AT&T Brings Back Unlimited Data, but Just for TV Plans

If you're an AT&T smartphone user pining for the bygone days of unlimited wireless data plans, there's a deal waiting for you—sort of. AT&T is offering unlimited data plans again, but only if you're a U-Verse or DirecTV subscriber.

AT&T offers DirecTV and U-Verse subscribers unlimited wireless data plansAT&T offers DirecTV and U-Verse subscribers unlimited wireless data plans

The unlimited plan for U-Verse and DirecTV subscribers gets them unlimited wireless data for up to four people in a family. The deal will set you back US$100 a month for a single line with unlimited talk, text and data, and additional lines cost $40 each.

You can add a tablet to the mix, too, for an extra $40 per month. Of course, "unlimited" doesn't exactly mean unlimited because AT&T will start throttling your bandwidth when you hit 22GB per line in a single month.

The idea behind the new unlimited deal is to make U-Verse and DirecTV more enticing, and letting customers stream shows without fear of hefty overage charges is pretty nice. That said, you'll have to use AT&T as your cell service and television subscription provider, which isn't very appealing to some customers.

If AT&T's unlimited deal looks interesting, but isn't enough to draw you in, go ahead and wait before signing up. The company saus it plans to "launch a wide-range of new video entertainment options" later this year. There isn't any word yet on exactly what those options entail, but it's clear AT&T wants a bigger piece of the entertainment industry pie.