AT&T adds 3Mbps unlimited GoPhone tier as Verizon exempts FiOS video from cellular caps

U.S. carrier AT&T on Friday debuted yet another unlimited phone plan, this time bringing the option to prepaid GoPhone customers for $60 per month — albeit at low speeds. Verizon meanwhile fired its own salvo in the "unlimited" battle, exempting FiOS video from caps on its cellular plans.

The GoPhone plan tops out at 3 megabits per second, and also lacks any tethering/hotspot support, AT&T said. Like the company's new postpaid unlimited plans, data speeds can potentially be throttled after the 22-gigabyte mark at times and places affected by network congestion.

AT&T is however offering free roaming in Canada and Mexico, and while its video-limiting technology — Stream Saver — is on by default and caps streams to 1.5 megabits per second, it can be turned off.

A cheaper $40 plan is also available, and is similar in details to the $60 one except for a 6-gigabyte cap, after which data is throttled for the rest of the month. Any unused data will rollover to the following month.

With AutoPay off, the cost of the two plans goes up to $65 and $45 per month, respectively.

The Verizon perk requires that people have FiOS internet and TV, as well as a Small, Medium, Large, or 5-gigabyte cellular plan. Users can then stream over 140 channels however — including DVR content — through the FiOS Mobile app, without running over bandwidth limits. Notably the exemption doesn't apply to the Unlimited tier, which means that exceeding 22 gigabytes could result in throttling.

Under new head Ajit Pai, appointed by President Donald Trump, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has reversed course on net neutrality protections, for instance dropping an investigation into "zero-rating" practices like Verizon's latest move. Critics have worried that that abandoning net neutrality could make it hard for new or independent businesses to gain a foothold in an increasingly hegemonic media industry.