Why your AT&T bill might be going up

Wireless carrier AT&T is changing up its data plans, which will save some customers money and result in higher monthly bills for others.

In a news release, AT&T also announced that it is eliminating pesky overage charges.

Things to know about AT&T’s new data plans

Read more: These mysterious fees are driving up your cell phone bill 

With the new plans, after you’ve used up all of your high-speed data, your data usage will be reduced to a lower speed for the rest of your billing cycle.

It’s good enough to check email or a website, but streaming may not be fully functional.

Earlier this summer, Verizon introduced a feature to prevent overage charges, but it will cost most customers $5 a month. T-Mobile and Sprint also previously dropped overage charges, the Wall Street Journal reported.

As for AT&T’s new data plans, which will be available August 21, customers who don’t use a lot of data will pay more, but those who have higher data allotments will pay less than what they’re currently paying each month.

Here’s what the new plans will cost every month:

• 1GB = $30
• 3GB = $40
• 6GB = $60
• 10GB = $80
• 16GB = $90
• 25GB = $110
• 30GB = $135

A closer look at the numbers

Currently, AT&T offers a 300MB plan for $20 a month, but that option is going away. The new plans start at $30 a month for 1GB of data.

Meanwhile, the new 16GB option is $90, which is $10 less than the current price for 15GB.

And there is a substantial savings opportunity for customers who pay for 30GB. It costs $225 right now, but that amount of data is only $135 under the new plan.

Keep in mind: this doesn’t include a $10 to $40 monthly access charge, plus the cost of the phone.

There are cheaper options

According to the Wall Street Journal, customers can keep their old plans, but low-data users can probably find cheaper options elsewhere.

Earlier this summer, Republic Wireless introduced a 1GB data plan for $20 a month.

Republic Wireless, Consumer Cellular, Cricket, TPO Mobile and Ting Wireless are among the highly-ranked smaller carriers in a Consumer Reports survey.

To help you compare providers, here’s our list of the best cell phone plans.