AT&T/Cingular to Give Away 18 Months of iPhone Service?

[epochblue]

I'm not sure how Cingular's service is in St. Louis but here in Chicago it's been flawless. I've had no problems with the network anywhere I've gone in the nation and have had no problems using it in The Netherlands, France, Italy and Germany as well. I honestly can't believe there are so many Cingular haters out there.

I live in St. Louis and I haven't had any problems with Cingular's service. The only times it doesn't work have been in tunnels or *deep* inside buildings. Nothing out of the ordinary, really.

And if the monthly cost of service for the iPhone is free/cheaper, I'll be forking over for an iPhone almost immediately. The cost of the plan (not the phone) is what will keep me from buying one.

 

[NightStorm]

If this is even party true, I'll be a very happy switcher.

 

[Jerry Spoon]

I wouldn't take Cingular's service even if the iPhone and the monthly bill were given to me....

I've got Cingular in St. Louis (St. Charles actually, but it's basically just a suburb) and the biggest problem I had in the past with the service was taking the cheap LG phones that they were offering. Once I got my Razr my reception increased incredibly and the number of dropped calls dropped to almost none. I keep hearing commercials about how it's the netwok that makes the difference and I can't argue that the network is important, but the quality of the phone seems to be equally important to me as well.

 

[Max Payne]

Sorry for the off topic comment:

That's the first time I've been on one of these popular Mac rumour forums and noticed someone actually located near me! Max, live near Broadgate park, just down the road from you.

Another Notts Apple fan joins the club.
Until now there are two in Dunkirk, one in Beeston and one in Wollaton.
I will take an iPhone no matter what the contract of the initial payment is, if and only if it's not locked to a specific network.

 

[clcnyc]

release is 6 months away

good lord, I can't take all of this speculation, why can't I tear myself away from this??? Why aren't I working?

 

[zelmo]

I can't really believe that they'd give up 18 months of service charges, but if that was 18 months of free data, it'd be more believable. That would be the same as buying the phone for $150 or so w/regular 2yr contract, I'd guess.

does make it more attractive for us Yanks. hmmmmm...

 

[mrthieme]

This sounds great, but I am not expecting any provider to wow us with their packages for the iphone. It has demand built right into it, and Cingular knows that many people will sign anything to have one.

 

[yg17]

I've got Cingular in St. Louis (St. Charles actually, but it's basically just a suburb) and the biggest problem I had in the past with the service was taking the cheap LG phones that they were offering. Once I got my Razr my reception increased incredibly and the number of dropped calls dropped to almost none. I keep hearing commercials about how it's the netwok that makes the difference and I can't argue that the network is important, but the quality of the phone seems to be equally important to me as well.

I had nothing but trouble with them (I'm in Chesterfield). Part of the problem was the actuall cellular service, the other part was the customer service. And it wasn't the phones fault. Between me and my parents, we had 3 different brands/models phones on Cingular and had problems (and my phone wasn't a cheap one either, it was an unlocked Sony Ericsson w810i).

 

[tk421]

Amazing! If this is the case, I'll be buying one!

I think this is probably too good to be true. Where would Cingular/AT&T make their money? The last six months of the contract aren't much. They'd hope that most of the customers continue with them?

I hope this is true - it might be true - but it's probably not.

 

[Flyinace2000]

I'm not sure how Cingular's service is in St. Louis but here in Chicago it's been flawless. I've had no problems with the network anywhere I've gone in the nation and have had no problems using it in The Netherlands, France, Italy and Germany as well. I honestly can't believe there are so many Cingular haters out there.

I don't get it either. I live in Norther NJ. Cingular has actually been better than VZW and when i went sking in vermont my phone seemed to work more than my girlfrineds phone (VZW). Over all i am glad i swithced. GSM phones are much cooler anyway.

 

[bradleyt78]

Very interesting but very hard to believe ...

As an employee of the new AT&T I do find it very difficult to believe that we would 'give away' one month of service let alone 18 months! We have to be profitable as a company to continue to offer expanding and reliable service. HOWEVER, due to the fact that Apple will not allow subsidies on the iPhone I think it does require the carrier to do a little unstandardized thinking. Even as an employee I was finding it hard to rationalize buying a $500 - $600 device (if I didn't get free service like I do). So, as a customer it was hard to rationalize paying all that, signing a two-year contract AND paying most likely upwards of $80 a month for current rate plans and unlimited data.

BUT, if we subsidize our service rather than the device then I think we've got a definite winner here! Makes more sense to me to subsidize is for the length of the contract so that payments are the same and there isn't sticker shock right at the 19-month mark ... but either way it turns so many people into customers. You wouldn't believe the number of people I've met as I travel around to my stores that say, "Oh my God, I am switching to Cingular once the iPhone comes out!!"

