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Discounted Limited Data Plan for iPhone Coming From AT&T?

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BusinessWeek reports that AT&T is considering introducing a discounted limited data plan for the iPhone at $20 per month. AT&T currently offers only an unlimited data plan for $30 per month, and the data transfer cap for the rumored discounted plan remains unknown.

Analyst Richard Doherty claims that the additional data plan option is being driven by Apple, which wants to offer a lower-cost entry point for the iPhone. AT&T, which is reportedly still trying to lock up an extension to its exclusivity agreement for the iPhone, is also looking for ways to continue to increase its subscriber base.
The exclusive U.S. iPhone service provider is considering cutting the price of its monthly service package or offering a range of lower-priced plans, say people with knowledge of the company's thinking. One plan that could be introduced as early as late May would include limited data access at a $10 monthly reduction, the people say.

The possible price cut likely reflects the back-and-forth between AT&T and Apple (AAPL) as they work out whether and under what terms AT&T would remain the sole U.S. iPhone carrier. Apple may want flexibility in pricing as a condition, analysts say. "We understand it's part of the extension [of its contract] that AT&T wants to maintain," Richard Doherty, director at consultant Envisioneering Group, says of the prospect of lower data-plan prices. As Apple considers whether to widen its circle of U.S. providers, AT&T may have less ability to balk at Apple's requests.
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The report also touches on rumors of a price drop for the next-generation as component prices continue to decline and AT&T considers offering the entry-level iPhone for $99 instead of the current $199. A prepaid iPhone is also reportedly under consideration.

Rumors of a discounted iPhone data plan from AT&T surfaced earlier this month, although the previous reports did not include mention of limited data transfer at the reduced rate.

Article Link: Discounted Limited Data Plan for iPhone Coming From AT&T?
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2009/05/18/discounted-limited-data-plan-for-iphone-coming-from-atandt/
I just don't understand why this has been so slow to come up. This should have been an option from the beginning.
 
Hey AT&T, how about getting rid of the ridiculous charges for text messages too? With my current plan (original iPhone), I get 200 messages included with my $20/month data plan. Once I go 3G, I'll pay $30 a month and get 0 text messages. I'll have to pay an extra $5 to get my 200 messages again, taking my monthly increase to $15. Lame. Very lame.
 
A cheaper iPhone wouldn't interest me as much as a cheaper data plan. You only pay for the iPhone once, but you have to pay every month for the service. So a $10-15 price drop in a data plan would have me more excited than a $100 price drop for an iPhone.

If they put a 1GB cap on data usage and priced it at $15 or $20 a month, I would be very interested.

Warbrain said:
I bet the cap will be much lower than 1 GB.
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Most likely, but it would be nice.
 
It's the data plan which made me ultimately decide not to get an iPhone. I do not have a need for a data plan and won't pay for one. While this is a step in the right direction, still no deal for me. Chances are, I'll probably get an iPod Touch when the prices come down so there will likely never be an iPhone for me.....
 
Great idea, but as long as there is a mechanism that warns you before you go over data usage.

I highly doubt it as that would be the ethical thing to do. However, they will likely just invisibly start charging you $1/1kb if you go over... huge earning potential.
 
That's exciting! it might make my move to at&t and get an iphone finally!

The only thing about limiting data is you have to monitor you're usage but there are threads around where people state how much data they use per month.

I hope its a 1GB cap. Cuz that's a lot!
 
MediaMax Unlimited $19.99

Before the iPhone, AT&T (Cingular) had a MediaMax unlimited plan for $20/month. I frequently used it to tether my Cingular 8125 Windows Mobile phone to my laptop and run SlingPlayer...

I can only hope that someday the iPhone will let me do the same without costing a fortune.
 
chelsel said:
I can only hope that someday the iPhone will let me do the same without costing a fortune.
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Seeing as to what AT&T did with Slingbox, the sad thing is, I don't think the iPhone will ever let us do that, even if we are willing to pay a fortune 🙁
 
LagunaSol said:
Hey AT&T, how about getting rid of the ridiculous charges for text messages too? With my current plan (original iPhone), I get 200 messages included with my $20/month data plan. Once I go 3G, I'll pay $30 a month and get 0 text messages. I'll have to pay an extra $5 to get my 200 messages again, taking my monthly increase to $15. Lame. Very lame.
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The original iPhone used the Media Net data plan which was for dumbphones and featurephones that generally don't use a whole lot of bandwidth and whose users have different priorities for their data usage. The 3G uses AT&T's standard smartphone data plan; I'd assume AT&T realizing that iPhone users happen to use a lot more data (maybe moreso than AT&T had predicted). It's lame, but it's business.
 
i think that they may have the $20 plan unlimited for the iPhone and leave the $30 price point for unlimited data PLUS tethering. There was mention a while ago that AT&T was considering a possible $10 add-on for tethering even before 3.0 was introduced.
 
PLEASE.

I would love to see:
$20 = 1 GB cap
$30 = 5 GB cap
$45 = 25 GB cap w/ tethering allowed

(If those seem unreasonable to you, please get some wifi at home. You'll be fine.)

I'm sick of every company having "unlimited" things with invisible barriers that you never know about until you bump into them.

Just tell us what we can have, charge us what it's worth, and let us decide what to buy and how to use it.

This shouldn't be so hard.
 
This sounds great in theory... but thats assuming AT&T actually implemented it well. A 1GB plan for $10 less a month sounds great to me, but a 200MB plan for $10 less a month sounds like dirt. Especially when there is no warning that your about to go over and you end up spending $50 a month for the 350MB of data that you used. Sorry if I sound cynical... but I really doubt I'm that far off. Prove me wrong AT&T!
 
Anything that will save the consumers money, I am all for it. $10 is crap, but it is better than nothing. I hope that the talk about a price drop for the iPhone doesn't mean minimal updates. I sold my iPhone for 2 reasons. The bill was ridiculous, and the whole software update didn't really do it for me.

I would like a cheaper, more rugged device, considering that I have so many uses for it, and always have it out.
 
Warbrain said:
I bet the cap will be much lower than 1 GB.
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This.

I just checked my data usage for last billing cycle and I was around 100MB. And while I don't spend all day surfing the net on my phone, I do use it a lot. I would expect the cap to be somewhere between 50 and 200MB. AT&T risks losing too much revenue if they set the cap too high.

One of the things AT&T would need to do is allow people to easily check how much data transfer they have left. They have the AT&T app for the phone but it doesn't specify data transfer (just minutes and txts).
 
AT&T's intention will be that the cap will be small enough to be a real pain in the ass to encourage upgrading.

I'd bet on no more than 250MB, with no streaming allowed at all contractually.

Phazer
 
sb9689 said:
i think that they may leave the $20 plan unlimited for the iPhone and leave the $30 price point for unlimited data PLUS tethering.
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Hmmm - interesting theory... I could believe this... Tethering is definitely going to be a touted feature of OS 3.0, and I know AT&T is going to want to monetize it as much as they can (I'm sure they'd prefer you paid $30 as you do now for normal data usage on your iPhone and then an additional $30 for the ability to tether)... This seems like a decent compromise.
 
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