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Overview:

AT&T, formerly Cingular Wireless and BellSouth, is one of the biggest and best cellular companies in the USA. They offer their customers more than just wireless – you can get residential and business telephone service, video and cable entertainment offerings, and a full line of Internet plans. They are headquartered in Atlanta.

Pros: The BlackBerry plans are pretty straightforward across the board – they offer a lot of features and often those features have no limit. There are a number of different plans, depending on your needs, including eight personal plans at relatively reasonable prices. As well, if you don’t have a BlackBerry, there are ten plans that deal with other handheld devices.

Cons: The prices are a little expensive, and many additional features will cost you extra. Additional fees may apply, depending on what state you live in, and AT&T includes a charge of up to $1.25 to comply with state and federal regulations. A credit check is required for all plans, cellular or data. There is also a hidden activation fee of $36 for each new line. As well, you cannot use personal BlackBerry plans with BlackBerry Enterprise plans to access corporate email.

Detailed Provider Information:

Voice Plan Options: AT&T has a number of individual voice plans, starting at $39.99 per month for 450 anytime minutes, and ranging up to unlimited calling for $99.99 per month. They also have family plans, which start at $79.99 per month for the first two lines ($9.99 per additional line), through $199.99 for unlimited calling on two lines ($99.99 per additional line).

Data Options: There are two options for BlackBerry data with AT&T. First is 35 dollars per month, and includes unlimited data. This is reduced to 30 dollars per month with the purchase of an individual or family voice plan. The personal data plus tethering option costs 65 dollars per month, 60 with an accompanying voice plan. This comes with a 5 GB cap.

Messaging Options: All plans include text, IM or video messaging, unlimited M2M messaging or tethering options (which means you can connect your device to your laptop with Bluetooth or a connection cable).

Customer Service: AT&T provides support online in the form of an answer center and forums. As well, you can call their number or email them if you have a problem with your service or phone.

Contract: There is a contract for these plans – if you want to terminate early, you’ll be subject to a charge of $175. Contract lengths vary from plan to plan in different states and depend on the phone that you choose.

Messaging: Depending on the plan that you get, you can have up to 1500 messages a month, either with unlimited M2M messaging or tethering. Prices vary from state to state, but are normally in the range of $44.99 to $94.99 for the data plans.

International Calling and Messaging: att.com/wirelessinternational allows you to determine if your wireless device will work in other countries. If it does, you’ll have to activate international roaming at an AT&T store to be able to use this feature. International calls and messages can be sent if your plan allows this. If you only call occasionally, the website offers you a table that will help you determine how much your calls will cost per minute. For BlackBerries, there is an International Long Distance Text Messaging package for $9.99 a month. This includes 100 messages and 20 cents for additional messages sent overseas.

Roaming Charges: Roaming charges may apply to some plans, but AT&T may not add them to your bill for three billing cycles. Default roaming charges are 69 cents a minute for domestic roaming charges off the network.

Activation Fee: You may be charged an activation fee of up to $36 for a new line.

The Blackberry Curve 9670 Style

Additional Features: The phones include additional data options, voice options, messaging, voice dial, GPS navigators, push to talk features, roadside assistance and enhanced voice mail. You can also join the AT&T Sounds Tone club, which will give you a subscription to receive text messages on music trivia, news and more. All prices for additional features vary from state to state.

Insurance: There is a one-year warranty on new phones and accessories and a 90 day warranty on refurbished phones.

Phones: You can buy both refurbished and new devices from AT&T, including the BlackBerry Bold 9000.

Some Additional BlackBerry Models Available:
BlackBerry Style 9670
BlackBerry Curve 3G 9330
BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300
BlackBerry Pearl 9105

Coverage Map: The AT&T coverage map can be found here.

AT&T Wireless current specials and clearance phones are available here.