AT&T app update reveals add-on that prioritizes your network for a price

AT&T may be working on a new paid add-on for your data plan. The add-on would give users priority access to AT&T’s network for a price.

In the release notes for the latest update to the myAT&T app on the App Store, users found references to something called “AT&T Turbo.” Although the feature is not live, the update says Turbo would “provide uninterrupted network speeds during peak traffic times.”

Such a service would give subscribers priority access to the network when it’s busy. For example, if you were at a sporting event, service would normally be slow because a large group of people are huddled in the same area trying to access the internet at the same time. However, if you pay for Turbo, your connection would get priority over other people’s connections.

Shortly after references to the feature were discovered, AT&T provided a comment to CNET. In that statement, the company says “some inaccurate language was inadvertently pushed in the notes for our app update today.” Although the carrier doesn’t specify what it means by “inaccurate language,” it’s likely it did not intend to reveal this feature quite yet.

Implementing Turbo would bring up questions about how the service would adhere to net neutrality rules. These rules require companies to treat all internet traffic equally.

In addition to Turbo, the update mentioned that users will now be able to add new lines from the app. They’ll also be able to choose wireless plans from within the app as well.