Filed under: iPhone 101
iPhone 101: Eight 3G iPhone Plan Pricing Details You Need to Know
Thinking about signing up for iPhone 3G service? Here are some pricing details you'll want to know about. 1. You have to pay $18 or $36. A one time $36 activation fee still applies to 3G plans, the way it did for the first generation iPhone. If you're a current AT&T subscriber, this fee is only $18.
2. Data costs more. On the original iPhone plans, unlimited data cost $20/month. The new iPhone 3G plans cost $30/month.
3. Exchange costs $15/month more beyond that. The normal 3G iPhone data plan costs $30/month. Enterprise data costs $45/month. This buys you access to all the standard Exchange features. If you need to get Exchange mail, or access data inside your firewall, you're an enterprise user. AT&T isn't saying they'll disable ActiveSync and Exchange on normal iPhone plans for non-corporate users so we're unsure how they'll police this policy. Our Christina speculates that the enterprise plan sets up the server to accept exchange support; you could do IMAP from your exchange account but if you want non-MobileMe push, you gotta be on the enterprise tier plan.
Follow the jumps for more plan pricing details.
4. SMS isn't included. 200 Text Messages a month start at $5 and go up to $15 for 1500 and $20 for unlimited SMS messages.
5. You can buy SMS a la cart. SMS messages cost $0.20 each if you aren't on one of the monthly plans. This is a bit pricey. Late last year, I was still paying $0.05 for AT&T SMS a la carte. Then they jumped to $0.15, and now $0.20.
6. Voice minutes still start at $40/month. There are no prepaid contract free Pay as You Go plans available for the 3G iPhone. $40/month buys you 450 minutes. Price plans go up from there to $200/month for 6000 minutes.
7. International plans are available. You must activate International Roaming before leaving the US and set up a plan. Call 866-331-0500 to find out more about international roaming and long distance. Keep in mind this consideration is true of nearly all smartphones from AT&T and not just the iPhone.
8. There are no 3G-less discounts. If you live in an area that doesn't have 3G service, you're still going to pay at least $30/month for data. AT&T no longer offers the original $20/month data plan. Many people consider the $20/month plan an incredible bargain.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
Scott Shumaker said 3:09PM on 7-01-2008
It's SO nice that I get to pay $18 for the privilege of signing up for a more expensive data plan. On this point alone, I might not upgrade. Is this standard for all AT&T phones? Let the nickel-and-dime-ing begin!
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Le Big Mac said 3:32PM on 7-01-2008
Yes, and it's obnoxious. And stupid--if you bought a new phone from anyone else you would just swap the SIM and there's no fee. I cannot understand what marketing genius decided it was smart to charge new customers an "activation fee".
Tim said 3:36PM on 7-01-2008
I was thinking the same thing. Unlimited Data doesn't mean text? Lame.
Zoli said 3:55PM on 7-01-2008
It's actually sad- the iPhone was the first phone to say to the cell phone companies- up yours, we're doing things the way we want to. It was truly the start of ending the misery of the cell phone contract. However with this next iPhone, we're taking a step in the wrong direction.
dave said 4:46PM on 7-01-2008
@Tim
Exactly, text should be in the same category as data - unlimited. I suggest that we all download multiple GBs of data as often as we can, everyday, make AT&T feel the pain. You can download 1 GB of data, but you have to pay to send a 150 byte text message. Insanity!
Ryan Trevisol said 4:52PM on 7-01-2008
99% of the time I complain and get the activation fee waived because I've been a good boy ever since Bellsouth mobility.
(01) said 8:37PM on 7-01-2008
Right? Screw me out of my texting, raise my data plan by 10 bucks, and then CHARGE me for the privilage of texting again. Man, I want one of these, but my rough calculation is that my bill will be ~92.00 including all the bullshit taxes and fees.
Sun said 12:22AM on 7-02-2008
$69.99 is crazy
potato said 11:41AM on 7-03-2008
And this is why I'm on T-Mobile. Sure, the reception sucks in some places, but the customer service has always been top-notch for me, and I never feel nickel and dimed.
Heck, when I got my iPhone on T-Mobile, they didn't charge me a single penny in hidden fees. I paid my monthly dues up-front (no credit history, having just moved here from Canada) and off I went. No activation fees, no SIM card fees (yes, Rogers in Canada charges you for the SIM card!)... Pure joy :)
Brian Burns said 3:11PM on 7-01-2008
Just got off the phone with two different AT&T stores and told my story.
I'm a current iPhone owner on a goPhone plan, I asked if I was eligible to upgrade or anything. I would basically have to sign up as a new AT&T member. Becoming a new member won't be easy at all for me considering I do not have any credit history. I guess I couldn't get an iPhone 3G if I tried.
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blinkcowz182 said 4:04PM on 7-01-2008
When I first signed up with AT&T 5 years ago (Cingular back then) I was 16 years old and hadn't ever had any bills in my name. I went in with my dad prepared to need a cosigner and they signed me up on my own contract with out a cosigner or deposit. I think you'll be ok.
Dale said 2:29PM on 7-02-2008
In August of last year, as a British immigrant with no credit history and contractor status, I was able to sign up for a cell phone just fine. Some networks will give your account a spending cap, some will ask you to pay a deposit up front, but it seems very rare that you will be flat out denied service.
winkyeah said 3:15PM on 7-01-2008
Holy crap, they are charging more if you want access to an Exchange server?!? WTF, is this just to sell more MobileMe accounts? And everything else is expensive! No wonder the phone is so cheap.
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JohnPQ said 3:19PM on 7-01-2008
The iPhone isn't cheap when you add up all that other crap. In fact, you're probably paying more this time around.
Zoli said 3:53PM on 7-01-2008
It's weird- the only way they could police this is have 2 separate versions of the iPhone 2.0 firmware- one for enterprise, and one for standard, which would be ridiculously hard to keep track of.
I think this means if you are on a business account plan, it will be $45 a month, but personal will be $30 (I hope).
Michael Rose said 3:56PM on 7-01-2008
This may seem odd, but it's been standard practice with the Blackberry to have separate pricing tiers for personal and enterprise data plans.
Joe said 4:23PM on 7-01-2008
I'm not convinced that the extra price for exchange is correct. I currently have a Samsung Blackjack, and AT&T doesn't charge extra for exchange. I'm fairly certain that price is only for businesses buying phones for employees. It'd be nice to know that for sure.
Chris said 6:09PM on 7-01-2008
The extra $15 is something specific that business users will have to sign up for. Since the idea is the business user will be sending and receiving more data (via activesync). They will not block activesync or push type email services (what you are getting with activesync really) for people who only paid for the non business plan. Why?
Because the same push mail / calendar / photo traffic is going to be generated by mobileme, which I am sure Apple does not want to make their customers sign up for another $15/month to use their service which is sold to work with their phone.
Besides that, ActiveSync uses port 443/80 by default, so network side they would have to block or filter them. And 443 is also known as HTTPS.
The business data plan only applies for people who have a business contract with AT&T, it would not apply to people who want to use business functionality on their personal plan phones.
John Federico said 1:29PM on 7-02-2008
Yeah - this is what really gets me. I have to pay for my own hardware and my own connectivity to access our company Exchange server. Why should I have to pay more for it? What's the difference?
Also, if I upgrade my current iPhone to the v2.0 software with Exchange support, what are they going to do?
Damn infuriating. Makes me want to go back to my BlackBerry...
-jf.
CMcGarity said 3:16PM on 7-01-2008
According to CNN, AT&T WILL be offering the iPhone sans contract, albeit without the benefits of the subsidies, therefore making the cost of the iPhone around $600 to be 'Contract Free'.
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