Following T-Mobile’s lead, AT&T announced today that it is adding unlimited international text messaging to all of its Mobile Share and Mobile Share Value plans. The free package will allow subscribers to send text and multimedia messages from the US to over 100 countries.
Additionally, the carrier introduced a new World Connect Value package for international calling. With it, post-paid AT&T customers can make one cent -per minute calls from the US to more than 35 countries, including Canada, Mexico and the Virgin Islands, for $5 per month…
From the press release:
On Friday, February 28, all AT&T Mobile Share and Mobile Share Value plans will now include unlimited international messaging from the U.S. to the world.** AT&T consumer and business Mobile Share customers can send unlimited text, picture and video messages. Current Mobile Share and Mobile Share Value customers will automatically benefit from this offer.
AT&T is also excited to introduce international calling from the U.S. to any number anytime to over 35 countries, including Canada and Mexico, for 1¢ per minute with our new international calling package, World Connect ValueSM.***
The “penny-per-minute” calling rates also apply to calls made to any number in the majority of Latin American and Caribbean countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Saba, St. Barthelemy, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Martin, St. Pierre and Miquelon, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Venezuela.
Of course, as with all promotions, there are a few catches. For one, messaging has to take place from phone-to-phone, so no tablets or laptops. And the countries you can send messages to depend on if it’s a text or photo. I also couldn’t figure out if you could text for free while traveling.
Still, the free texting should please AT&T customers with friends or family out of the country. The one cent per-minute calling package is also a nice gesture. Earlier this month, the carrier added international LTE roaming to 13 new countries and announced new ‘best-ever’ share plans.