AT&T to Fully Allow Apple’s FaceTime Feature Over Its Cellular Network (with One Catch)

People hoping to use Apple's FaceTime videochat service over AT&T's cellular network have slowly but surely seen their options improve.

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People hoping to use Apple’s FaceTime videochat service over AT&T’s cellular network have slowly but surely seen their options go from Wi-Fi-only, to being required to sign up for a Mobile Share plan, to being required to sign up for a Mobile Share plan or own an LTE-compatible iPhone or iPad, to now being able to use any AT&T-connected FaceTime-compatible Apple device regardless of data plan or connection speed (with one catch – more on that in a bit).

On the company’s Consumer Blog, AT&T’s Mark Collins writes:

When FaceTime over Cellular launched in September 2012, we explained that we wanted to roll it out gradually to ensure the service had minimal impact on the mobile experience for all of our customers.

As a result of ongoing testing, we’re announcing AT&T will enable FaceTime over Cellular at no extra charge for customers with any tiered data plan using a compatible iOS device.

Collins continues, saying that an automatic software update will roll out “on an ongoing basis beginning in the next couple of weeks,” and should be fully deployed to everyone “over the next few months.”

The catch seems to be that if you’ve opted to grandfather yourself in to AT&T’s now-nonexistent unlimited data plan, you won’t be eligible for the feature without switching to a newer tiered data plan.