AT&T slashes prices on family wireless plans

LOS ANGELES — AT&T announced big savings on family plans over the weekend, the latest wireless company to slash prices amid a brutal carrier war.

The No. 2 carrier said a family of four could now get unlimited talk and text and share 10 gigabytes of data for $160 a month.

Each additional line is $15 more; so for example, a family of three would pay $145 a month and a family of five would pay $175 a month.

Current customers’ household savings amount to $40 to $100 a month, depending on the plan. The company said that for a limited time, all new and existing customers will receive $100 credit for each new line of service, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, feature phone, mobile hotspot or AT&T Wireless Home Phone.

The prices became available Sunday and include small businesses with up to 10 lines. Customers of Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and other carriers who switch to AT&T are also eligible.

AT&T said a comparable plan for a family of four at Verizon costs $260, or $100 more than AT&T’s new pricing. The Verizon family would also receive a $400 bill credit for the four smartphone lines of service added if they switch to AT&T.

David Christopher, chief marketing officer of AT&T Mobility, said the new plans “give customers what they want”: service, value and a big bucket of data to share.