AT&T won't match T-Mobile's free data on iPad Air

IDG News Service - AT&T won't be matching T-Mobile's offer of free wireless data for the iPad Air when the device debuts at the company's stores across the U.S. next month.    Apple's iPad Air AT&T, the country's second-largest cellular carrier, said it will offer a $100 discount to customers who sign a two-year contract for tablet data service. For customers who don't want to sign a contract, AT&T will offer recently announced plans costing between $5 for 250MB of data for one day and $50 for 5GB for one month. Those customers won't get the $100 discount. Subscribers will also be able to add the iPad Air to an existing data plan for an additional $10 per month. On Wednesday, T-Mobile said it will give tablet owners 200MB of data per month for no cost. Once that's used up, customers will have the option of paying $5 for 500MB of data for one day or $10 for 1GB of data for a week. T-Mobile, which is the fourth-largest of the country's four major carriers, is aggressively courting customers with cheaper pricing plans. It recently said customers heading overseas would get unlimited 2G data at no additional cost. A spokesman for AT&T declined to comment on T-Mobile's announcement. Martyn Williams covers mobile telecoms, Silicon Valley and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service.