An AT&T MVNO is any wireless provider that doesn’t have its own wireless network and instead uses AT&T’s network to provide you with cellular service. Without having to build and maintain its own cellular towers, an AT&T MVNO can save you a lot of money on your phone bill. In fact, switching to an AT&T MVNO may help you to reduce the cost of your phone bill by more than half.
AT&T MVNOs typically buy cheap talk, text, and data in bulk from AT&T. Each AT&T MVNO then resells the talk, text, and data back to the consumer with a price markup that should be profitable for the company. Even with the markup, the service is generally resold at a significantly cheaper rate compared to what AT&T would sell it to consumers for.
AT&T MVNO Pros And Cons
Pros
AT&T Prepaid/MVNO 4G LTE And 5G Coverage Map. Map Corresponds To AT&T’s Prepaid Network Which Is What Most AT&T MVNO’s Use. Partner Coverage Areas Not Available To Most AT&T MVNOs
AT&T MVNOs offer some of the best overall nationwide wireless coverage per dollar. Other carrier 5G MVNOs may offer cheaper wireless phone plans but their nationwide coverage may not be nearly as good as what you’ll find here.
Cons
Most, if not all AT&T MVNO’s, do not allow roaming on other domestic wireless networks. Roaming is what happens when your provider does not have its own towers and network in a given area, but instead uses another network such as T-Mobile to provide you with cellular coverage. This means that you may see a small drop off in coverage if you switch from AT&T postpaid service where roaming is allowed to an AT&T MVNO where roaming is not allowed. For most though, this should go unnoticed.
Another con, and this is for MVNOs in general, is that service with an MVNO may be prioritized below service directly obtained from the parent network. As an example, this means that if you are subscribed to an AT&T MVNO and AT&T’s network is busy, you may see your data speeds temporarily slowed down or an increase in network latency compared to other subscribers on a higher priority plan. This isn’t very common though.
Customer Support
Just like with the major wireless carriers, customer support will vary based on which AT&T MVNO provider you are subscribed to. Some MVNO’s you may find to offer excellent customer support, while others not so much.
Buying A Phone From An AT&T MVNO
About half of all AT&T MVNO’s do not sell phones. This is one area where the MVNO industry is relatively weak. With the exception of a few major MVNO providers such as Red Pocket Mobile, or AT&T owned Cricket Wireless you typically don’t see great deals or BOGO offers on cell phones.
AT&T MVNO BYOD Options
Most unlocked phones should work with AT&T MVNOs, although AT&T can be picky about what phones it allows onto its network. If you are unsure about your phone, you can check AT&T’s whitelisted devices.
AT&T MVNO List
If you’re ready to begin your journey into the world of AT&T MVNO’s here is a list of providers that operate on the AT&T Network.
Each provider listed above offers several different cell phone plans. I sorted through them and in the table below I picked out what I think is the best plan offered by each provider. In order to make it into the price comparison table, plans were picked that contained unlimited talk and text with at least 3GB of 5G data. The current list of plans best describes cell phone plans suited for single lines. If family plans are all you are interested in you can have a look at them here. In some cases though, the below single line prepaid cell phone plans will suffice and be what’s most cost-effective for you, particularly if you are a couple or a family of less than 4.
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Priority data does not guarantee fast data speeds; it simply prevents your data from being slowed down as much as other users’ when the network is busy.
Video streaming
This plan includes video streaming in HD at a resolution of 1080p.
This is an annual plan and requires you to prepay $150 for 12 months of service in advance to get this price.
$12.50/mo+tax
5GB 5G data
Priority data
This plan includes 5GB priority data.
Priority data does not guarantee fast data speeds; it simply prevents your data from being slowed down as much as other users’ when the network is busy.
This is an annual plan and requires you to prepay $240 for 12 months of service in advance to get this price.
$20/mo+tax
16GB 5G data
Priority data
This plan includes 16GB priority data.
Priority data does not guarantee fast data speeds; it simply prevents your data from being slowed down as much as other users’ when the network is busy.
New customers get two months free when they prepay $300 for an annual plan. Renews at $300.
Red Pocket Mobile
Annual plan
This is an annual plan and requires you to prepay $330 for 12 months of service in advance to get this price.
$27.5/mo+tax
Unlimited 5G data
Priority data
This plan includes 50GB priority data.
Priority data does not guarantee fast data speeds; it simply prevents your data from being slowed down as much as other users’ when the network is busy.
Video streaming
This plan includes video streaming in HD at a resolution of 1080p.
New customers save 50% on their first month and get this plan for $15. Renews at $30/mo.
Red Pocket Mobile
$30/mo+tax
Unlimited 5G data
Priority data
This plan includes 50GB priority data.
Priority data does not guarantee fast data speeds; it simply prevents your data from being slowed down as much as other users’ when the network is busy.
Video streaming
This plan includes video streaming in HD at a resolution of 1080p.
This is an annual plan and requires you to prepay $390 for 12 months of service in advance to get this price.
$32.50/mo
Unlimited 5G data
Priority data
This plan includes Unlimited priority data.
Priority data does not guarantee fast data speeds; it simply prevents your data from being slowed down as much as other users’ when the network is busy.
Video streaming
This plan includes video streaming in 4K UHD (2160p).
Priority data does not guarantee fast data speeds; it simply prevents your data from being slowed down as much as other users’ when the network is busy.
Video streaming
This plan includes video streaming in HD at a resolution of 1080p.
Priority data does not guarantee fast data speeds; it simply prevents your data from being slowed down as much as other users’ when the network is busy.
Video streaming
This plan includes video streaming in 4K UHD (2160p).
