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AT&T has announced that its prepaid cellular service Aio Wireless will begin offering service nationwide starting in mid-September, with service plans running between $40 and $70 per month and including unlimited talk, text, and data with 4G LTE.
Customers who sign up for service in an Aio Wireless retail store or on the brand’s website by September 29 will also receive an additional month of service at no additional cost. The service will offer a catalog of mobile phones and tablets from makers including Apple’s iPhone, and will allow customers to bring in devices to activate on the network.
Aio makes wireless easy with a friendly in-store and online experience and three simple plans to choose from. All three plans include unlimited talk, text, and data—with a pre-established amount of high-speed access, including 4G LTE. Plans range from $40 to $70 per month, with taxes and fees included.
Aio Wireless originally launched operations in Houston, Orlando and Tampa this past May, and expanded to several other cities in the following months. The launch of the service has been one of a number of changes made by AT&T in the past few months, including the rollout of a new smartphone upgrade program.
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(View all)Does anyone who has Aio know if when you are done with your LTE / 4G monthly allotment do you get 3G speeds or are we talking EDGE?
It would be worth the extra $10 per month to get LTE and visual voicemail, but if that drops to a crawl after hitting 2GB (which is rarely) it wouldn't be as worth it ...
They told me 256kbps...so Edge speeds :eek:
One BIG issue I have with AIO is that you only get service from AT&T Towers. They DO NOT have roaming agreements set up with other carriers.
AT&T has towers all over the country, with pretty much complete coverage. I'm not sure which provider you'd roam to. This isn't the analog wireless days, nor is AT&T a 2nd tier provider needing to use Verizon's towers (like Sprint iirc). Out of the country on the other hand, and you just setup international roaming, or put in a foreign SIM card.
One BIG issue I have with AIO is that you only get service from AT&T Towers. They DO NOT have roaming agreements set up with other carriers.
But that is true with every pre-paid service. It's not meant for adventurers, and not marketed in areas where there is no service available. It's for people that live in an offered area and don't leave it often or only visit other areas with service. That's how they keep the monthly cost down. If you need true coast to coast service then post paid is still the only route.
It is only enforced for phones you buy through AIO. BYOD lets you choose. I have two accounts with AIO. One was bought online and one in the store. Selected the 40 plan on both with no problems. I imagine they will enforce it more strictly down the road, but I don't see that happening for some time until there customer base is much, much larger.
That is a great deal for people who want a smartphone and do not use much data.
According to the AIO website, the $40 plan is for basic phones only, not for smartphones. Do they not check or enforce that?
It is only enforced for phones you buy through AIO. BYOD lets you choose. I have two accounts with AIO. One was bought online and one in the store. Selected the 40 plan on both with no problems. I imagine they will enforce it more strictly down the road, but I don't see that happening for some time until there customer base is much, much larger.