Just how heavily is AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) subsidizing the 4G Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) 900 Long Term Evolution (LTE) phone it launched this Sunday?

An IHS iSuppli teardown finds that buying the phone at $99.99 on a two-year contract shaves more than $100 off the $217 it actually costs to build the phone, which retails for $450. Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) had been selling the new device over the weekend at prices of $49.99 and lower, cutting even more off the cost.

This should be good news for maker of this flagship 4G Windows phone, Nokia. The vendor, however, announced this Wednesday that it will offer a $100 rebate to AT&T users of the Lumia because of a software glitch in the device. Effectively making the phone free for early buyers of the LTE device.

Why this matters
AT&T is clearly keen to get this major Windows launch into the hands of users. The initial launch, however, doesn't appear to be going quite as smoothly as AT&T, Nokia and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) might have hoped.

For more

• Nokia Dives on Lowered Device Outlook
• Nokia Counts on AT&T for a US Comeback
• AT&T Sprouts 4G Markets as It Launches Lumia
• AT&T's Nokia Lumia Drops LTE to $100
• Nokia Fires Cheap Shot at Apple

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile