AT&T simplifies its Mobile Plans, offers free calls and texts to Canada and Mexico

AT&T just announced new Mobile Share Value Plans that go into effect tomorrow. According to AT&T, customers will get more data out of these plans. That might be true for some customers, but AT&T has cut some of its tiers in an effort to simplify things.

AT&T will now offer five buckets: 300mb for $20 per month, 2GB for $30 per month, 5GB for $50 per month, 15GB for $100 per month, and 20GB for $140 per month. The carrier was offering a 1GB plan for $25 per month and a 3GB plan for $40 per month, but the 2GB plan replaces it. So customers who are currently on the 1GB plan can grab 1GB extra for only $5, but it’s not that much of a deal if they don’t need it. The 6GB and 10GB plans are now also absent — those were $70 and $100 per month respectively.

The best deal by far is the 15GB tier, which replaces the old 10GB plan for the same $100 per month. Customer get an additional 5GB of data at no extra cost. This is obviously aimed at families rather than individuals.

The carrier also mentioned the availability of higher data plans such as 25GB, 30GB, 40GB, 50GB, and even 200GB for business customers. However, no pricing was announced.

AT&T said that all of these rates are for a limited time, and customers will not automatically switch to the new tiers. You will need to visit AT&T online or stop in a store to change plans.

In addition to the data deals, AT&T will also include unlimited calls and texts to Canada and Mexico at no additional charge to customers who choose the 15GB or 20GB plans. This is in response to T-Mobile’s Mobile without Borders and Sprint’s Open World announcements.

All plans are still subject to a monthly access charge per phone. Those rates remain the same and are $40 per month for 2-year contract customers, $25 per month for AT&T Next customers, and $15 per month for AT&T Next Customers on a 15GB or higher plan. AT&T Next customers buy their phone at full retail and pay monthly installments, whereas contract customers pay a discounted price for their phone, but commit to a 2-year contract.

AT&T did add a disclaimer that contract pricing is only available in select locations, which is an obvious hint that the carrier will eventually abolish contract pricing. Verizon Wireless ditched contracts as of yesterday.

AT&T announced another deal earlier in the week. For a limited time, Directv and AT&T U-verse TV customers can receive a $300 bill credit for each line they port over from another carrier. In addition, these same customers will also receive $200 in credit for each phone they trade in.