoy unlimited mobile to mobile calling and 3,000 night and weekend minutes. The final package costs $69.99 per month and offers minutes at 10.8 cents each, up to 650 per month. Customers with this plan can enjoy unlimited mobile to mobile and unlimited night and weekend calling.
Customer Service: AT&T GoPhone offers customer service via a toll-free number or e-mail.
Credit Check: None
Contract: None
Payment Options: GoPhone offers nearly every payment option available. A credit card, debit card, or electronic check can be used on the website. Credit cards can be used to fund the account right from the phone (by dialing 611) or from a landline (toll free number). Cash, debit, credit, and check can be processed at an authorized AT&T dealer.
Text and Picture Messaging: Text messages are 20 cents each, to both send and receive, with the Pay As You Go and Pick Your Plan packages. However, bulk plans are available for both Pay As You Go and Pick Your Plan: $4.99 for 200 messages, $9.99 for 1,000 messages, or $19.99 for unlimited messages. Both plans support picture messaging for 25 cents each.
Data Plans: AT&T's data plan, MediaNet, is available with compatible phones. This is available in two tiers, $4.99 for 1MB of data, and $19.99 for 100MB of data, and can be used a la carte for 1 cent per KB.
Downloadables: AT&T GoPhone offers downloads to all of their prepaid subscribers. Ringtones, wallpaper, games, and graphics begin at $1.99.
International Calling: The WorldConnect Package is offered to AT&T subscribers for $3.99 per month. This is beneficial for those who frequently call internationally, as it lowers the pe-minute rate. For individual international calls, the rates start at 10 cents per minute. Check the website for details. International text messaging is also offered for 20 cents per outgoing message and five cents per incoming message.
Roaming Charges: AT&T offers its nationwide network to prepaid customers, so no roaming charges will be incurred with this service.
Calling Features: All basic call features are included with all plans: caller ID, call waiting, 3 way calling, voicemail, and call forwarding.
Activation Fee: None
Nationwide Long Distance: All calls made within AT&T's network are billed at the same rate. There are no extra long distance charges.
411 Calls: Directory assistance is available for $1.79 per call, plus airtime.
Earliest Minute Expiration: If you fail to purchase new minutes with AT&T's Pay as You Go, the expiration rate will vary. A 15 dollar card will expire after 30 days, a 25, 50, or 75 dollar card will expire after 90 days, and a hundred dollar card will stay active for a year. However, when new minutes are purchased, all minutes on that account are good until the latest possible expiration date. Pick Your Plan offers rollover minutes, but those minutes expire after being unused for one year.
911 Calls: Yes
Phones: Phones for AT&T GoPhone plans begin at $9.99. Many of them are refurbished models and are offered at a large discount. Nearly 100 phones are currently available, and more are always being added.Some Available Cell Models:
Nokia 2600 (pictured)
Samsung A137
Sony Ericsson w350
LG CP150
Sony Ericsson z310a
Motorola RAZR V3
LG CU405
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