AT&T Prepaid
| Industry | Wireless telecommunications |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | United States |
Area served | United States Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Products | Mobile telephony |
| Parent | McCaw Cellular (1987-1994) AT&T Inc. (1995-present) |
| Website | www |
AT&T PREPAID (formerly GoPhone) is the brand name of prepaid mobile phone service from AT&T Mobility, a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc.
The GoPhone name and product were originally conceived and implemented by McCaw Cellular by its founder Craig McCaw and first used in commerce in 1987 by his company. It was later bought by AT&T in 1995 and used by the pre-2004 "AT&T Wireless" after Cingular's purchase of AT&T Wireless in 2004 for $41 billion.[1] At that time, Cingular was jointly owned by SBC Communications (Southwestern Bell Corporation) of San Antonio, Texas, which owned 60 percent, and BellSouth of Atlanta, Georgia.[1]
The original GoPhone service was discontinued and Cingular renamed its prepaid services under GoPhone. The GoPhone brand name is still in use even after "Cingular" renamed itself "AT&T Mobility" until 2017 when it was rebranded AT&T PREPAID.[2]
Network
2G Shutdown
AT&T announced to both Postpaid and AT&T PREPAID (formerly GoPhone®) customers of a permanent 2G GSM 850/1900 MHz network shutdown as of December 31, 2016.[3]
AT&T Requires at least the minimum 3G support for all devices on its network.[4]
- 3G WCDMA/ UMTS/ HSDPA/ HSPA+ network – 850/1900 MHz Bands 2 & 5 (minimum requirement for nationwide service)
- 4G LTE network – 700/850/1900/1700/2100/2300 MHz Bands 2, 4, 5, 12, 17, 29, 30, 40, 66
Domestic Roaming
Prepaid customers are restricted to AT&T Network only when in the US and can't access roaming partner networks. So in areas without AT&T native coverage customer's phones will not work.[5] This does not affect international roaming in Canada and Mexico for the plans that include it.
Stream Saver
Starting in early 2017, AT&T started to add Stream Saver both postpaid and prepaid accounts.[6] Stream Saver lets customers watch more video on your wireless phone or tablet while using less data, by streaming most higher definition video at standard definition quality, similar to DVD (about 480p).
Pay As You Go plan
The AT&T PREPAID Pay As You Go plan allows users to refill their airtime at their own leisure by purchasing prepaid cards, or one of several airtime packages available through their refill site. AT&T PREPAID devices can connect to AT&T's UMTS/HSPA+/LTE networks. Some AT&T PREPAID plans have expanded messaging services to included with no extra fees. Text messaging is unlimited to the United States, Canada, and over 100 countries while using the AT&T PREPAID service within the United States.
Current Offers[7]
Monthly Plans (30 Days of Use)
| $30/mo. | $35/mo. | $50/mo. | $65/mo. | $85/mo. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| With AutoPay discount | $25/mo. | $30/mo. | $40/mo. | $55/mo. | $75/mo. |
| Data | Wi-Fi or buy a Data Add-On | 1GB
After high-speed data allowance is used, data speeds are slowed to a max of 128Kbps for the rest of the term. |
8GB
After high-speed data allowance is used, data speeds are slowed to a max of 128Kbps for the rest of the term. |
Unlimited
For all data usage, you may temporarily experience reduced speeds during times of network congestion |
Unlimited
After 22GB of data usage on a line in one monthly term, for the remainder of the term you may temporarily experience reduced speeds during times of network |
| Mobile hotspot | No | Yes | Yes | No | After 10GB, hotspot speed limited to max of 128Kbps. For use in U.S. only. |
| Stream HD video (up to 1080p)
HD quality when available with Stream Saver turned off |
Yes, if Data Add-On is purchased | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Unlimited talk & text to Mexico & Canada
(min. 50% U.S. usage required) |
No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Use talk, text & data in Mexico & Canada
(min. 50% U.S. talk and text usage required) |
No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Other Plans
- $2 DAILY - Unlimited nationwide talk & text Pay only on days used.
- 25¢ PER MINUTE - For all nationwide calls.
