By AppleInsider Staff

Published: 01:00 PM EST

Hutchison Telecom, which operates the "3"- branded mobile network in Hong Kong, announced Monday that monthly service plans for Apple's iPhone 3G will start at just $24, significantly less than the cheapest plan offered stateside by AT&T.

Subscribers who sign up for a 24-month contract can purchase an 8GB iPhone 3G for about $377 ($2938 HKD) or a 16GB model for around $479 ($3738 HKD) when choosing a $24 ($188 HKD) per month service plan that includes 500 basic minutes, 500 heart-to-heart minutes, 25 multimedia content messages, 15 text content messages, 500 MB of data usage and unlimited Intra SMS messages.

A $34 per month plan subsidizes the 8GB iPhone to $233 ($1738 HKD) and the 16GB model to $326 ($2538 HKD) and includes 800 basic minutes, 900 heart-to-heart minutes, 40 multimedia content messages, 25 text content messages, 500 MB of data usage and unlimited Intra SMS messages.

Stepping up to a $42 per month plan reduces the cost of the 8GB iPhone to $128 ($938 HKD) and the 16GB model to $223 ($1738 HKD) and bundles 1500 basic minutes, 1200 heart-to-heart minutes, 50 multimedia content messages, 35 text content messages, 500 MB of data usage and unlimited Intra SMS messages.

Subscribers who opt for 3's top-tier plan at $64 per month get an 8GB iPhone for free, or a 16GB for less than $20 ($138 HKD). The plan includes 2200 basic minutes, 1500 heart-to-heart minutes, 150 multimedia content messages, 50 text content messages, unlimited data usage and unlimited Intra SMS messages.

Readers can compare these plans to those recently announced by Rogers of Canada, TeliaSonera of Sweden, and Netcom of Norway.