iPhone rate plans revealed, at-home activation announced

Even though they could probably charge $500 a month for service and still sign up a grip of Apple fanboys, AT&T has announced that it will be offering the iPhone for much more reasonable rates, starting at just $60 for 450 minutes and "unlimited" data; that's right, the data plan is wrapped up nice and tight with voice service in your obligatory two-year contract. Scoring 900 or 1,350 minutes will set you back $80 and $100 per month, respectively, although no matter what plan you choose, you're getting 200 text messages, unlimited mobile-to-mobile calls, and a ton of night and weekend minutes (5,000 for the starter plan, unlimited for the other two). If you're unfortunate lucky enough to be stocking up on iPhones for the whole family, shared bundles of 700, 1,400, and 2,100 minutes (all with 200 SMS messages and unlimited night and weekend calls) can be had for $80, $100, or $120 plus 30 bucks per line. Finally, to keep existing customers from going crazy waiting for their contracts to expire, AT&T is also offering its current subscribers a $20 option to tack on the iPhone data plan -- which goes up to $30 or $40 if you need to jack up your SMS limit to 1,500 or unlimited messages.

In more good news -- well, depending on how you look at it -- Apple has announced that customers will be able to activate their new phones via an iTunes sync, saving them from spending even an extra minute in an AT&T store they will have surely have grown to despise. On the down side, if you do have problems with your activation -- remember those initial iTunes / Vista issues? -- it'll be just that much more difficult to troubleshoot as you and two million other frustrated users flood AT&T's customer service line simultaneously. Good times, folks, good times.

Update: That's some, ah, good journalism there Lou. Apparently there are actually six packages each available for both of the individual and family plans, as reader Christopher K. noticed by simply clicking on the "More Minutes" button at the bottom of those plans' respective tabs here. Heavy users will be also be able to choose from 2,000, 4,000, or 6,000 minute bundles for $120, $170, and $220, respectively, with families getting 3,000, 4,000, or 6,000 minutes for $160, $210, and $310, also respectively.

Read - iPhone rate plans
Read - iTunes activation

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[Nate @ Jun 26th 2007 9:30AM]

This is from the market watch story: "and a one-time activation fee of $36"
What the heck does that mean?

[Matt @ Jun 26th 2007 9:32AM]

I hope thats sarcasm.

[Nate @ Jun 26th 2007 9:34AM]

nope, that was a question

[arthur barnhouse @ Jun 26th 2007 9:42AM]

Nate, I'm not trying to be rude, but if you just look at the statement in a vacuum and it's self-explanatory. You pay a one-time fee for activating the service.

[Nate @ Jun 26th 2007 9:44AM]

That what I figured but I've never had to do that before, an it seems expensive as crap.

[Matt @ Jun 26th 2007 9:46AM]

Why did mommy buy your phone for you? Haha jk.

[Nate @ Jun 26th 2007 9:52AM]

your a funny guy

[Matt @ Jun 26th 2007 9:54AM]

Aren't I. BTW my mom bought my phone. She pays the bill so its all good.

[Dahk @ Jun 26th 2007 11:20AM]

Gosh. My name in short is Nate as well. My name has been disgraced.

Honestly, 600 bucks for the phone, and 36 bucks is a problem?

[Nick @ Jun 26th 2007 11:24AM]

every carrier I've had (verizon, Cingular, Tmobile) has charged me a one-time activation fee of around $36.

are there any carriers that dont charge the activation fee?

Nate, i think you should try getting your own plan and phone sometime, you'll be amazed at what kinda fees get charged to you.

[bey @ Jun 26th 2007 2:18PM]

The activation fee seems to exist just so the carrier can waive it and make it look like you're getting a good deal. Well, that's been my experience with Verizon and Sprint anyway...

[NHAnimator @ Jun 26th 2007 9:32AM]

I was really quite passive about the iPhone in general. But unlimited data/web for $60? I'm feeling a little tingly now.

[ItsTheOMGShow @ Jun 26th 2007 9:55AM]

Sprint's SERO Plans (www.sprint.com/sero) give you:
500 AnyTime
Unlimited Nights & Weekends
Unlimited Mobile 2 Mobile
Unlimited SMS
Unlimited Internet (Data)

For the grand total of $30. Still Tingly?

[Preston @ Jun 26th 2007 9:58AM]

Any Sprint employees feel like sharing their email addy with me? =)

[ItsTheOMGShow @ Jun 26th 2007 10:07AM]

You can use [e-mail] to get in, though you can google for @sprint.com and find some addresses also.

[PynkFloydd @ Jun 26th 2007 10:07AM]

Yeah, this all seems WAY too expensive. I just got a Mogul through Sprint's SERO for $288 (no activation charge) and a monthly plan of 1250 minutes with unlimited everything for $49.99. That's about half price for plan and phone! Preston, if you do some searching...the sprint (public) SERO email is pretty easy to find.

