AT&T iPhone data plans

AT&T does not appear to be planning any major changes to its data plan prices for the iPhone 3G S and iPhone 3G, says the Wall Street Journal. "We've been very happy with our pricing," said AT&T spokesman Mark Segal, who went on to mention the average monthly bill for an iPhone user was within $90 to $100. The Wall Street Journal suggests AT&T could charge an additional $10 to $40 for MMS and tethering featured on the new iPhone 3G S. AT&T has been put under pressure to offer lower priced data plans by both consumers facing the financial crunch and competitors setting aggressive data pricing.

Last month, AT&T's wireless chief Ralph de la Vega said the company was considering a lower tier of pricing plans. These packages would include limits over the amount of time spent on the Internet or the number of applications that could be wirelessly downloaded.

Apple last week reduced the price of its iPhone 3G to $100 and introduced the faster iPhone 3G S with more features.

Sprint Nextel has said its Palm Pre data plans cost $600 less per year than AT&T, while Verizon wireless offers an unlimited data plan for $70 per month. AT&T offers a similar plan, charging an additional $5 for text messages.

The telecommunications provider could lose money if it does decrease its data plan pricing, as users commonly purchase unlimited data plans which AT&T then must pay to transfer across the network. AT&T also must pay hundreds of dollars in subsidies to Apple in order to maintain iPhone exclusivity. Upgrades are also being installed to double the network speed for the iPhone 3G S, causing even more costs for AT&T.

by MacNN Staff