AT&T is about to make changes on your mobile phone plans and it includes an additional $5 a month on your monthly fees.

In a recent announcement featured on the AT&T website, the plan to add $5 on users' bills will start in February 2016. The additional charge is not just an operational fee from the service provider, but a rather a minimal fee that will allow AT&T subscribers to continually enjoy unlimited data on their mobile phones. AT&T also said that this is the company's first increase on mobile data service in seven years.

 

The statement from the company read: "Customers who have grandfathered unlimited smartphone data plan will receive notification of a $5/mo. rate increase for the data plan. The rate increase will take effect starting with the customer's February 2016 service."

The move to increase the fee stems down from the growing trend of using data and the immensity of users is not predicted to slow or cut down. The minimal fee imposed by AT&T will allow the company to continue its service to its customers in the most effective and fastest way.

AT&T also notes that the additional fee will not have any impact on the internet speed that their customers currently enjoy. In fact, the only time they can expect a slowdown is when they have exceeded the 22GB data cap per billing cycle.

Consumers will be given the choice to switch to other plans in case the new fee imposed by AT&T does not suit them. However, the company also warns their consumers that once they change their data plans, they cannot return to their unlimited data plans. AT&T will not charge consumers with the Early Termination Fee (ETF) if they wish to terminate their accounts. Termination should be applied within 60 days after the fee is imposed, otherwise the company will impose the ETF.

Ars Technica reports that due to the demand for unlimited data, consumers may share their data to others. This may lead AT&T to revoke unlimited plans if they discover a consumer sharing its unlimited data to others. Currently, AT&T has about 57.7 million postpaid subscribers, but the majority of them uses the usage-based data plan, a more practical way of paying what you only use. Only 10 percent of AT&T's current subscribers use the unlimited data plan.

What do you think of AT&T's latest imposed fee? Is it still practical to subscribe to unlimited data?