Giving away service, in my mind, could equal up to $400 in Cingular is still in the same boat as they are for selling a two-year contract with a 'FREE' RAZR, IZAR, KRZR or some other stupid MotorLZR.

 

[ziwi]

Just remember - there is no such thing as a free lunch. Sure some Phones are free with annual or 2 year contracts here, but the latest and greatest are not free. I have not seen the model switched the other way either where the phone is a solid price and the contract is free. I just do not see any provider doing this as it will create issues with other phone providers to show special treatment to one phone. They may model the plan to look one way, but where would they be without all of the additional monthly fee's that are attached to each bill

 

[savar]

Now THIS is revolutionary!

Sounds too good to be true though. I was expecting very aggressive data-plan pricing, but this goes far further.

I'll believe it when I see it. Plans for smart phones are usually $80+ a month, so they're saying buy a $500 phone, get $1000 of service free?

 

[bradleyt78]

There you go

I had nothing but trouble with them (I'm in Chesterfield). Part of the problem was the actuall cellular service, the other part was the customer service. And it wasn't the phones fault. Between me and my parents, we had 3 different brands/models phones on Cingular and had problems (and my phone wasn't a cheap one either, it was an unlocked Sony Ericsson w810i).

Unlocked phones are bound to have more issues because they aren't 'locked' to the Cingular network and calibrated to work the best. There's a reason Cingular spend so much money and the most time of any wireless network testing their phones. Buy an unlocked phone and you'll have more issues.

 

[Sprung]

3rd Hand Information - "Wait 'til this summer."

We live in a remote rural area where SBC (now AT&T) is the provider.

SBC offered a 'one bill' package (long distance, satellite TV, cellular) for a reduced rate and we signed up for that service, but have not placed our order for the cellular phone, yet.

Because of politics we lost our satellite 'distant channels' and I called around to see if there was anything that could be done to get them restored; without having to break the above mentioned package.

During the calling, cell phones and Apple came up, and somebody mentioned "holding off until this summer to order the 'package cell phone'," because I, "might be in for a 'sweet' surprise."

When I asked if it was "iPhone related", they responed with the 'sweet surprise' again.

(fwiw) I have still not determined if I trust cell phones, assume the arguments will go on for years, believe in '(most) everything in moderation', and feel this is something that should be considered:

http://www.flyingsnail.com/CASHCPR/cellular.html

There are no ads,etc. on the above page, just information.

 

[aussie_geek]

I prefer paying things in advance. This was I wont be worried about high monthly bills. If this is adopted in the UK, I'll take one.

Yep - that'd make me interested as well - just like a .mac subscription or something.

aussie_geek

 

[nbs2]

I wouldn't take Cingular's service even if the iPhone and the monthly bill were given to me....

I'm glad to see someone isn't changing their tune once they get something for free/cheap. I'm surprised so many stateside folks were ripping Cingular/AT&T when the deal was announced and are suddenly now pleased with their service. Maybe I shouldn't be. Materialism at its worst.

I feel the same way as you, only my feelings are directed towards Verizon Wireless and DSL, neither of which I would take for free. Of course, that is neither here nor there at this juncture since Verizon is a whole other beast.

Anyway, the concept is intriguing. I'm under the impression that the phone is normally subsidized by the carrier, making this no different - it's the lock in for the last six months and the data plan where they will make their money. After all, how many people actually use up all their minutes (the demographics would make an interesting study)?

If the phone is being targeted towards consumers, how would this work with a family plan? Would it cover the cost of the basic plan and leave you to pay the $10/line or cover the secondary, leaving you to pay for the primary line? The idea is sound, but the customer service end of the billnig department is going to have to be on its toes.

Also, could this spawn a shift in contract tactics across the board? Will mfrs. demand equal treatment, resulting in a higher up front cost for phones and boosting contract participation numbers?

 

[peharri]

If true, this will turn everything on its head.

In Britain, my first phone cost me 200GBP, but it came with a year's worth of service (and that was the contract length.) I just had to pay for overages. That type of package was phased out when PAYG started to become the rage, but it certainly wasn't a bad model and it dealt with most people's major concerns about cellphone service, the contracts and obligations of those contracts.

Now, admittedly, the plans offered were terrible. One offered free local calls at weekends only, the other 30 minutes of calls a month. And the risk was lower for the carrier because incoming calls were charged to the caller and cost a small fortune, but were collected by the company servicing the caller.

If there's something scary about US tariffs, it's the (absurdly long) contracts and their obligations and the PAYG tariffs aren't generally that great.

Offering the ability to pay completely up front, facing nothing but overages in the future, would certainly go a long way towards making mobile phone service more user friendly. It would also help undermine the current bias towards forcing people to pay, directly or indirectly, for crippled phones, regardless of whether they want one or have bought their own uncrippled equipment.

I'm not sure I believe it yet, but it's certainly an exciting possibility.

