NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Some cell phone companies have discontinued their cheapest plans and discount rates in recent weeks causing average cell phone rates to rise, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

AT&T Wireless (AWE: up $0.08 to $7.51, Research, Estimates), Nextel (NXTL: up $0.24 to $5.01, Research, Estimates) and Sprint (PCS: up $0.25 to $10.00, Research, Estimates) have all made changes, ending a pricing strategy that attempted to lure new customers, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The recent changes came after some of the carriers, including Verizon Wireless (VZ: up $0.48 to $43.50, Research, Estimates) as well as AT&T, began offering free long-distance with certain plans and also started giving away large numbers of minutes during peak-hours, the report said.

In part because of the depressed economy, subscriber numbers went down in the first quarter of 2002 compared with the same period in 2001, pushing the carriers to shift strategies, according to the Journal.

But, consumers can still jump into some plans before they expire, including Sprint's 4,000 minutes plan for $39.99, which ends at the end of the month.

Other plans being discontinued include Nextel's 2,200 minutes at $29.99 and AT&T's bonus of 50 percent more minutes for committing to a two-year plan, the report said.

Last year, cell phone usage by minutes increased 75 percent, which placed stress on some carriers, the paper reported.