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Report: AT&T may offer limited iPhone data plan

BusinessWeek report speculates a data plan price cut is part of the negotiations to keep AT&T as the exclusive wireless carrier for the device.

Jim Dalrymple Special to CNET News
Jim Dalrymple has followed Apple and the Mac industry for the last 15 years, first as part of MacCentral and then in various positions at Macworld. Jim also writes about the professional audio market, examining the best ways to record music using a Macintosh. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. He currently runs The Loop.
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Jim Dalrymple

Reports of price cuts to AT&T's iPhone data plans have been circulating for a couple of weeks now, but a report in BusinessWeek on Monday adds a new twist to the speculation.

AT&T may soon offer a limited data plan for the iPhone. CNET

Citing unnamed sources, the report says that AT&T may offer a limited data plan, giving customers a $10 monthly savings on their bill. BusinessWeek speculates the lower prices are part of the negotiations to keep AT&T as the exclusive wireless carrier for the device.

There are no details about what limits would be placed on the iPhone under the proposed data plan, but it seems unlikely that customers would be satisfied with a plan that cut down on the usability of the iPhone. While the iPhone can be used on a Wi-Fi network, it is the ability to go from broadband to cellular networks that makes the iPhone truly useful for Web surfing, texting, and checking e-mail.

AT&T has been widely criticized for the cost of the iPhone plans since the device was first released. The price cuts could be a way to attract customers from other wireless carriers if Apple remains with AT&T.