Voice Mail
GoPhone accounts include Basic Voicemail and Visual Voicemail for compatible smartphones. Incoming calls to unreachable AT&T PREPAID phones are automatically routed to voice mail. Unanswered incoming calls are automatically routed to voice mail as well. These calls normally do not trigger a daily fee or airtime usage.
Bring Your Own Device "BYOD"
The majority of AT&T's PREPAID customers bring their own non-branded devices.[8][9]
APNs
Apple Devices have built in carrier settings that can be downloaded on demand for any approve Apple Carrier so manual setting changes are not required;[10] However most androids and other phones do require manual programming of the carrier's APNs.
Simple APN Definition
A set of instructions that tells the phone or device how to talk to your carrier’s data network.
APN Tables
Basic Phone and Quick Messaging Devices[11]
| Cellular Data | MMS | ||
| Mobile Internet | http://device.home | Gateway | wireless.cingular.com |
| Protocol | HTTP | Port | 80 |
| Proxy Address | Wireless.cingular.com:80 | MMSC/Server Address | http://mmsc.cingular.com |
| Proxy Port | 8080 | Connect Via | Mobile Internet |
| Linger/Time Out | 300 | Sending Limit | 600k |
| Service Name | MMS | ||
| User ID | Leave Blank | ||
| Password | Leave Blank | ||
3G UMTS and HSPA+ Devices (including device that lack support for AT&T's LTE Bands 12/17, 14, 29, 5, 4, 66, 2, 30)[12]
| Data settings | Smartphones | Tablets |
| Name | ATT Phone | ATT Broadband |
| APN | Phone | Broadband |
| Proxy | Not set | Not set |
| Port | Not set | Not set |
| Username | Not set | Not set |
| Password | Not set | Not set |
| Server | Not set | Not set |
| MMSC | http://mmsc.mobile.att.net | Not set |
| MMS proxy | proxy.mobile.att.net | Not set |
| MMS port | 80 | Not set |
| MCC | 310 | 310 |
| MNC | 410 | 410 |
| Authentication Type | None | None |
| APN type | default, mms, supl, hipri | default, mms, supl, hipri, fota |
| APN protocol | IPv4 | Enabled |
| Bearer | Unspecified | Unspecified |
Supported LTE devices[13]
| Data settings | Smartphones | Tablets |
| Name | ATT NXTGENPHONE | ATT Broadband |
| APN | NXTGENPHONE | Broadband |
| Proxy | Not set | Not set |
| Port | Not set | Not set |
| Username | Not set | Not set |
| Password | Not set | Not set |
| Server | Not set | Not set |
| MMSC | http://mmsc.mobile.att.net | Not set |
| MMS proxy | proxy.mobile.att.net | Not set |
| MMS port | 80 | Not set |
| MCC | 310 | 310 |
| MNC | 410 | 410 |
| Authentication Type | None | None |
| APN type | default, mms, supl, hipri | default, mms, supl, hipri, fota |
| APN protocol | IPv4 | Enabled |
| Bearer | Unspecified | Unspecified |
See also
References
- ^ a b Rohde, Laura, "Cingular Buys AT&T Wireless", PC World, IDG News Service, Feb 17, 2004
- ^ "AT&T GoPhone is now AT&T PREPAID". att.com. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "2G Sunset Brings Faster Speeds, Newer Technologies | AT&T". about.att.com. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
- ^ "Bring your own phone or tablet to AT&T PREPAID". att.com. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "AT&T Maps - Wireless Coverage Map for Voice and Data Coverage from AT&T". att.com. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
- ^ "AT&T Introduces Stream Saver | AT&T". about.att.com. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
- ^ "Prepaid Phone Plans from AT&T PREPAID". att.com. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
- ^ "BYOP- Bring Your Own Phone or Device to AT&T and Save". att.com. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
- ^ "Bring Your Own Phone or Tablet to AT&T - Wireless Support". att.com. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
- ^ "Wireless carrier support and features for iPhone in the United States and Canada". Apple Support. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
- ^ "Data Settings for 12-Key or Quick Messaging non-AT&T Device - Wireless Support". att.com. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
- ^ "What are the APN settings for AT&T?". Android Central. 2016-02-22. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
- ^ "Android Data Settings for Non-AT&T Device - Wireless Support". att.com. Retrieved 2018-05-30.