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AT&T Inc. is bringing back unlimited wireless data plans, a reversal after more than five years of moving customers away from such plans onto those that charge for data use.

The new plans are only available to customers who subscribe to its recently acquired satellite television service, DirecTV, or its older U-verse TV service. They come at a competitive time in the industry that has carriers looking for new ways to attract customers, and retain their existing ones, without simply cutting prices.

In 2010, AT&T was the first major U.S. carrier to stop offering unlimited data to new customers. Rival Verizon Communications Inc. followed the next year, while smaller national rivals, T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp., continue to offer such plans.

AT&T and Verizon have long argued that the surging growth in data traffic required expensive network upgrades, and unlimited plans prevented carriers from collecting more money as usage rose.

In November, T-Mobile began offering a service that doesn't charge customers for data used to stream video from a select group of providers such as Netflix, Hulu and HBO. The video is streamed at lower quality in exchange for waiving related data fees.

AT&T said it is able to offer the plan because it has made significant network investment. A spokeswoman said the move wasn't in response to T-Mobile's recent free streaming video offering.

The new AT&T plan includes unlimited data and unlimited talk and text for $100 a month and additional lines are $40 a month with the fourth line being free. The cost of a smartphone is separate from the service plans.

In the AT&T plan, the carrier said it may slow data speeds during periods of network congestion after a customer uses 22 gigabytes in a month.

Write to Thomas Gryta at thomas.gryta@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 11, 2016 11:45 ET (16:45 GMT)

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