There are plenty of awesome deals at AT&T that students can check out. While there aren’t actually any AT&T internet plans that are specific to students, there are a lot of great ways to save money.
Every bit of cash helps as a student. And that’s why we’ve been examining all the possible ways you can get a little extra back in your pocket to spend on the things that matter… or whatever else you want to do with it.
So, stay tuned as we put it all on a plate for you. Here’s our ultimate guide to saving money as a student AT&T customer.
Do Students Get AT&T Internet Discounts?
Unfortunately not. Well, not right now at least. From time to time, AT&T runs deals for students but we haven’t heard of one for quite a while now.
Don’t worry though, it’s not all over. With a bit of savviness (and some tips from us at Networks Hardware), you could save a lot of money in ways you didn’t think were possible.
Okay, so they’re not exclusive to students. But at the end of the day, it’s money saved that could potentially go a very long way.
If you want to have a look at the deals available, check them out here.
The Best AT&T Internet Deals for Students
You’ve just moved into your new student apartment and are planning on setting up some Wi-Fi so that you can carry out your studies. You check online, and the prices seem pretty high. So what can you do to bring them down?
Well, we’ve got a couple of ideas. Firstly, you’ve got to select the right plan. And when it comes to AT&T, that part is pretty straightforward.
AT&T Fiber
Right now, there are two ways to get AT&T internet. Their old brand, appropriately titled AT&T Internet, is still in existence. It uses a combination of technologies to get okay speeds, but it doesn’t offer the best value for money.
The real value comes from the new brand, AT&T Fiber. Fiber internet is the future, and AT&T is trying to roll it out as fast as possible. It has the cheapest prices (from as little as $55 per month plus taxes) and the fastest speeds.
There’s also no minimum contract term for AT&T Fiber [1] and you get a bunch of extra cool perks. They include free equipment, free enhanced network security and getting paid to make the switch (more on that shortly).
The only issue with Fiber is that it isn’t available in much of the US yet…
Where Can I Get AT&T Internet?
AT&T’s internet as a whole covers a large portion of the US landmass. It serves California and a little bit of Nevada in the east, then Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and a handful of other states in the center and the east [2].
Fiber also covers these locations, but much more thinly. Only around one third of the AT&T map as a whole is able to get fiber right now. And that tends to be in the more metropolitan areas. You won’t find fiber anywhere rurally with AT&T just yet.,
To find out once and for all whether your new student accommodation is able to get AT&T Fiber, just go to the AT&T website and enter your address. It will show you what kind of plans are available to you.
If you’re presented with AT&T Internet, it means Fiber isn’t quite ready for you yet.
Which AT&T Internet Plan Should Students Go For?
As a student, you’re probably going to be using the internet a lot. We don’t need to tell you that! Preparing for exams, creating coursework and communicating with your lecturers and classmates are all going to be pretty heavily data-consuming
For this reason, it’s probably best to try to avoid a data cap. And the good news is that all AT&T Fiber plans have no data cap whatsoever.
In terms of speed, the 300 plan should be more than enough for any student. Even if you’re sharing a home with a number of other students. 300 Mbps would be enough for 10 or more students, in fact.
You could opt for a faster speed but this would cost you more per month and for the vast majority of students, this will not be worth it.
The AT&T Fiber 300 plan currently costs $55 plus taxes. Amazingly, that’s the same price as all the regular internet plans (which can be as low as under 1 Mbps!).
The price won’t increase after 12 months like it does with the regular AT&T internet plans, and there are no other hidden fees. The only other time you might have to pay more is if you live in the states of Texas, Nevada or Ohio. There, a Monthly State Cost Recovery Charge applies.
Another noteworthy part of the AT&T Fiber plans is that the upload speed is the same as the download speed. With a 300 Mbps upload speed, you’d be able to share files superfast and make a whole bunch of video calls under the same network.
For that reason, it’s great for sharing with fellow students.
How to Get Extra AT&T Discounts
There isn’t a huge amount you can do to save more money on these Fiber plans (they’re pretty low as it is!). But, we do have a couple of tips for you on that front.
If you’re not in a rush, by the way, you could wait for a deal to come in. AT&T drops exclusive internet deals from time to time, and you can keep an eye on them here.
Set up your network yourself
AT&T Fiber setup with an engineer usually costs $99. But you don’t have to pay that. Just make sure you order online and opt out of the installation.
If you do that, AT&T will simply send the router to you for you to set up yourself. It’s really easy: just plug in the router and activate it. AT&T will show you exactly how to do that and you can even just give them a call if you get stuck.
