With no notice, AT&T delivered a nasty Christmas lump of coal to RVers who had signed up for that $360 annual plan for unlimited 4G LTE service via the Togo Roadlink C2 wifi extender and cellular hotspot.
It obviously caught the Togo people off guard, too, as here's their official announcement:
“AT&T has informed Togo that it will be retiring unlimited data plans, including those available for Togo Roadlink and Runs with Togo users. The Togo RV team is communicating these plan changes in advance so that customers have time to make informed decisions about their connectivity.”
Terrific. As for those thousands of RVers who went to the considerable trouble of installing a Togo dome on their RV rooftops, AT&T basically says…tough.
AT&T will end the unlimited plans, including the Unlimited Adventure Plan available for Togo Roadlink, effective January 16, 2020. Further, existing customers can not be grandfathered in. Once their plan expires (a year after they signed up), they will have to choose from a bunch of very expensive plans if they want to keep the 4G LTE capabilities. They will not be able to renew their plans.
Just like that. No explanation. No grace.
Why? Being the big greedy corporation it is, AT&T doesn't give any explanation. Industry observers think they misjudged how many RVers would take advantage of the plan. The four new tiered plans range from $25 to $300 a month, way, way more expensive than that $360 a year unlimited plan.
The original plan had this original statement in it: “Pricing, offer & terms subject to change & may be modified or terminated at any time without notice.”
That makes me think that AT&T always planned this. I think they just wanted to get a solid bunch of RVers to install the Togo dome (which cost $340 on Amazon, $399 from Togo), figuring that after they invested in the equipment and installed the dome, AT&T could then cancel the plan and charge whatever they wanted. Business is business. Greed is greed.
For those who do have the dome, it will still be useful as a WiFi booster. But for cellular, the dome is hardwired right now to only work on the AT&T network, though there is some talk that Winegard – the company that makes the dome – may find a workaround that would allow it to accept SIM cards from other network providers. I'll let you know if that happens.
The Togo I have was provided me as a review unit by Togo as part of a very active campaign that sent them out to numerous RV bloggers and influencers. It works well enough, though the AT&T network is a shaky second best to the Verizon network. The $360 plan (which I purchased) expires in mid-summer. I certainly will not be signing up for one of those new tiered plans AT&T is trying to replace it with. In fact, I can categorically say I will never do business again with AT&T.
I bet I am not the only RVer making that vow.
11 Responses to “AT&T abruptly pulls plug on Togo $360 deal for RVers”
Comments are closed.
August 22, 2020at12:38 pm, Michael said:
This sucks, just finding out 7 days left of service f@#$ at&t
August 08, 2020at9:27 am, Complete Review of Nomad Internet for RV Travelers said:
[…] CLICK HERE for a story about that fiasco […]
May 22, 2020at5:34 pm, Jackie Comuzie said:
We bought and installed the Togo Roadlink C2. We bought this because of the plan. The new plans offered are ridiculous. 100GB a month for 300 dollars. 5 GB for 25dollars. Its a complete rip off. Highly upset with the fact that we paid $399 to purchase then installed it on our rv.
December 28, 2019at4:42 pm, What worked, what didn’t in our RV Life for 2019 – Anywhere RV said:
[…] HERE’S A LINK TO THE DEMISE OF THAT GREAT UNLIMITED PLAN […]
December 28, 2019at8:33 am, What worked, what didn't in our RV Life for 2019 | RV Lifestyle said:
[…] HERE’S A LINK TO THE DEMISE OF THAT GREAT UNLIMITED PLAN […]
December 24, 2019at9:50 am, Aquaadverse said:
Done with AT&T. Bought this in early October and the fact they pulled the plug less than a year after the TOGO was first offered in April with no Grandfathering is indefensible from a PR and service perspective.
I got this deal as a backup to my $65 a month Verizon unlimited hotspot, so I won’t be stuck without internet when my plan expires. Hoping T-Mobile comes out with an unlimited plan over the next year that I can use with the TOGO.
December 23, 2019at7:30 pm, Leslie Harding said:
We purchased an unlimited plan from OTRMobile using the AT&T network in Sept 2019. We’ve only gotten the wifi to work maybe three days since then. Zero customer service, they don’t answer their phones nor return phone calls, and their sim cards don’t connect with the cell towers. We’ve had it with AT&T
December 23, 2019at9:56 am, Michael Gnat said:
Hi Mike my wife and I love your blogs and have bought some of your materials which have been most helpful. Wondering what cars you recommend to tow behind the Leisure Travel as we are looking at the same rigs ourselves. Or some of our friends don’t tow a car as they say good planning will suffice? your thoughts?
December 20, 2019at11:09 am, Rick Wiest said:
So Mike, what would you consider the next best thing? I’m ready to have my dealer install the ToGo but I don’t know if I should now.
Rick
December 20, 2019at10:33 am, doug said:
since it’s a mini-sim chip that makes these work with a given network, Togo/Winegard can swing a deal with another network and then send out new sim chips that hopefully would be user installable.
December 20, 2019at10:23 am, Head West On 90 said:
They didn’t misjudge a thing .. it’s the drug dealer technique, to get you hooked and keep you using. It may be legal under cover of the fine print, but unethical in my opinion to put data plans onto the market like this which they have no intention of supporting long term, or at least for a reasonably long period of time for folks to get their money’s worth out of their investment in the tangible equipment the plans specifically target. When it seems too good to be true, it usually is. Verizon is no better in this regard, they have reneged on terms of service on several of my data deals over the years. Sorry for those who are in a jam now, hope you find a way to mitigate your loss if you are unwilling or unable to continue with the new tiered plans. Thanks for the heads up, Mike. Sorry for the extra holes in your roof now!