AT&T GoPhone

Bottom Line

AT&T's fees, voice quality, customer service and coverage drive its GoPhone service to the bottom of the prepaid ranks in major nationwide customer surveys, including J.D. Power and Associates' and PCMag.com's latest studies. AT&T gets low ratings from customers at PrepaidReviews.com, too -- but editors there highly recommend AT&T GoPhone, giving it a 4.5 star rating (out of 5).

Breaking It Down

Plans and Flexibility

Wide selection of plans. In two large prepaid cell phone customer surveys, AT&T's GoPhone receives low scores for its high prices. The Pay As You Go $2 Unlimited Daily Talk and Text plan includes free texting and calling anytime, but it charges a $2 access fee on days you use your phone. The cheapest monthly plan is $25 for 250 talk minutes and unlimited text. An unlimited monthly plan at $50 per month gives you unlimited talk, text and mobile web, and for $65 per month smartphone users can have all this plus 1 GB of data. For anyone wanting a phone only for emergencies, AT&T GoPhone has a Simple Rate Plan that skips the access fee but charges 10 cents a minute for all calls.

Performance

Nationwide coverage, but below-average quality. AT&T GoPhone uses the AT&T network,
which ensures nationwide coverage. However, its performance leaves something to be desired. In recent reviews AT&T's network speed comes in at below average. J.D. Power and Associates' extensive network performance customer survey awards AT&T 2 out of 5 stars. Editors at TopTenReviews.com like GoPhone's live chat feature and say that the free mobile-to-mobile calling within the AT&T network could save you money. However, user contributors to PrepaidReviews.com complain about poor reception throughout the network.

Customer service

Customer service is lacking. Users complain that the quality of AT&T GoPhone customer service is poor. Some users state that customer service doesn't always answer their phones, which is significant as you'll probably have to call them at least once a month.

Phone Selection

Adequate selection of AT&T phones. AT&T GoPhone offers a choice of 13 phones ranging from $20 to $200, including two Samsung models among the remaining AT&T phones. Editors at PrepaidReviews.com call this a good choice of handsets, while PCMag.com readers say the handset choice is just average.