AT&T is one of the biggest cell phone companies in the US. In fact, it’s one of the biggest companies in the world, period (#22 to be exact). So you’ve probably heard about it. But the question is, does AT&T have good cell phone plans compared to other major wireless carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile?

The short answer is yes. AT&T offers a variety of unlimited data plans with fast speeds, great coverage, and high data caps. Plus, AT&T is currently rolling out a robust 5G network. The biggest downsides are high prices and throttled streaming quality.

Strap on your scuba gear because we’re going to do a deep dive of everything AT&T: plans, performance, bundling deals, customer service, and more. But first, let’s go over a few basics.

Choosing the perfect cell phone plan is easy if you know what to look for. Here are a few tips from some folks who do this for a living (us).

• Data: Get a plan with enough 4G LTE/5G data to support your streaming, gaming, and working needs. The last thing you need is to run dry mid-month.
• Price: The cheapest plan isn’t necessarily the best value for your money (it usually isn’t). Compare prices to be sure you’re getting the right mix of performance and cost savings.
• Coverage: AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon all have darn good 4G LTE coverage in most cities and suburbs. But rural coverage and emerging 5G networks are all over the place. Check coverage maps to get on the best network in your area.
• Features: Don’t take special features—like HD streaming and hotspot data—for granted. Read the fine print on your plan to make sure it has what you need.

Not everyone knows that you can get the same reliable cellular coverage as you would from AT&T when you sign up for a cheaper plan through an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator). MVNO carriers operate over the same cell towers, but offer simpler plans that make for big savings.

Our favorite MVNO that operates on AT&T’s network is Boost Mobile. You can get an unlimited talk, text, and data plan from Boost for $25 a month, which is about $40 a month cheaper than the cheapest AT&T unlimited plan. Even better, you still get premium data speeds and mobile hotspot access.

We have some complaints about AT&T, but we like to start with the good stuff. And there’s actually quite a bit of good with this carrier. Here are the things AT&T does well.

You might expect your unlimited data plan to, you know, give you unlimited high-speed data. But that’s not going to happen, no matter which carrier you’re with.

Pretty much every cell phone plan has data caps or something called data deprioritization. Basically, this means that after you use a certain amount of high-speed data, your speeds will be reduced (especially when the network is congested).

If you use your phone to game, post, stream, or work, then you want a plan with a high data cap. AT&T’s Unlimited Extra and Unlimited Premium plans fit the bill. Unlimited Extra gives you a 75 GB data cap while Unlimited Premium promises unlimited high-speed data no matter how much you use, making these plans among the best in the industry.

AT&T averages a 28.9 Mbps average download speed, which isn’t quite as fast as T-Mobile and Verizon on average, but it comes pretty close. To put 28.9 Mbps in context, let’s say an Instagram story is around 15 MB—that means the story should play after waiting about a half a second, on average. Likewise, if you wanted to download Oceanhorn 2 off of Apple Arcade (2.3 GB), it would take you a little over a minute.

As current AT&T customers (like myself) can report, AT&T has already rolled out its 5G network across the country. It’s still not as widespread as the carrier’s 4G network, but it’s available in many metropolitan areas (like Salt Lake City, where I live).

But this nationwide 5G network is actually “low-band” 5G, which is just a fancy way of saying it’s fast, but not that fast. Speeds on this 5G network are just a little bit faster than normal 4G.

AT&T does have another form of 5G which uses millimeter wave technology. This 5G can go very fast, like faster than your home internet connection (think 100+ Mbps). AT&T calls it 5G Plus, and it’s only available in select parts of 45 cities. . . for now.