AT&T on Monday said it is extending free international roaming benefits to customers on its larger data and unlimited plans.
Starting Friday, AT&T said it will offer its Mexico roaming feature for free to customers on its Mobile Share Value plans with 15 GB of data or higher. The feature offers users unlimited talk and text as well as use of their data plan both between and in Mexico and the United States, the carrier said.
The carrier said businesses on the 15GB or higher Mobile Share Value plans will also be eligible to receive the free Mexico roaming feature. Business customers who activate a new Mobile Select plan priced $20 per month or higher will also get Mexico roaming benefits. Businesses on existing Mobile Select plans priced $20 per month or higher will be migrated to new plans with the Mexico roaming benefits, AT&T said.
AT&T’s unlimited customers will also get free access to international roaming in Mexico and Canada, allowing them to talk, text and use their data in and between the United States and those destinations for free.
To activate their international roaming privileges, AT&T said unlimited customers will have to add the AT&T Roam North America to each of their smartphones and the Roam North America Data feature to their tablets online or by calling the carrier.
The move comes just days after Verizon added international talk and text to Mexico and Canada to its higher-tier prepaid plans and comes amid an increasingly competitive environment for international offers.
All four major U.S. carriers, as well as several prepaid brands, now offer international calling features. And customers are reportedly taking advantage of the new calling options in droves.
According to a recent report from Verizon, customers on its daily-rate international TravelPass plan increased their data usage in Mexico by 880 percent just one year from 5 MB per day in March of 2015 to 49 MB per day in March of 2016.
Similarly, data usage on TravelPass in Canada has jumped tenfold from 8 MB per day in March 2015 to 80 MB per day among TravelPass customers in March 2016.