How the Major Unlimited Data Plans Stack Up

February 17, 2017 by Chris Lange

It did not take long, but all the major players in the telecom industry have been whipped into a frenzy following a cascade of new unlimited data deals. Although there is a big fight in the space to grab as many customers as possible, the question remains which company is actually offering the best plan.

24/7 Wall St. took a peek at plans from Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) and Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S). We have also provided some of the key highlights from each plan. In a separate post we looked at which companies offer the best service.

Although there is no cap to the unlimited data plan, there is a speed limit for the first 22 gigabytes (GB) across the board. Sprint waits until 23 GB and T-Mobile waits until 28 GB before the companies start throttling the data.

Also each company also does not charge for HD streaming.

For a plan with four lines the total cost (cost including taxes and other expenses) was:

  • Verizon had total costs of $180, ($200).
  • AT&T had total costs of $180, ($200).
  • T-Mobile had total costs of $160, ($160).
  • Sprint had total costs of $160, ($175).

It’s worth pointing out that T-Mobile’s plan encompasses all taxes and fees, while the other three companies do not.

Sprint includes 10 GB per month of mobile hotspot data per line, with Verizon and T-Mobile granting 10 GB in total. AT&T is the black sheep here, as mobile hotspot data is only available through the unlimited data plan when connected to an in-car system.

Shares of Verizon were trading at $48.25 on Friday, with a consensus analyst price target of $52.23 and a 52-week trading range of $46.01 to $56.95.

AT&T shares were trading at $40.86, in a 52-week range of $36.10 to $43.89. The consensus price target is $42.24.

Shares of T-Mobil were last seen at $60.07, with a 52-week range of $34.87 to $63.68 and a consensus price target of $63.88.

Sprint was trading at $8.92. The consensus price target is $7.28, and the 52-week range is $2.87 to $9.65.

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