 

[chandlerkent]

Think Differently

I actually wrote about this a little bit ago and everybody scoffed at me! I am glad to see other people are thinking differently.

 

[notjustjay]

I'll believe it when I see it. Plans for smart phones are usually $80+ a month, so they're saying buy a $500 phone, get $1000 of service free?

If there's any kind of "unstandardized thinking" (to use the terms from a previous post) it should be that wireless carriers need to stop charging ridiculous prices for data. I'm sure Steve would like nothing less than to change the world with the iPhone -- all those neat services, internet access, web access, Google maps, etc. in the pockets of "everyman" -- but the carrier data packages are the weakest link here so far. A lot of plans still charge per kilobyte (stifling the urge to bring up a rather infamous phone recording...) or offer piddling amounts like 256 KB a month.

I hope this device ushers in an age of unlimited data packages at reasonable prices. Remember when dialup internet was $25/month for 50 hours? Look how far we've come.

 

[cherrypop]

No matter how much Cingular/ATT discounts their plans, I would rather have the option of buying an carrier-free (unlocked) iPhone.

The only way I can see ATT discounting the plan is if they are serious about getting as much attention and benefit from the Apple partnership as ATT "relaunches" their service after the Cingular buyout.

They'll offer some tolken number of minutes, like 250/month, with the option of paying full boat for more realistic plans.

Apple, unlock the iPhone.

 

[lookmark]

No. Way. In. Hell.

I don't believe this for one second. Someone must have misunderstood something, or got their wires crossed.

Maybe they'll offer free data for a certain period, or a surprisingly OK deal, but no way will it be completely free.

 

[L3X]

I think Cingular might be onto something with free service for 18 months. They are thinking long term here.

First of all, A LOT of people are going to have to break contracts to switch to Cingular. I have Verizon and i don't even know how much it is but it could be $100 or more, not sure. So, add that to the $500 iPhone and the service, and it's really A LOT of money up front to get the iPhone.

If they give 18 months of free service, then the cancellation fee for your other service doesn't seem bad at all, you buy the iPhone, and pay for 6 months of service at the end of your contract, and then if you like your service for those 2 years, your more likely to stick around with Cingular, because there's no reason to switch back to your other provider. If Apple keeps making products for Cingular then it's even better.

Big companies like this can afford to offer deals like this because in the long run it will pay big for them.

 

[yg17]

Unlocked phones are bound to have more issues because they aren't 'locked' to the Cingular network and calibrated to work the best. There's a reason Cingular spend so much money and the most time of any wireless network testing their phones. Buy an unlocked phone and you'll have more issues.

That's not true. That's the whole point of GSM being a standard, so, assuming a phone is unlocked and works on the correct frequency (which my w810i did, it was quad band), it will work without problems. The only things that an unlocked phone may have difficulty with are data and things such as Cingular's medianet. If Cingular built their network so only specially calibrated phones would work on their towers, then the group in charge of the GSM standard would not allow Cingular to call themselves a GSM provider.

And FWIW, I also had a Cingular branded, locked Moto v551 that was just as bad.

 

[icerabbit]

Well, those of us who rolled over from ATT into Cingular on prepaid are not happy. We've seen a drastic increase in prices and a drop in customer service.

Because of our location in Maine with only average coverage to none in certain areas we dropped from unlimited anytime nationwide (flat rate do anything you want) to ATT prepaid and use it when it is really needed. With Cingular there was a big price hike and expiration times were cut in half or a third.

Now in the past months Cingular has forced / is forcing everybody to switch over to a GSM phone ($$). And, we found out the hard way that the new Cingular prepaid quietly removed roaming. So, in essence you shoot yourself in the foot big time. a) You lose every tdma tower which is pretty much what is around here in maine. b) cingular has maybe two dozen towers ... and doesn't let your roam on the other GSM carrier Unicell.

Near the capitol here we went from in-house usable signal to none. Outside our tdma phone gets pretty consistently 2 bars more than the GSM, because they don't have enough towers to service the area.

Truth is that for our common travel area we went from coverage throughout Maine - wherever there was a tower we could use it - to a paperweight.

Cingular will not do anything about it. No refunds. Nor will the local store. They cross refer to each other.

I have written a letter to Cingular. Going on 4 weeks now, I have yet to receive a response by mail, email or phone. That is real-world how Cingular is raising the bar is for some people.

From a brief look at the Cingular user forum, under the new plan, there is be $1 charge when you make/receive a call or send a text message (which is how it was explained to me in the store). According to what I read in the forum, they actually charge $1 access fee as well for incoming erroneous text messages + 5c a message. Voice mail alerts, ah, you're on the network $1. ...

What do I do? I leave my cellphone OFF altogether, will use up my minutes when I travel next time and in the mean time will switch to a carrier with nationwide roaming rights on tdma. Bye bye Cingular.