Rumor: AT&T to reduce cost of entry iPhone plan

at&t is just in it for profit, the same way comcast is. both monopolies and not offering lower tiers to cover a wider range of customers. locked into services because the product is only available in those markets with no competition. feeding you their minimums when it may not meet your needs.

Am I missing something here? The feature which draws me to the iphone is the wifi. I already pay for wifi in my home, and it is available free in coffee shops and libraries. So why would they force me to pay for a data plan? I would not need the data plan, since the phone is already capable of free internet access via wifi. By allowing AT&T to force customers to buy something they may never want or use, Apple has allowed them to undermine a chief design asset. It would be like selling a car with high mileage, but forcing the buyer to pay for extra gas they would not use.

Again, unless I got this wrong... maybe the data fee is for the wifi?

How much do you want to bet that this rate will not be retroactive to iPhone 3G customers? I detest cell phone companies... They do everything they can to lock you into a contract, then treat you like trash once you're in.

I can promise there will be a revolt if that happens.

I've also heard that this is only in regards to the original iPhone, not the 3G or upcoming model. Unless they're trying to move some old iPhone 2G stock out I can't see who would take this "deal" if that's the case.

And how much will they raise the 'taxes' and 'fees' and wipe out any savings.

I just wish they would offer a plan with less than 450 minutes. I use less than 100 minutes a month (and this is my only phone!), and with rollover minutes I already have like 2,000 minutes I'll never use. It seems like the carriers are stuck in this mindset that people primarily communicate through phone calls. It would be nice to see more flexible options putting more emphasis on the data and text plans so people can choose what fits their needs best. But then we wouldn't be forced to pay them for things we don't need, and they wouldn't like that.

I'm already paying $60 for the cheapest plan with data. Does this mean I won't have to pay an additional $10 to get 3G service when I get the new iPhone?

Sounds to me like they are just reducing 3G data plans to $20. Otherwise the iPhone voice plans are just standard AT&T rates.

I assume this doesn't apply to existing users…

They need to drop the cost of text messaging too! Either way this is a huge win for all iPhone users, maybe even enough to keep me from switching.

Wait a minute...I must be missing something...

AT&T iPhone plans as of right now:
$39.99(voice)/450 min + $20.00(data) = $59.99
$59.99(voice)/900 min + $20.00(data) = $79.99
$99.99(voice)/unl. min + $20.00(data) = $119.99

How does this differ from the already existing entry level plan of $59.99???