*Updated* AT&T has announced the 3G data plan for the iPhone will cost $30 a month, which is $10 more than the $20 EDGE plan of the original iPhone. This cost is in addition to a voice plan, which starts at $39.99. For complete updated information on pricing, go here.
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The current data plan for the iPhone costs $20 for unlimited data. Will the iPhone’s 3G broadband access cost more? There may be some clues in what AT&T charges for their current line of 3G smartphones.
AT&T’s PDA Bundles featuring 3G access.
For their current range of 3G phones (AT&T calls them PDA bundles), AT&T charges $30 for unlimited data over their 3G and/or EDGE networks; $50 for unlimited data and unlimited messages; and $60 for a tethered package, which means you can use your 3G/EDGE connectivity for your phone and your laptop, but you’re limited to 5 GB of bandwidth. However, other carriers have begun offering a tethered package with unlimited bandwidth for $100 a month, so AT&T could just as easily fall into step.
At $20 a month, the current iPhone’s data plan enjoys a special price separate from AT&T’s other line of phones. But what’s interesting is that the data plan is not defined by data coming over the EDGE network, ie, it’s not called an EDGE network plan, it’s simply called a “data plan.”
However, with 3G’s faster speeds, people will be using more bandwidth, and AT&T would be incurring higher costs.
It may not be out of the realm of possibility that the data plan price would stay the same for 3G access. I just wouldn’t bet on it.
Link to AT&T’s current 3G data plans.
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