AT&T to give away 1.5 years of service to iPhone buyers?
By Darren Murph 
posted Jan 25th 2007 3:16PM
posted Jan 25th 2007 3:16PM
Get your buckets of NaCl loaded up, as this one just seems a bit too rough around the edges to hold any sort of reality, but according to Zune-smashing Jim Cramer and TheStreet, AT&T will be "giving away its service for a year and a half" to anyone purchasing Apple's forthcoming iPhone. Still in your chair? If so, we doubt those three or four fence-sitters out there pondering over whether or not switching out of that recently signed contract would be worth it come June are debating any longer. In a bizarre assertion, it seems that AT&T is going all out in order to downright steal marketshare from competitors such as Verizon and Sprint-Nextel, and while we've no idea if such a plan intends to be implemented, this here sounds like a surefire way to get more than a few traitors to come AT&T's way. Of course, there has yet to be company confirmation that such a deal is in the works, and we're still waiting for the presumably mile-long list of contract stipulations that will certainly be attached, but 18 months of gratis phone service isn't something to balk at -- but we bet you'll still be the one ponying up for AT&T's practically necessary (and admittedly costly) data plan if this goes down. [Warning: Read link requires subscription][Via MacRumors]
I wonder if they're really going to still be charging for the phone time, but giving away the EDGE data plan. That makes more sense to me & would still be enough of a carrot to bring many folks into that world.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
Are you sure this isn't backwards? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to give away the GPRS data while locking you into a voice plan? It isn't like you can do VoIP over GPRS....
Lets not forget... Apple stated that you have to lock into a 2-year contract with AT&T/Cingular when you purchase the iPhone... so whats the price for the remainding 6 months of service? $60, $70... $80/month?
can anyone say polluted market of Iphones
At $600 you are actually paying for the service...and if they do it , other carriers will have similar deals also.It guarantee you it won`t be unlimited service anyways.
Now you can experience ATT`s "fast-busy" AKA no connect due to GSM circuit overload from your iPhone.That`s the reason I dumped ATT years ago.
Fewest blocked calls? Most BLOCKED CALLS for sure !
The salseman pretended to not know what a "fast-busy" is ;)GSM can`t handle as many calls per transponder. It`s a weakness of GSM systems they don`t like to talk about.
Cingular isnt going to be giving away free service. They're the biggest rip off provider of them all. In fact, they will be charging EXTRA for the iPhone data, text, and voicemail services. What you may get is..say Visual Voicemail service for free, whilst spending almost $200 a month for voice and data on top.
Where does it say that they will GIVE service away?
The below predicts that service contracts will be shorter and less expensive.
"provide significant discounts in service:
Now, AT&T's all about market share, and if you read between the lines, I think you see a strategy coming where the device's $500 price point is preserved but the service contract is greatly reduced. I think that AT&T -- and not Apple -- is the key to this next leg, and CEO Stan Sigman can make it happen." Per http://www.macrumors.com/2007/01/25/atandt-cingular-to-give-away-18-months-of-iphone-service/
probably just forget to mention this: "...to one lucky contest winner."
the iPhone is going nowhere. IT WILL FAIL. ONly the mac user will buy this overprice piece of junk. it's a unprove device that possible can't make a good calls. @ $600 this phone will not fly on a G2 networks at all, plus a $50 monthly for 18-24 will make NO differences at ALL.
This phone will not come close to the sony walkman phone, of which sony sold 20 millions units in 2006. The New Sony Walkman phone will kill the iphone.
After reading your post, I understand why you are the lowest ranked.
Dude, the phone hasn't even come out yet. "It's an unproven device that doesn't even make good calls"? There are only three of them in existence; have you used one? At least wait for it to be released onto the market before you start bashing it.
Well, well, well, I guess we have Nostradamus amongst us.
So tell me, oh great soothsayer. what other prediction can you make for us? What other prognostication have you foretold us? I will give you my life savings.
good lord, what is your problem? It would be one thing if you actually had real fact to back your statement up, but you are just talking out of your butt.
