Do you still remember back in June on WWDC when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone 3G at $199.99? Everyone cheered as he made this momentous announcement and affirmed the iPhone price drop rumor. Now, over a month later after the iPhone 3G has finally launched, AT&T network customers are getting the bills. The first bill is a combination of July’s prorated charges plus August’s 3G network fees. And behold, the first bills come to at least $160 dollars, almost as much as the $199 iPhone.
This may come in as a surprise to customers new to the data plans. Many people new to the iPhone 3G were either paying a lower data fee or never had a data plan before. Getting their first bill may make them think twice about keeping the contract for 2 years, especially during a time when the US economy is not doing too well.
Even Verizon had published their own documents recently to give to their employees to spread the propaganda that AT&T plan makes the iPhone 3G expensive. The statement “They cut the device price by $200 but raised the service price by $240” is so true and shows how apple and AT&T is smart to market iPhone 3G as an inexpensive smart phone but ultimately collect the same amount of revenue for each phone.
First iPhone bill costs as much as a new 8 Gigabyte iPhone 3G because it contains the prorated July and the full August network fees. Let’s break down the bill in pieces. The following plan described is a new but very basic iPhone 3G network plan with AT&T. It consists of the 450 anytime minutes and does not include the SMS package. In this bill, AT&T starts the prorated charge on July 13th.
Data Plan: July-$19, August- $30
The Data Plan for the iPhone 3G is $30 dollars a month, $10 dollars more than the 2G phones and costs more than some landline broadband connections. Don’t forget, AT&T does not allow tethering their 3G connections to your computer via the iPhone.
Voice Plan: July-$25.33 August-$39.99
The lowest price voice package allows only 450 anytime minutes and 5000 nights and weekend minutes. What! No unlimited nights and weekends?
Activation: $40.32
Activation after all the fees and taxes amount to $40.32. Of course, if you are already with AT&T, you may not have to pay this fee.
SMS: N/A
This plan does not include the SMS package. So the user cannot use SMS. If you want SMS package, add $5 to your monthly plan. Hopefully, with new technology, SMS will be a thing of the past in the near future.
Taxes: $8.86
All these federal, state, and city taxes adds almost 9 bucks to the bill. If your state and city are nice to you, you may be able to pay less wireless government imposed taxes.
Total Bill: $163.50
You may have noticed that this plan uses the cheapest plan available. With only 450 anytime minutes available per month, one can easily go over the limit and start paying a preposterous rate. Luckily this user has another cellular plan so he doesn’t have to make all his calls on the iPhone. Too bad he can’t sign up for the AT&T hearing disabled data only plan which still costs $50 per month.
The iPhone 3G may seem cheap when compared to the original iPhone at $399. However many people may not be able to afford the monthly charges. Those that plan to get an iPhone should consider the total price they will pay over the life of the 2 year contract. After all, the $199 iPhone 3G price is just a marketing tactic to get more people to buy an iPhone without sacrificing the total payout for each phone.
But even with the high monthly bills, iPhone is still a superior phone. Web browsing, though not perfect is still much better than its competitors. The iPhone applications also make the iPhone a great phone. GPS and future apps that require GPS may be extremely useful for those on the go. Just don’t be surprised if your first AT&T Wireless bill costs as much as your iPhone!
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