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Business Week has a bit on what AT&T may be pondering to help make the iPhone more affordable to a larger market. The lowest iPhone plan from AT&T is about $70 per month. That breaks out to $40 for the voice portion and $30 for all-you-can-eat data. For smartphone users, that’s a fairly reasonable plan, but for everyone else used to paying for voice only, that’s a shocker in tight times. Plus, as we’ve lamented before, the original iPhone (EDGE) data plan is $10 less for $60/mo. BW speculates AT&T may be looking at light-weight plans that cost less but also have limited data. Whispers say this could go as low as $10/mo and would be attractive to users just looking for email and infrequent Web usages off of Wi-Fi. The bonus here for AT&T is likely once new users get a taste, they may be upgrading in the near future anyway. iPhone data usage is a significant chunk out of AT&T’s data bandwidth, and it's probably not just because it's unlimited. While a lower data plan would be a good move, we also think a lower voice plan would be a good idea. Currently the lowest tier is 450 rollover minutes for $40. Maybe we’re anti-social weirdoes but we could go for a lower rate plan and use those rollover minutes to smooth out chatty months. Anyway, in addition to rate plans BW notes the price of the iPhone itself may see some cuts. Looking at the falling component costs and Apple’s creative cost-cutting designs, the new iPhone will likely see component savings even with new functions. Between that and perhaps some more contract subsidies, the iPhone may start out around $100, or even pre-paid iPhones. With that said, there’s a possibility this low-price phone could be a hold-over current model or a new lower-end iPhone. Cheaper iPhone Plans from AT&T?
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