[narco @ Jun 26th 2007 11:01AM]

Sprint's price is nice, but you forget that you're still using Sprint. I've used all wireless services over the years, and even though Cingular is really bad, Sprint has got to be the absolute worst.

Still, these prices seem reasonable enough.

Fishes,
narco.

[zeke @ Jun 26th 2007 11:23AM]

Wow, I didn't realize that phone/data plans are so expensive on other carriers. I have the Sprint Sero plan and a PPC-6700 and only pay $25/month for a plan that's much better than the $60 one ATT is offering.

Granted, the PPC-6770/WM5 is not as slick as the iPhone, but it seems to have much more functionality.

[Frankenstein Black @ Jun 26th 2007 11:39AM]

Three problems
1. Sprint don't have iPhone.
2. Network is a joke compared to Verizon or at&t.
3. Customer service consistently ranks lowest.
Well, I guess you "get what you pay for"!

[Scott @ Jun 26th 2007 12:29PM]

A $400 Mogul with Windows Mobile and Sprint bloatware? No thanks.

[Michael Emmons @ Jun 26th 2007 12:38PM]

One interesting thing I heard from an AT&T rep yesterday was that you can cancel the iPhone data plan after 3 months. I personally am not interested in using the internet unless I'm at a WiFi hotspot and I hardly ever text message. So, I have no need for any plan other than the one I already have with AT&T.

Obviously I would prefer not to have to sign up for _any_ additional services, but at least I don't have to pay extra for the full 2 years.

[bey @ Jun 26th 2007 2:18PM]

Sprint's SERO plans are beyond awesome. The coverage here is nearly as good as Verizon's and way better than AT&T, also. Another plus is that Sprint has a data/internet roaming agreement with Alltel, which covers Sprint customers with data in a lot of places where Verizon's roaming agreements limit them to voice only. I suppose in other markets, AT&Ts coverage is probably better. But here, it's definitely Verizon > Sprint > AT&T. As for needing a referral for SERO, just check out http://www.buzzaboutwireless.com/cms/ , second post down ;). As far as cell plans go, the iPhone plans are pretty good... I kind of wish carriers didn't force data plans on people with anything that remotely resembles a SmartPhone, though... Definitely not worth switching off my SERO plan for an iPhone though.

[JinKazmam @ Jun 26th 2007 9:43AM]

450 minutes is a little small for $59.99 but all in all the plans are pretty darn good considering you are getting unlimited data, rollover, and unlimited mobile to mobile.

Kudos At&t, they easily could have charged $60.00 for voice and tacked on another $30-$50 bucks for data and nobody would have batted an eye.

[arthur barnhouse @ Jun 26th 2007 9:46AM]

450 isn't that small when you consider unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. I can't even think of the last land-line I called.

[Matt @ Jun 26th 2007 9:49AM]

@ arthur barnhouse

Are the mobile to mobile minutes just AT&T to AT&T? I have called Verizon people and it takes from my normal minutes.

[Thataboy @ Jun 26th 2007 9:34AM]

It is industry standard to charge an activation fee... lame, but standard.

Anyway, these prices are VERY reasonable. Frankly, I'm shocked. It makes it that much tougher to wait out the first generation.

[Jon @ Jun 26th 2007 10:01AM]

Not in the UK. :P

[PiranaS @ Jun 26th 2007 2:55PM]

There's a more in-depth story analysing the price plans here:
http://www.standandcount.com/index.php/iphone-rate-plans-announced-14

Overall, sounds like a good plan.

[daedalus @ Jun 26th 2007 9:35AM]

I'll stick with my $85 Helio plan... 1000 minutes and unlimited everything else...


But it's good to see that AT&T isn't charging too much out the ass

[Tony Bowman @ Jun 26th 2007 10:38AM]

except for youtube. heh

[Tim Middlebrook @ Jun 26th 2007 9:38AM]

Is it me or does these plans seem to be a rip-off? You pay 600 for the phone with no subsidy, and you pay more for less minutes? I have tiny-mobile and it seems like I pay for more minutes for less and I have the blackberry data package.

[Mr. Tips @ Jun 26th 2007 9:41AM]

It's you

[fred @ Jun 26th 2007 9:51AM]

Totally you. These plans are AWESOME!

[Jimd @ Jun 26th 2007 1:56PM]

Actually, you can keep your current plan and just add the $20 data plan (with 200 SMS).

It's actually $10 cheaper per month for me. I pay $30 for my blackberry data plan.

[Jon @ Jun 26th 2007 10:29AM]

Not only you. Seems a bit too much for a none-subsidised phone with two year contract on top. Maybe I am spoilt in the UK.

