Over the past week, some T-Mobile iPhone customers noticed that their data service suddenly stopped working. Users with unlocked iPhones had been paying $1 a day for unlimited data and text messaging using the Sidekick data plan. It was a great value.

Customers who contacted T-Mobile support received mixed answers. Representatives stated that service was down in their area or that they needed to upgrade to their normal data plan.

Yesterday, T-Mobile sent a tweet on their official Twitter account that they would no longer service iPhone customers using the prepaid Sidekick plan. So just like AT&T cutting off prepaid GoPhone service to iPhone customers, T-Mobile has now eliminated an affordable data option for unlocked iPhones. At this time, it appears that Android-specific data plans remain unaffected.

TUAW has contacted T-Mobile for an official statement on the matter but we have not heard anything back yet.

Thanks Gabe for the tip!

I like to joke that "Iowa is a great place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit." Residents often complain that there's nothing to do (other than milk cows and shuck corn). One can only stand so much antiquing.

But we do have a few things going for us: clean air, relatively light traffic, lots of space, and perhaps the best cell phone plan for the iPhone.

Recently, reader PC Drew, a US Marine living in Japan, sent us a note to let us know about the challenge he had in finding an iPhone plan while visiting his wife's family. A contract plan was out of the question, of course, because of his length of stay and the fact that he's still under a two-year Softbank agreement in Japan. And due to AT&T's, shall we say, "perplexing" lack of a prepaid plan for the iPhone, the official carrier in the States wouldn't help him.

He could have stopped by a Best Buy and picked up an O2 Universal SIM Card for less than $10. That would have provided the ironically-named PC with $0.17 per minute calls but that's it -- no data, no included text messages, and no tethering ability.

After searching a bit for a prepaid solution, he stumbled across the MEGAtalk Nationwide plan from regional GSM carrier, i wireless. This no-contract, no-credit-check offering gives the customer 30 days of unlimited calling, with roaming and long distance, for $49 plus taxes.

But wait, there's more! Not only did PC get unlimited voice minutes, but he also had unlimited SMS texting and, here's the kicker, unlimited data usage. And, with the proper hack, i wireless customers can tether their iPhones for free. Yes, you read that right... free tethering on an unlimited data plan!

Of course, getting a service plan from an unofficial carrier (read: non-AT&T, at least in the United States) requires your iPhone to be SIM-unlocked. This has become much easier over the past two years and most cell phone shops can perform the procedure if you're too nervous. PC had already performed the necessary steps, as he often finds himself in areas that aren't exactly covered by his Softbank contract.

Okay, now for the downer. Because it's a T-Mobile affiliate, i wireless doesn't offer iPhone-compatible 3G service. In fact, they only offer EDGE speeds in their Iowa-based footprint, unless you're traveling to an area with T-Mobile 3G. As a result, that unlimited data is a bit crippled speed-wise, but it's still a heck of a deal.

So, if you're planning on traveling to Iowa -- say, to Fort Madison for the 62nd Annual Tri-State Rodeo in September -- or if you're "lucky" enough to be stuck living here, you might want to take advantage of what's probably the most economical cell phone service plan available for the iPhone anywhere in the USA.

UPDATE: Quite a few readers asked if this plan is available outside of Iowa, so I contacted i wireless directly to find out more about its policy. Yes, you can sign up for this plan, even if you don't live in the i wireless footprint area, however, the representative I spoke with pointed out that this plan may expire at any time, which would seriously affect the customer's ability to use his or her phone effectively. If you are interested in further details, please contact i wireless directly.

DISCLAIMER: I own a computer and cell phone store that sells this particular prepaid plan. But the above story is absolutely true; PC Drew did contact TUAW to brag about his bargain find, without knowing me or my connection to the product.

Holy cow. Those guys at fusion.osx86.hu/#iphone are geniuses. Late yesterday, I downloaded a copy of iASign, their new iPhone activation tool. Right now, at this second, my iPhone just made its first call using the SIM from my disposable Cingular phone with its $10 card. After, I dialed *777# and it told me I've got $9.25 left on my account. The phone number in Settings -> Phone shows the proper number for the disposable phone (versus the one I activated with the iPhone PickYourPlan).

After spending far too many hours trying to set up pre-paid iPhone directly with AT&T, I decided to take matters into my own hands this evening. Instead of trying to connect my newly provisioned AT&T account, I iSigned up using iTunes and entered 999-99-9999 as my social security number (as recommended by one of the more clueful AT&T people).

Of course, this failed the credit check and I was offered the prepaid plan. I selected it, agreed to the terms, and pretty much 1-2-3, I was put into the activation queue. At this time, I'm getting the "Your activation requires additional time to complete"/"You will receive an email confirmation", but my iBrick has taken some major steps forward in its uselessness.

It LIVES! Update and advice here

Yes, the commercials say "2 Year Activation". Yes, I said that it looked like prepaid options were out of the picture. This came a few weeks after after we had heard rumors about prepaid iPhone codes. This evening, Christopher Price over at Phone News dropped me a note and we briefly chatted back and forth. He pointed me to an article he'd written about newly launched AT&T options for pay as you go customers.

Price thinks prepaid isn't dead despite what you see in those commercials. The new AT&T feature packages look as if they're ready to bring prepaid phone services to a new level. So 2-year-contract? No 2-year-contract? Prepaid? No prepaid? I'm just getting whiplash. What do you think?

Oh and by the way: that commercial Scott posted earlier today? Check out the very end and see if you notice...what's missing.

Update: Commercial is LIVE at Apple. No "2 Year Contract"--although the earlier commercials still say that.

Update 2: TUAW Reader Steve reports that he's not seeing the "2 Year Contract" line on the live repeats of the first 3 TV ads either. Can any other readers confirm that these have changed as well?

Update 3: TUAW Reader Gruff reports that the text is now missing from all the online Apple ads.

So would an iPhone that you could buy outright with prepaid service appeal to you? If priced attractively, would it make the difference in your buying decision? BoyGeniusReport has tracked down some curious iPhone codes: "We can infer from the 3 codes received that the iPhone will be available to...postpaid users...[S]ince the masters of prepaid can purchase these, anyone will be able to snatch one up, whether they are in contract or not." Of course, we have no idea how much these plans will cost and what the final cost of phone + plan will turn out to be but surely the idea of a contract-free iPhone is appealing, right? Electronista thinks AT&T may have reconsidered it's in-network-only stance.