HARRISBURG — Attorney General Michelle Henry announced a $10.25 million, 50-jurisdiction settlement with several major mobile device service carriers regarding allegedly deceptive advertising practices, including claims of “unlimited” data plans and “free” phones.

The multi-jurisdictional settlement reached with AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Cricket and T-Mobile requires the carriers to be truthful in future advertising, disclose all attached fees and agreements, and train customer service staff accordingly.

Pennsylvania will receive over $260,000 in costs and fees as part of the settlement.

“The demand and need for mobile devices are extraordinary, and Pennsylvanians deserve reliable information and the truth about costs when making important decisions that impact their budgets,” Henry said. “For far too long, these major carriers have been advertising free devices that actually involve significant costs for the consumer.”

The terms of the settlements address misrepresentations in advertisements concerning: “unlimited” data advertisements, “free” phone offers, monetary incentives to “switch” wireless networks, and wireless carrier plan comparisons. The carriers allegedly neglected to clearly and conspicuously disclose the limitations, conditions and differences in these offers.

The settlement, in the form of an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance, will, among other things, require the wireless carriers to:

Settlements were filed with carrier companies: AT&T Mobility, LLC; Cricket Wireless, LLC; T-Mobile USA, Inc.; and Cellco Partnership — which does business as Verizon Wireless, and TracFone Wireless, Inc.