This has to be vaporware! There is NO way. If this is true I will push my girl aside and eat my own licorice flavored underwear ;^)...
Oh, and please spare us the GSM/CDMA comparison. We have already been there and done that many times over! Conclusion? Global roaming on leading edge technology phones that a not gimped wins every time!
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FB a.k.a LDM
Water-bending Master
http://www.eternal-champions.com/images/ldm_master_builder!.jpg
I sure hope they integrate 3G into the phone over the next 5 months. I just picked up a BlackJack to replace a broken phone on the Cingular/AT&T network. I got the $40 unlimited data plan and immediately installed SlingPlayer to give it a test run. I was very impressed. Did a speed test and was getting 2.2 megabits down. I'm dreaming of SlingPlayer on the fullscreen iPhone with sweet floating touch controls.....please oh please Apple 3G!!!!!!
I sure hope Apple integrates 3G into the phone over the next 5 months. I just picked up a BlackJack to replace a broken phone on the Cingular/AT&T network. I got the $40 unlimited data plan and immediately installed SlingPlayer to give it a test run. I was very impressed. Did a speed test and was getting 2.2 megabits down. I'm dreaming of SlingPlayer on the fullscreen iPhone with sweet floating touch controls.....please oh please Apple 3G!!!!!!
Seems like somebody(s) is going all out the make the iPhone #1. Looks like they are trying their best to flood the market in one quick jump to have iPods and now iPhones all over the place! I smell a RAT.
Good move though!
I sure hope Apple integrates 3G into the phone over the next 5 months. I just picked up a BlackJack to replace a broken phone on the Cingular/AT&T network. I got the $40 unlimited data plan and immediately installed SlingPlayer to give it a test run. I was very impressed. Did a speed test and was getting 2.2 megabits down....can that be right? I'm dreaming of SlingPlayer on the fullscreen iPhone with sweet floating touch controls.....please oh please Apple 3G!!!!!!
I sure hope Apple integrates 3G into the phone over the next 5 months. I just picked up a BlackJack to replace a broken phone on the Cingular/AT&T network. I got the $40 unlimited data plan and immediately installed SlingPlayer to give it a test run. I was very impressed. Did a speed test and was getting 2.2 megabits down....can that be right? I'm dreaming of SlingPlayer on the fullscreen iPhone with sweet floating touch controls.....please oh please Apple 3G!!!!!!
It's almost too good to be true. I hope Cingular do offer some incentives on their plans for iPhone uers, because I want the iPhone so bad. But it's hard to believe that they will practically hand out hundreds of dollars to people for them to use their service and the iPhone for free for 18 month.
At this rate, the iPhone saves money:
$40/mo for 18 months = $720
Whats the point? Why not just offer a 1.5 year contract? Afterall, they are the only ones offering this device, there is no competition.
Usually cell phone companies subsidise the phone when you sign up for a new contract, but Apple probably struck a deal with them so that they don't sell the iPhone for $250 when the iPod is at a similar price point, so instead of subsidising the phone, they subsidise the service... same shit, different pile.
lets say on conservative side the deal is free base plan for $35/month. That is $630/sub of revenue that Cingular would be giving away. Assuming Apple can actually get to 10m phones - that is a conservative $630m cost to Cingular. I don't think so. Not when they are nickeling and diming consumers with surcharges/fees/"taxes" every month.
I be this is what they are going to do. They will use the 1.5 year free service to get TONS of people to switch. They want people with them to get the iphone. Ya know you get it with Cingular you want the phone your going to stay with them to use it right?
Here is what I predict. Apple will start having other carriers get the phone in about a 1.5 years. Cingular/At&t wants to have most of the market. I think with the iphone they have a good chance.
HAS ANYONE ACTUALLY LISTENED TO THE CONFERENCE CALL???
I just skimmed through it, and maybe I missed it, but I heard no mention of such an arrangement. Anyone else like to have a listen to double check?
