AT&T launches Aio Wireless, a new pre-paid bring-your-own-phone brand
“Bring your own phone” services are becoming quite the popular kid in America, and AT&T wants to make sure it’s jumping on that wagon. The carrier has announced Aio Wireless, its pre-paid brand where you can buy one of their phones or bring your own, compatible unlocked phone.
Their Android selection includes the Samsung Galaxy Express for $250, the Samsung Galaxy Amp for $100, and the ZTE Prelude for just $50. Those are some very cheap prices, but the phones aren’t the best in the land of Android. Bringing over any compatible GSM phone is fine, though, so you’re not tied to these options as you would be on a CDMA-based pre-paid carrier.
Aio has plans ranging from $40 to $70 for smartphones, and $15 for tablets. Each plan comes with unlimited data, though you will be throttled after using a certain amount. In fact, the entire service is throttled — AT&T will prevent you from going beyond 4 megabits even if you’re in an area that can handle more.
Beyond that, you’ll be throttled to slower speeds on the $40 plan after using just 250MB, while the $70 plan would give you as much as 7GB of high-speed data. You can also add 1GB of high speed data for $10 if you feel you need more.
The service isn’t live everywhere yet, with trial runs taking place in Houston, Orlando, and Tampa to start. More markets will get support as the year moves on, though, so be sure to keep checking in with AT&T to see when your area might get it. If you live in one of the aforementioned markets and you feel like giving it a shot be sure to check out their full list of phones and plans at the Aio website.