AT&T providing $40 data-free iPhone plan?

AT&T may be offering a special low-cost plan for customers who threaten to cancel service, according to those who have called complaining about Internet performance. Those who declare their intent to close their AT&T accounts with specific reference to slow Internet speeds are said to get an offer from sales agents to lower their plans to $40 per month from the $60 minimum in exchange for dropping the unlimited data plan and SMS texting, making it more affordable for those customers who don't want to pay for the unused feature.

Most of the iPhone's features remain in place with the less expensive plan, according to the report. Subscribers can still use Wi-Fi for browsing, e-mail, and YouTube; calling maintains the same 5,000 night and weekend minutes as well as the 450 daytime minutes. Visual Voicemail is disabled, however, and likely ties into the use of data service to download and cache messages on the iPhone. The $40 monthly fee doesn't include typical minor service fees and requires 25 cents for every SMS message if a separate text bundle isn't included with the device.

AT&T is already known to have quietly instituted GoPhone plans for customers who fail the provider's credit check during the activation process, but has until now required that this and virtually all other plans include all data and SMS features.