Dallas (TX) - AT&T said that it has "diligently" worked to provide "affordable options" for international roaming because the company found that the feature-rich mobile experience of iPhone "is indispensable to users." However, AT&T not necessarily made those plans cheaper, but increased the monthly data volume with a corresponding price increase. There is still no unlimited data plan and 200 MB of international data volume is more than twice as expensive as most iPhone service plans.

By now we are used to those stories about horrific AT&T bills sent to users who forget to think about the fact that iPhone data roaming can be very expensive outside the U.S. Without any special roaming plan, AT&T charges $0.0195/KB, which translates into $19.968/MB and $20,447/GB. These costs are prohibitive especially for business users, who could add an unlimited email plan to their Blackberry for $70 per month, but were left with 20 MB ($25 per month) and 50 MB ($60 per month) options with the iPhone 3G and a cost of $0.0195/KB thereafter.

AT&T now offers a 100 MB plan for $120 per month and a 200 MB plan for $200. Only the 200 MB plan offers a slight discount and may get most users through a business trip and short vacation, unless you are not downloading TV episodes, high resolution pictures and iTunes songs in the 67 countries for which these roaming packages are available (outside these countries, AT&T charges an extra $0.010/KB, with the exception of 21 countries where the $0.0195/KB still applies. 3G coverage is available in a total of 60 countries.)

The good news is that these plans can be added on a as-needed-basis, meaning that there is now 1- or 2-year agreement necessary. However, $200 on top of an already pricey service plan that will cost, depending on your home service area, close to $100 per month including local taxes, is significant by any measure. We noted more than one year ago that the usage model of the iPhone is well ahead of the clocks at telecommunications companies and, as far as we can see, that has not changed.