“Talks between Apple and T-Mobile are at an advanced stage, our source says, and it’s 80 percent likely that the iPhone will be coming to T-Mobile in Q3,” Kahney reports. “The source works at T-Mobile but asked not to be quoted directly and to remain anonymous because they aren’t authorized to talk to the press.”
Kahney reports, “T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, which carries the iPhone in Germany, was able to influence, the source said. T-Mobile USA is the fourth-largest U.S. carrier with 33.7 million customers.”
“Apple’s exclusive contract with AT&T is reportedly ending this year, and many expect Apple to offer the iPhone to other wireless companies,” Kahney reports. “Overseas, Apple has routinely added extra carriers when exclusivity deals in those markets expire.”
“Most pundits expect Apple to add Verizon Wireless, the nation’s largest mobile phone provider with 92.8 million subscribers,” Kahney reports. “AT&T is the second-largest US carrier with 87 million customers. The major problem is hardware: Verizon’s network is based on incompatible CDMA technology. However, Apple is already working with chipset-supplier Qualcomm on a CDMA chip for the iPhone, according to Wired.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The day iPhone goes multiple carriers in the USA, is the day Google Android’s little toehold crumbles away into nothingness. Consumers with no reason to settle is Google’s biggest nightmare.
This is great. I hope it happens.
More carriers the better.
As long as Apple controls everything related to the iPhone, I want multiple carriers competing on price.
One question remains. Will ATT offer iPhone unlocking to those who switch carriers? Right now they will not unlock 1st gen iPhone that is well out of its contract!
The 80% sounds made up, like all statistics. But…
I’ve been very happy with AT&T coverage and service. It is on the expensive side though. The new $15 data plans help a little bit, but I’d still consider switching to T-mobile if they can offer a much cheaper package.
AT&T’s early upgrade promotion makes much more sense if another carrier is getting the iPhone this fall. The loop-hole with that is I can still sell my iPhone 4 on ebay and easily recoup the cost of the phone + AT&T’s early termination fee. I’d probably make money after everything’s said and done.
Not just “multiple carriers,” MDN. One of those carriers has to be Verizon. Verizon is the force behind Android’s growth. An iPhone on ATT and T-Mobile and even Sprint won’t stunt it. It’s the tens of millions of iPhone hungry Verizon customers, millions of Verizon ad dollars and Verizon store shelf exposure that fuels Android.
I want to see the iPhone on every carrier, but Verizon is top priority.
I am Waiting Patiently Because (Magenta) offers Great Service.
I have been with them Since 1997 and was not gonna Switch to AT&T.
My iPhone 2G is Hacked to work on T-Mobile so i cannot wait to go Legit.
“A Loyal T-Mobile Customer”
Too bad it was not Verizon. They tend to have coverage where AT&T has dead spots…
just my $0.02
T-Mobile makes sense as a first “second” U.S. iPhone carrier. Adding Verizon would effectively double the potential customer base for iPhone 4, with the added complexity of rolling out a significantly different iPhone. That would normally be worthwhile, but since Apple is already selling iPhone 4 as fast as they are produced, it would not increase sales. All it would do is cause even bigger shortages.
However, adding T-Mobile would have a smaller more manageable impact on increasing demand, with the same hardware. And in a few months, if Apple can ramp up iPhone 4 production sufficiently, that increased demand would allow for higher iPhone 4 sales than ATT by itself. Because T-Mobile is not as big a threat, ATT would probably be willing to continue to pay the high subsidy payment per iPhone, and T-Mobile would obviously be willing to match ATT for a shot being the “other” iPhone service provider.
This rumor makes sense. It also explains why ATT was being so “generous” in allowing upgrades to iPhone 4 up to six months early, in order to lock in current customers for two more years.
ha ha ha ah hahahahahahaha ha ha ha ah aha ha hooooh
oooh oooooh … whew … phpew pthtpthtpth ahha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!
I’ll pay everyone who posts a response to this MDN story 12 bucks if this happens.