[Whackmushrooms @ Jun 26th 2007 10:41AM]

i feel like this is a total scam .. the god damn phone is already 500 on the "low-end" ... oh well .. not like i didnt see this coming.

[jg @ Jun 26th 2007 11:07AM]

The price is fine. Don't forget that you're not just paying for minutes with these plans. Data is an entirely separate issue. You're getting web-browsing on the the go (yes slow because no 3G), and you're getting visual voicemail. Granted these things shouldn't be that much more expensive then a regular phone, but the fact of the matter is, they're not THAT much more expensive...

[Tim Middlebrook @ Jun 26th 2007 11:12AM]

Please don't get me wrong, I love this device and would love to get one. But it seems like they are nickeling and diming you to death. Plus we don't know how the reception will be with the phone or att. I had cingular for a few years a few years ago and didn't like the coverage, but that could have been my phone. I hope the phone is a success and can be moved over to tiny-mobile with a sim chip.

[roulette843 @ Jun 26th 2007 9:39AM]

This is fantastic. At the $60 price point, they're giving us 200 text messages, unlimited data and visual voicemail for an inexpensive $20/month. I'm now positive that this device can fit my budget, so I might consider hovering around the AT&T store for the day if the traffic around it is considerable enough.

[david @ Jun 26th 2007 9:38AM]

Wow . . . much more reasonable than I was anticipating. Takes this from a "no way" to a "maybe". I especially like the family plan prices, at $100/month for 1,400 minutes for two phones (if I'm reading that correctly), an iPhone for the wife and I would only be marginally more expensive (for service) than what we're paying at Verizon for 1,000 monthly minutes. Granted, there's an entry fee of $1,200 (two iPhones) so I don't see jumping on this quite yet, but at least AT&T/Apple aren't being punative on the pricing of the plans . . .

[PynkFloydd @ Jun 26th 2007 10:32AM]

If you read the REALLY fine print on Apple's website, the price of family plans only include one line. Additional line are $30 each. ...and I'm sure they'll charge an "activation fee" for each line.

[Jason G @ Jun 26th 2007 9:39AM]

prices are great!!

in fact, I already have the 450 min plan w/ cingular and the "media works" bundle for 15 bucks which does not have unlimited data - so I'm really paying 5 bucks more for unlimited data. Sounds like a deal and a half!

[Steve Moseley @ Jun 26th 2007 9:39AM]

Its my understanding that part of the "cost" of a wireless contract is the cost of subsidizing the handset. Since AT&T is supposedly not doing that, it makes sense to me that the plan would be cheaper. I also thought that the usual $175 cancellation fee that all of the providers charge was to recoup costs for the loss of that "subsidizing" money for the handset. It that last sentence is true, AT&T is still getting more money out of this as they haven't put any money in to decrease the cost. They get $175 for everyone who cancels. A pretty good deal for them actually.

[AdamY @ Jun 26th 2007 9:44AM]

Thank god, this post has answered my two major questions:

How much for the plan?

And, as an existing customer with only 3 lame months left on my contract, is there an upgrade path to the iPhone?

Given Engadget's wording ("to keep existing customers from going crazy waiting for their contracts to expire") I'd say I'll be iPhone-a-licious come Friday.

iPhone: Don't Hate it because it's Beautiful.

[sshah87 @ Jun 26th 2007 10:49AM]

I donlt hate it cause its beautiful. I hate it cause it's overpriced and has zero features.

[James @ Jun 26th 2007 12:12PM]

Yeah, Wi-fi isn't a feature. Visual Voicemail isn't a feature, huge beautiful screen isn't a feature, world's best touch screen isn't a feature, cameras are useless unless they are 5 billion wasted megapixels...

I love how every iPhone hater seems to use some non-existent hybrid of a crackberry+Nokia N95 and lives in a world where every inch is drenched in 3G coverage. Back in reality, the iPhone is a really nice implementation of features normal people actually want. Price is decent too, considering I get to avoid craptastic Sprint service.

[Jacques Chiraq @ Jun 26th 2007 9:41AM]

Uh..can someone say boy geniass' predictions were wrong...again? Where does he get his information from?

[Frankenstein Black @ Jun 26th 2007 11:46AM]

Please provide a link...

[Joe @ Jun 26th 2007 9:41AM]

Wow...this just makes me feel even worse about Verizon. AT&T has a serious opportunity to gouge consumers on this one, yet their plans are still a better deal than what VZW offers at the moment for their POS phones.

[andrew @ Jun 26th 2007 10:40AM]

I know these are great plans I am on verizion and paying this for just the minutes. but because I broke my phone and got another one I under Verizion for 4 MORE YEARS anyone know how to get out of a contract?