AT&T/Cingular to Give Away 18 Months of iPhone Service? [Update]

Jim Cramer/RealMoney.com has notes from AT&T regarding their plans for the iPhone. His column suggests that AT&T will be using the iPhone to aggressively target customers and implies that they will provide significant discounts in service:

Now, AT&T's all about market share, and if you read between the lines, I think you see a strategy coming where the device's $500 price point is preserved but the service contract is greatly reduced. I think that AT&T -- and not Apple -- is the key to this next leg, and CEO Stan Sigman can make it happen.

A recap of the same article outright claims that AT&T/Cingular will be "giving away its service for a year and a half to those customers who buy the phone".
Update: Cingular rep denies the rumor: "We've always said the only way you can get the iPhone is with a Cingular rate plan."

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