NO WAY!
I think it’s 50/50 … but there’s only a 20% chance of that.
@Vatdoro – “The 80% sounds made up, like all (read 100% of) statistics.” That struck me as funny.
————————————————————
Anyway, I keep hearing a radio ad, no idea if it’s related, but thought I’d share anyway. The ad is from T-Moblile saying that there is big news coming (that they can’t discuss) and that, “You talked. They listened.”
There you go for whatever it’s worth.
@R2 – Only if Verizon allows Apple to control the experience, branding, et al. otherwise, they’d be shooting themselves in the foot.
It’s definitely persuasive that the rumor preannounces an agreement between T-Mobile and Apple. As we know, Apple always does business this way.
Now while you’re waiting, T-Mobile has the awesome Samsung Galaxy S (Vibrant) for you to use.
A friend of mine, who’s on TMobile is really gonna be bummed at this news. He just bought HTC Windows POS:
http://www.htc.com/us/products/t-mobile-hd2?view=1-1&sort=0&filters=0-9-0
Claims it’s as good as an iPhone. I played with it for over an hour. In the end – he conceded it wasn’t no iPhone. And that was up against the 3Gs. But I had to agree that it was better than a dumbphone. (didn’t mention the jailbreak option, he already re-upped for 2 years)
@LuneUnion
That ad campaign was for the Samsung Vibrant. It was accompanied by a guessing-game with clues on the T-Mobile Twitter site.
Apple is providing bumpers for phones bought through September. September is when it is rumored they will be available on T-Mobile. I predict Apple will come out with a slightly modified version of the iPhone 4 with a new antenna to provide the 1700MHz signal and maybe fix the antenna issue at the same time
R2 is right. When Verizon was pushing Blackberry, BB was going gangbusters, but since Verizon started pushing Droid, then Moto and HTC have been getting the benefit of their marketing muscle. Shocking how much pull they have in the marketplace. AT&T has nowhere near as much pull to sell whatever they promote.
Mathematical analysis has proven that 87% of statistics are fictional and the other 23% are fabricated. But, that’s not surprising considering 10 out of every 8 people are incapable of accurately processing fractions.
I guess that if this gets reported over and over and over in a few years it will be true. Let’s see, 5 years from 2007 isn’t this fall.
Apple can’t keep up with demand now. Going to other carriers this year isn’t going to happen.
A CDMA-compatible chipset won’t emerge before iPhone 5. So if anyone is to be added this year, it will be T-Mobile. They already support T-Mobile elsewhere, so they’re already “Apple-ready”.
BS. Verizon never gets the iPhone on CDMA. I am hoping apple sticks it to verizon by letting boil have it.
@R2
For the millionth time: Verizon + CDMA = NO iPhone
Apple putting out a CDMA version of the iPhone would be like them putting SCSI ports in the upcoming MacPro.
In other words… it ain’t a-gonna happen.
T-Mobile is the most likely, since they support international standards, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that either.
“R2 is right.”
@Anonymous© That should read like this:
R2 is NEVER right.
Apple will come to Verizon when they have a single design that will be capable of using both the ATT and Verizon networks. Otherwise they get into a trap of how many of this model vs how many of that model and the carrier can whipsaw them by varying quantities ordered. Apple would be foolish to go down that path.
Starting on some day, every new iPhone sold will be capable of T-Mobile and ATT frequencies. Starting some day after that, every new iPhone sold will be capable of both TDMA and CDMA networks and we’ll see iPhones on all US carriers. The user experience will be defined by Apple, the courts will end longterm contracts and locking and real competition will reign. Hopefully that will include zero as a cellular data option.
I really don’t give a damn how much more money speculators think Apple might make if it panders to Verizon.
If T-Mobile offers the iPhone in the good old “free” US of A, there is a 100% chance that they will be my carrier of choice. Period.
Too bad such freedom of choice wasn’t offered 4 years ago.
according to a highly placed source Verizon was 90% by June. I guess they meant 2011