Enterprise Data with AT&T, is it really needed?

[fireraider]

I am trying to figure out if the ATT Enterprise Data plan is really absolutely required for accessing an microsoft exchange server with the iPhone.

My wife is a co-owner of a small business and wants to be able to check her business email from her iPhone but doesn't want to shell out the extra money for the Enterprise Data for no good reason. She uses maybe 200meg a month of her 2gig plan. Her iPhone 3G pretty much croaked today and I have been tasked to get her a replacement. I am an Android user myself, but rather than hassle with teaching her the new OS and hearing about how its different than she is used to, I want to just go buy her the 4GS from the ATT store.

Searching the internet brought up several references to the Enterprise Data issue saying to the only difference was the cost and it was a scam by ATT. A couple places saying you couldn't access an exchange server without the plan but you could cancel it after a couple months and go back to the regular data plan and whatever provisioning ATT did would stay on the phone. A few references to it being exactly the same data plan but better/different support. And a site that said it was only blocked on the ATT network but would work fine on a wifi connection. Most of these hits were several years old, even this site doesn't have any recent hits that I could find. I am not sure any of that information still holds true.

I have in the past attempted to set up her email on her 3G iPhone but didn't try very hard, assuming it was blocked by ATT. Her IT guy told me that, but he is not the swiftest guy.

My son, also working for her company, has a Galaxy S2 and he had the same issue with not being able to get into the server and the ATT service people told him he needed to pay extra for the Enterprise Data plan so he could get his email, he researched it and he is able to get into the exchange server now by using a workaround program called Touchdown. It works perfectly but it only works on Android. But I cant seem to find a similar program for iOS, in the iTunes store or on Cydia.

Does anyone here have any knowledge about this issue? Or perhaps another forum I could check that might lead me to some information? Or a more appropriate forum to post this where I might get an answer?

I will of course jailbreak the iPhone as soon as I get it home so installing off market apps wont be an issue if that is what is required.

Thanks in advance for any leads.

[efparri]

You could check the various BlackBerry forums. BlackBerrys have been using BlackBerry Enterprise Service for years. In those cases the corporation runs a BlackBerry server and you need an Enterprise data plan to get inside the corporate firewall.

[michko]

It does not. My wife's exchange email syncs just fine without the enterprise iphone data plan. Save yourself the extra money.

Her phone syncs email, calendar and contacts no problem.



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[fireraider]

I did read someplace that only BlackBerry and WinMo phones are required to use the Enterprise Data. And that iPhones and Androids don't need it but that ATT conveniently doesn't advertise that point.
I am still searching and reading though.

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[fireraider]

I can verify that Touchdown works perfect on the Galaxy S using the sim card from her iPhone 3G to access her exchange server. So that tells me it can work without Exchange Data. But I am still working on getting it to work on the iPhone 4. I borrowed a friends iPhone 4 and want to get it functioning there before I purchase a new 4GS.

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[Doolie]

Shouldn't this thread be moved to the AT&T forum?