UPDATE, June 5, 2009: AT&T adds that this deal is only available to customers in its local service area.
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AT&T unveiled a new plan this week offering small businesses a better deal than consumers.

It’s part of the AT&T’s small business “stimulus package,” aimed at companies with up to 4 people. The company says this is an industry first to offer a business bundle with wireless, phone and Internet.

For $100, a business gets one cell phone line with 450 minutes, DSL Internet service of 1.5 Megabits per second, access to all of AT&T’s Wi-Fi hotspots in the world, and unlimited local and long distance landline phone service.

Consumers, on the other hand, must pay $5 more a month for the same services (mobile, home phone and Internet). Really, that’s not a big difference but over the year, it’s an extra $60. Other incentives, such as discounts for signing up, aren’t included.

(One note: In areas where AT&T isn’t the phone provider, as in Huntington Beach, the unlimited local and long distance package jumps to $65 a month from $40, bumping up a consumer’s bundled price $30 a month — or an extra $360 a year. Updated June 5, 2009: In those areas, this offer is not available.)

An even greater savings is to opt for the faster Internet service of 6 Mbps, which for the single business user costs $105/month. A consumer, comparably, would pay $115 for the same services or $120 more per year. Hmm… this somehow reminds me of Time Warner Cable’s promotion to offer its cheapest deal in Spanish, see “Time Warner Cable offers cheapest deal in Spanish — not English.“ 

The small business “All for less” package, at att.com/AllForLess, sets the price based on Internet speed:

• 1.5 Mb = $99.99 per month
• 3.0 Mb = $104.99 per month
• 6.0 Mb = $104.99 per month (Yes, this isn’t a mistake — 3 and 6 Mb service are the same price)

Additional mobile phone lines are $39.99 each.

Unfortunately, the deal isn’t available to consumers. To qualify, users must have a Federal Tax ID. The service is also provided to a single location.

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