AT&T Mobility joins the herd, adds unlimited messaging option to family plans

AT&T Mobility has joined rivals Verizon Wireless Sprint Nextel Corp. and trend-starter T-Mobile USA Inc. in offering an unlimited messaging option for family plans.
AT&T Mobility’s unlimited family messaging plan allows all lines on a family plan to send and receive unlimited domestic SMS, MMS and instant messages for $30 per month (in addition to the cost of the basic plan). The pricing puts the carrier on equal footing with Verizon Wireless, which recently introduced a new series of plans that include unlimited messaging for an extra $30. T-Mobile USA, which was the first national carrier to offer such a plan, charges $20, while Sprint Nextel offers unlimited text messaging for $20 on its Power Pack family plans starting at $70 per month.
Current Analysis analyst William Ho said in a research note that the addition of unlimited family messaging fills a gap in AT&T’s portfolio of messaging options, although he said the carrier still needs to streamline its 14 different messaging options. He added that, since all of the nation’s major carriers offer a family messaging option, other operators such as Alltel Corp. will eventually add them as well.