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UPDATED: 6:06 p.m. February 19, 2008
AT&T, T-Mobile move to match Verizon's 'chatty' plan
Rivals' deals: unlimited cellphone calls for about $100 a month


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/19/08

Just hours after Verizon Wireless announced Tuesday a $99.99 unlimited calling plan for its gabbiest customers, two chief rivals -- AT&T and T-Mobile USA -- matched the offer.

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AT&T, whose wireless division is based Atlanta, said it would begin offering those customers who just can't seem to put their phones down a $99.99-a-month deal by Friday.

Like Verizon Wireless' plans, AT&T's will let its customers call at anytime, seven days a week, with no caps on minutes.

"This is a highly competitive market and we're committed to moving fast to meet customer needs," Ralph de la Vega, president and chief marketing officer of AT&T Mobility, said Tuesday in a statement.

T-Mobile followed suit soon afterward with a similar plan. Sprint Nextel Corp., which has tested unlimited plans in some states, reportedly was considering its options late Tuesday.

Verizon Wireless early Tuesday announced it was offering the new unlimited plan to get consumers who needed more minutes than have been traditionally offered, even with the most generous plans. The company estimated that target audience to be about 15 percent of cellphone users, or more than 30 million people.

Previously, MetroPCS and other smaller carriers offer unlimited calling, but only in specific cities and regions.

The nation's wireless companies are in a fierce battle for subscribers. AT&T is the nation's largest with 70.1 million subscribers. Verizon Wireless is close behind with 65.7 million customers. T-Mobile has 28.7 million subscribers, and Sprint had 54 million subscribers at the end of the third quarter, the latest figure available.

The quick responses by competitors to the Verizon Wireless move demonstrates the high stakes in the telecommunications industry, analysts said. Doing nothing would have allowed Verizon to steal high-volume users, they said.

"Just for defense purposes, the other carriers had to respond really quickly," said Roger Entner, senior vice president for the communications sector for IAG Research.

Entner guesses that Sprint, which had been widely rumored to have a national plan under consideration before Verizon beat them to the market, is probably looking at how to one-up the competition.

"The question for Sprint is how much?" he said.

Jeff Kagan, a metro-Atlanta based analyst, cautioned that consumers should keep this in perspective.

"This is an exciting day in wireless," he said. "But remember, this is only really for the small group of very heavy users. Not everyone. Not yet."

Comments

By runescape

Apr 21, 2009 4:12 AM | Link to this

anyting about it .i tink it would be gerat.runescape

By WOW GOLD

Oct 5, 2008 10:31 PM | Link to this

There will be a delay of up to 5 minutes before your comment appears.

By wow gold

May 13, 2008 12:44 PM | Link to this

ııııwow goldıııiıııııı+ı8ıııwow goldııwow goldıııìı9ıwow goldııwow goldıııìwow goldıı|ııwow goldıı·ııwow gold¤ı#ıwow goldıı~ııııııııv.6787671@WOWGOLDS.COM

By Aja Brooks

Feb 19, 2008 8:22 PM | Link to this

you can call if you want to hear my voice hahahahahhahaha

By Aja Brooks

Feb 19, 2008 8:18 PM | Link to this

My mother's Verizon wireless contracts are losing stock to my prepaid Virgin mobile work phone... wow. What innovative TRUTH!!!

By Aja Brooks

Feb 19, 2008 7:44 PM | Link to this

Uhh... we've updated 5 local metro counties on what it means to do business. We've text messaged to international pleas for peace.

Let's keep it up.

By Stupid Nick

Feb 19, 2008 5:51 PM | Link to this

Any word on pricing for the family plan?

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