Survey: AT&T costs Apple iPhone 3GS buyers

A survey conducted by PriceGrabber.com indicates the overall cost of the AT&T service and spotty coverage could be limiting the number of consumers switching to AT&T and purchasing the iPhone 3GS.

During a survey in which 2,411 participants were quizzed between June 12 and July 10, just 10 percent of people surveyed said they owned any version of the popular iPhone.  A third of people surveyed said AT&T is the main reason they haven’t switched over and purchased an iPhone.

“We have an excellent relationship with them and we’re very happy with it,” Apple COO Tim Cook said in an interview while discussing Apple’s relationship with AT&T.

Aside from possible cost issues, AT&T also has been heavily criticized for dropped calls and poor 3G coverage, even in large metropolitan areas where excellent service is promised with “more bars in more places”.

Although the two companies are seemingly happy with the current arrangement, federal regulators in the United States continue to investigate phone exclusivity contracts between manufacturers and carriers.  A growing number of Verizon Wireless subscribers want their hands on the iPhone, but refuse to switch from Verizon to AT&T to get the phone.

The cost of a two-year contract is significantly more than other voice and data plans for smartphones through other services, which is something many people criticized AT&T over.  In May, the company announced it would cut the price of its introduction plan from $69 down to $59.

I’ll admit the iPhone 3GS does intrigue me, and I was a somewhat happy AT&T subscriber in the past, but the service price AT&T charges over the two-year contract period just isn’t worth it for me at the moment.