It is available here:
Cingular 4Q06 Earnings Call
http://podcasting.thomson.com.edgesuite.net/16265/2007/Jan/Cingular%20Wireless/Cingular_s_4Q06_Earnings_Conference_Call_1.24.2007.mp3
Maybe Cramer's people had a separate meeting? If anyone does find where it is mentioned, please respond with the time in the call.
This would be an amazing development, but it could just be Cramer thinking out loud for the moment.
Let's look into this...
I'm still trying to figure out how to type out a sneeze bullshit expression. Let's see: "AAAHHH-AAHHH-BBUULLLSSSHIIITT!!"
It's exactly what came to mind when I saw the words AT&T and Free in the same sentence. Those bastards never give anything out for free. Like someone before me said, this post is somehow missing the "...to one lucky contestant..." part.
If this is true, no one will complain that the iPhone is too expensive, and the other wireless carriers should be very worried.
Good on Cingular for giving a good freebie to anyone who ponies up $600 for a phone that isn't even 3G.
That said, I'm convinced that said freebie will be unlimited EDGE data, not voice. Logistically, it makes much more sense: Every user needs a different bucket of minutes from the next one, not to mention individual plan, vs family plan, vs Premier plan. Giving away a basic voice plan would mean applying some form of rebate to users who need a different plan... and would lead to sales reps making mistakes.
But the fee for EDGE will be the same regardless of whether you're buying 500 minutes or 5000... a much easier freebie to give away, not to mention less hostile to their bottom line.
I actually wrote about this a little bit ago and everybody scoffed at me when I said it, but I can see this happening. It would at least be a more revolutionary, and more Apple-esque solution to this problem. I guess we'll have to wait and see...
Cingular charge 15 cents for a 140 byte SMS message; somehow I don't think they're going to be giving free data plans to iPhone buyers.
Maybe they want to flood the market b4 any other carrier gets their hands on the unit. Lets see how many people try to unlock this phone after their contract is done.
*dryly* Sure! What free service plan are they refering to? a $20 plan which runs out of minutes in 2 days, where they will charge you $0.80 per minute thereafter?
You apples are getting your hopes up again and you will be disappointed with the results AGAIN. A free iphone plus a couple hundred bucks bonus would be nice, but not in this world. Maybe you can pick up that fresh apple phone plan at the farmers market in a about 10 years?
The apple phone might be the most widely distributed fruit crop in the world, although it ranks behind grapes (Motorola), bananas (Sony Ericsson), and oranges (Nokia) in total production.
ha...please...give me EVDO over EDGE anyday, tethering my treo to my laptop = internet anytime!
The apple iPhone will be the new market standard for PDA phones. GSM may not be as fast as EVDO right now, but the new line of 3G phones will definately give EVDO a run for its money. If this rumor turns out to be true, i think AT&T will take a large portion of customer from both Sprint/Nextel and Verizon.
As for the poor fool above which thinks the iPhone will fail worse than the Sony Walkman phone must be laughed at! That is the most rediculous statement EVER!!! Apple makes superior products to any other mobile/computer hardware company around. To think that the iPhone will fail is completely absurd.
why does everyone worry about the price so much, it will drop a lot soon after the release. maybe no one remembers but the Razr was $500 at launch. It only costs $250 for Apple to build the phone anyways. i think free service is a great idea. i would buy the phone without a doubt then
It wouldn't surprise me in the least if it turned out to be something like "We're discounting the phone so much [from Apple's traditionally-outrageous retail] it's like giving away the first 18 months of service!". I could be wrong, but...
i think it makes pretty good sense to give away some service ... usually cingular (like other carriers) greatly subsidizes the cost of a phone when you sign a contract by up to a couple hundred $. in this case, apple is prohibiting them from subsidizing the cost of the phone ... so if they give away $35/mo worth of voice service for say 6 months (rather than 18) that's about $200 (and a bit less at present value). suppose a data contract at $20-$30 a month is required then they're still getting significant revenue.