Telecom behemoth AT&T looms large among internet, wireless phone, and TV services—it even owns several of your favorite entertainment outlets, like HBO®, TNT, and Warner Bros.
AT&T offers DSL (digital subscriber line) and fiber-optic internet services, as well as internet-based TV service, all of which rank consistently near the top in CableTV.com’s customer satisfaction surveys. Yes, even in customer support, the toughest category of all.
While AT&T’s internet plans are relatively straight-forward, the TV side can be a bit confusing. AT&T TV and AT&T TV NOW sound alike but aren’t—and AT&T-owned DIRECTV is in the mix, too. The differences are important, and we’ll explain them in the FAQ section (a big one: AT&T TV requires a two-year contract).
But, if you live in an area where you can take advantage of AT&T’s fastest internet (fiber) and most channel-loaded TV service (AT&T TV), it’s a combo worth the price.
| Package |
| Best overall package Fiber Internet 1000 + AT&T TV Ultimate |
| Best budget package Internet 100 + AT&T TV Choice |
| Price |
Download speeds up to |
Channel count |
| $129.99/mo. | 940 Mbps | 125+ |
| $89.99/mo. | 100 Mbps | 84+ |
Data effective as of 10/2/2020. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
We’re not usually impressed with big channel counts from cable or satellite TV providers. But, for a streaming provider, AT&T TV’s Ultimate plan is chonky—no other streaming service carries that many channels. Paired with AT&T’s fast Fiber Internet 1000 plan, it’s a powerful package.
If your TV and internet needs are more modest, AT&T’s Internet 100 and Choice TV plans still give you plenty of speed and channels to work with for about $15 less a month.
DSL may be an old-school connection, but it can still handle most household internet needs. But, if DSL is your only option, know that AT&T’s speed promise of “up to” 100 Mbps is like saying you could fit “up to” 100 marshmallows in your mouth. It might be possible, but it’s unlikely to happen. DSL internet typically tops out at 35 Mbps—maybe 50, if you’re lucky.
Fiber-optic internet service, on the other hand, is delivered over microscopic glass strands as pulses of light, and it can hit download speeds over 1,000 Mbps (or 1 Gbps—gigabit per second). Most residential fiber internet services can reach max speeds of only 940 Mbps, which is still an impressive number—especially if you think of Mbps as marshmallows.
The higher the Mbps number, the lower the likelihood you’ll run into video buffering or internet slowing when more than one device or person is online. Triple digits is the place to be.
| Price |
Download speeds up to |
Connection type |
| $35.00/mo. | 100 Mbps | DSL |
| $60.00/mo. | 940 Mbps | Fiber |
Data effective as of 10/2/2020. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Obviously, AT&T’s fiber internet is faster than its DSL service, so we recommend it if it’s available near you. If not, AT&T’s Internet 100 plan isn’t bad for the (identical) price.
| Plan |
| ENTERTAINMENT |
| CHOICE |
| XTRA |
| ULTIMATE |
| Price | Channel count |
| $49.99/mo. | 65+ |
| $54.99/mo. | 85+ |
| $64.99/mo. | 105+ |
| $69.99/mo. | 125+ |
Data effective as of 10/2/2020. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
| Price | Download speeds up to | Channel count | Phone type |
| $104.98/mo. | 100 Mbps | 65+ | Digital VoIP |
| $109.98/mo. | 100 Mbps | 85+ | Digital VoIP |
| $119.98/mo. | 100 Mbps | 105+ | Digital VoIP |
| $124.98/mo. | 100 Mbps | 125+ | Digital VoIP |
| $129.98/mo. | 940 Mbps | 65+ | Digital VoIP |
| $134.98/mo. | 940 Mbps | 85+ | Digital VoIP |
| $144.98/mo. | 940 Mbps | 105+ | Digital VoIP |
| $149.98/mo. | 940 Mbps | 125+ | Digital VoIP |
Data effective as of 10/2/2020. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
AT&T’s Home Phone plan isn’t the same as AT&T Wireless plans. It’s a $19.99 a month, all-digital landline connection through the internet known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), not a mobile service.
For mobile plans, check out AT&T Wireless.
As the second-largest DSL internet provider in the US, it’s not hard to find a telephone-line connection with AT&T. But, while it does DSL well, we’re far more inclined to recommend AT&T’s fiber-optic internet service where available.
We also like AT&T TV, which is basically a livestreaming TV service that offers a large array of channels at reasonable prices—we prefer it to AT&T’s other TV offerings. Why the company doesn’t consolidate its confusing streaming apps (AT&T TV NOW, AT&T WatchTV, etc.) into this single platform is beyond us.
At least DIRECTV is still simple—unless it was rebranded AT&T SAT while we weren’t looking.
AT&T offers DSL (digital subscriber line) and fiber-optic internet service in 22 states. The majority of AT&T’s internet coverage is DSL, with a smaller fiber footprint that reaches only a few urban and suburban areas during AT&T’s build-out of the service.
AT&T also offers fixed wireless internet in some rural areas that aren’t serviced by DSL or fiber.
They’re titled similarly, but AT&T’s streaming TV services aren’t exactly the same.
AT&T TV is a livestreaming service that comes with its own streaming device, beefy channel lineups that mostly mirror DIRECTV’s, and a two-year contract.
AT&T TV NOW (which replaced DIRECTV NOW) is a standalone livestreaming TV app that can work independent of AT&T internet service. It’s also more expensive than AT&T TV and features fewer channels, but it doesn’t come with an annual contract.
AT&T WatchTV is a mobile-focused “skinny” TV service that gives you 35 channels for $15 a month with no annual contract.
AT&T’s other streaming TV service, U-verse, stopped accepting new subscribers in April 2020.
AT&T’s Home Phone service, which can be bundled with its internet and TV services, is a digital VoIP landline service separate from AT&T Wireless.
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