It's the first notable price increase by any of the big three carriers since T-Mobile US (NASDAQ: TMUS) completed its merger with Sprint. While AT&T hasn't officially raised its minimum wage, the market requires it to pay new employees more, which means a significant increase in costs. CEO John Stankey made it clear on AT&T's first-quarter earnings call on April 21 that the company will have to adjust pricing in order to combat the pressure from wage inflation.