There may have some good news for iPhone (News - Alert) users who are frustrated with the cost to operate the device. Less expensive data plans and less costly phones may soon be available.

 

AT&T (News - Alert) reportedly is considering cheaper data service plans with limited Web surfing, an option sure to please price-conscious consumers. According to Reuters (News - Alert), the company is entertaining options to offer limited Web surfing on cell phones for a lower fee. Currently, iPhone users may $70 a month for a minimum plan, which features unlimited Web surfing and a certain amount of calls.

 

"Right now we continue to study what is the best thing that is available, not just from an iPhone point of view, but what you can do to stimulate additional demand," Ralph de la Vega, the head of AT&T's mobility and consumer business, said at the Reuters Global technology Summit in New York this week.

 

A new data plan is expected to launch this month, which would include limited data access and cost users $10 a month less than what they are paying now, Business Week reports.

 

And in a sour economy, consumers are sure to welcome lower-priced data plans. Such an offer would likely draw students and other customers with lower incomes. A lower-priced data plan could help boost AT&T's iPhone subscription rate by 20 percent to 25 percent wireless industry consultant Chetan Sharma told BusinessWeek.

 

But cheaper plans could impact Sprint's (News - Alert) decision to offer data plans for the Pre, which is slated for release on June 6, according to Yahoo Finance.

 

What’s more, AT&T reportedly is to offer lower-cost versions of the iPhone, the report said. Consumers could buy a new iPhone for as little as $99. Apple is also considering launching a prepaid iPhone, BusinessWeek said.

 

While AT&T is the exclusive carrier U.S. iPhone service provider of the iPhone, Verizon Communications is in talks with Apple to take on the distribution deal in 2010. AS TMC reported, such a deal would give Apple access to 80 million more customers. Meanwhile, AT&T is looking to extend its contract with Apple to 2011. The iPhone has played a major role in boosting AT&T’s wireless market share, wireless data subscriptions, service upgrades, floor traffic, sales close rate and smartphone sales.

 

No matter what carrier ends up with the deal, the popularity of iPhones continues. The top searched cell phone earlier this year was the Apple iPhone 3G, a cell phone that offers multiple media applications. The device is not just popular with consumers, but with businesses, as well. As TMC reported, companies like Kraft Foods and Oracle (News - Alert) believe the device would be useful in their offices.