Get paid to make the switch
In fact, you can actually make money from starting the contract. AT&T will buy you out of any contract you’re already in by setting the cancellation fee from your previous provider.
Plus, they’ll give you a gift card to stay thank you. For the 300, 500 and 1 Gig plans, that gift card will be worth a decent $150 and for the 2 Gig and 5 Gig plans, it’ll be $200.
You’ll get the gift card no matter whether you’re moving from another provider or setting off from scratch.
Make sure to sign up for paperless billing and Autopay
The Fiber prices that we’ve presented so far are the ones that are listed on the AT&T website. They include a $5 reduction for Autopay, which is basically direct debit, and paperless building.
If you don’t opt for both of these things, you can expect to pay $5 more per month. It’s just not worth it!
AT&T Wireless Student Deals
Some mobile network providers will lure students in with discount deals. But at the time of writing, that’s not the case with AT&T.
You’ll still need to pay full price for the AT&T Wireless (AT&T’s mobile network brand) plans. But there is one way you can make some money through Wireless, and that’s by taking it up as an internet customer. More on that shortly.
AT&T DIRECTV Student Deals
How do you like the sound of a new TV package for your fresh new student apartment? AT&T DirecTV is all the hype right now and there are a couple of ways you can save money on your monthly payments with it.
Again, there aren’t any student deals here. But, you can save $10 per month for your first 12 months if you sign up for a new DirectTV contract online.
Remember, it is a 24 month contract. So for the second year, your monthly payment will go up.
AT&T Internet and Wireless Bundles
Technically, there aren’t any ‘bundles’ for customers so to speak. But if you’re a customer of one, you can get paid for taking up the other as well. Here’s how it works.
If you’re already a Wireless customer and are interested in taking up AT&T Fiber, you can get a $300 reward card when you sign up [3].
On the flip side, AT&T Internet or Fiber customers can get up to 25% off their Wireless bills, which is pretty neat.
So if you’re already a customer of one or the other (or if you want to take up both at the same time), definitely make the most of these offers. They’re some of the best available from AT&T.
AT&T Internet and TV Bundles
In a slightly sneaky way, AT&T claims to have bundles for its Fiber and DirecTV packages. But when you take a closer look, this is actually not the case.
The price of the bundle is actually the same as the price of the Fiber and DirecTV packages individually. It’s not really much of a bundle!
So, unfortunately, there’s not actually any way to save any money by buying both of these products together.
AT&T Internet Student Deals FAQ
Life’s hard as a student, and navigating your internet deals can be a big part of that! But hopefully having read this article, that part of your student life is eased a little.
Nonetheless, you probably have some questions. And you’ll probably find the answers to them below.
How do I prove my student status with AT&T?
If you sign up for the AT&T internet in store, the easiest thing to do is simply bring your student ID with you. But, as we know now, there are better deals waiting if you order online.
So, to prove your student status online, you’ll need to log into your universal portal online as you place your order. It’s really easy!
Do the AT&T student deals also apply to teachers and lecturers?
Naturally, education discounts should be extended to those who supply them. And yes, AT&T recognizes this too. The AT&T Wireless discount is available to all teachers no matter what level of education they’re teaching.
And, teachers, don’t forget to make the most of the rest of the great deals from AT&T!
How long do AT&T student plans last for?
All you need to do is make sure that you sign up for your AT&T student plan while you’re still a student. Then, you can keep paying the discounted rate for as long as your contract lasts for.
If you’re coming to the end of your time as a student and need a new cell phone plan, it’s time to act fast! You don’t want to miss it and end up having to pay more per month.
Which AT&T plans are available for me?
Your location is the deciding factor as to what internet plans you’ll be able to get from AT&T. But for most universities in the states that AT&T cover, you should be able to sign up for reasonably quick internet plans.
Some university campuses will be lucky enough to get AT&T Fiber. And that means superfast speeds for the best prices. Just go over to the AT&T website and enter your university address to find out what plans are available to you.
Wrapping Up on AT&T Student Deals
AT&T has a lot of great deals but there’s only one that’s specifically for students. It is a shame, of course, that students can’t get extra deals on the likes of Fiber (or Internet if there is no Fiber available).
But, that is just the way it is right now. Don’t give up all hope though – AT&T does drop random student discounts from time to time so keep an eye out for those.
Hopefully, having read this article, you know a lot more about the ways you can save money as a potential future AT&T customer. That money really could go a long way in your time as a student!
Once you’ve got your hands on your new AT&T Fiber package, why not upgrade your router with the money you saved to get a little extra speed or range out of it? We’ve put together some of the best routers for AT&T Fiber to help you make the decision.
Good luck and happy studies.
