Analyst: T-Mobile Could Finally Offer the iPhone Next Year

News
By Zak Islam
published

U.S. carrier may be able to offer the iDevice to its 33.2 million subscribers during the opening stages of 2013.

U.S. carrier T-Mobile may finally sign a deal with Apple to offer the iPhone to its 33.2 million subscribers, according to an analyst.

According to Morgan Stanley analyst Nick Delfas, T-Mobile could "announce official iPhone distribution in early 2013". While he didn't divulge further details, the deal would seemingly see another one to two million consumers purchasing the iPhone 5 during next year's first quarter.

T-Mobile is, of course, the only firm left out of the four major U.S. carriers without the ability to offer its subscribers the iPhone. It initially hinted at the possibility of selling the device back in May when it confirmed plans of investing $4 billion to expand its 4G LTE network.

Delfas suggests that even though T-Mobile not selling the iPhone won't have a considerable impact on iPhone shipments in next year's first quarter, a potential relationship between the carrier and Apple could lead to "another possible catalyst" towards increased sales of the device.

T-Mobile recently confirmed it would be merging with MetroPCS, who has itself been growing its LTE network.

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Zak Islam
8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • RabidFace
    Good for them. But you can't tell me people haven't been using unlocked iPhones on T-Mobile since the first iPhone.
    Reply
  • freggo
    Been with T-Mobile for years and am rather happy with the service; even without an iPhone.
    My Samsung Flip phone serves me fine and if I upgrade to a smart phone some day it will be Samsung again.
    Apple's products are not all bad, but it is the corporate attitude that blows; and I do not support that.
    Reply
  • eternalkp
    tmobile is the worst service ever.
    my house has 4 bars, when i travel 30min out of my area. no signal at all
    Reply
  • Ragnar-Kon
    I was with T-Mobile for years, but ended up switching due to many of the more popular phones (at least the phone that I wanted at the time) not being available on T-Mobile.

    And while I do not have any intention on buying an iPhone 5, or any other smartphone for that matter (old school flip phone ftw), I'm sure many T-Mobile customers will be happy that they'll have native support for their iPhones now. Also good for T-Mobile's business, especially after the gov't blocked the sale to AT&T.
    Reply
  • falchard
    I hope not, iPhones eat bandwidth. I don't want these clogging up my network.
    Reply
  • Console_Gamer
    falchard

    I hope not, iPhones eat bandwidth. I don't want these clogging up my network.

    I've been with t-mobile forever and really, i thought about switching until i saw all the data caps and with the iphone coming into the pic, i might get that with t-mobile also in the near future... forget Sprint and their "true" unlimited when ur on the most congested network, it takes nearly 2 mins to open up the mobile version of Facebook. I'd rather be throttled on T-mobile, and i'm sure it's still faster than Sprint's "3G/4G LTE."

    I'm glad i'm T-Mobile and their so-called fake 4G that everyone says when i'm getting 25-28 megabits/sec throughout the day. i think that's as fast as LTE and eats less power than "real 4G" devices with LTE.

    Ragnar-Kon

    I was with T-Mobile for years, but ended up switching due to many of the more popular phones (at least the phone that I wanted at the time) not being available on T-Mobile.

    And while I do not have any intention on buying an iPhone 5, or any other smartphone for that matter (old school flip phone ftw), I'm sure many T-Mobile customers will be happy that they'll have native support for their iPhones now. Also good for T-Mobile's business, especially after the gov't blocked the sale to AT&T.

    On the other thought, T-mobile actually do have services for using iPhones with their network if i recall correctly. i think they even actually help u set it up with them if u get to the right department. of course they don't officially support it, but their "special department(s)" will help u out.
    Reply
  • jacobdrj
    freggoBeen with T-Mobile for years and am rather happy with the service; even without an iPhone.My Samsung Flip phone serves me fine and if I upgrade to a smart phone some day it will be Samsung again.Apple's products are not all bad, but it is the corporate attitude that blows; and I do not support that.Interesting: I have never had anything but trouble with Samsung feature phones and their low-end Android phones. Sure, their top tier stuff is good, but their low end stuff is buggy and lacking intuitiveness.

    LG has been my dumb-phone brand of choice, and their low to mid-tier Android offerings have been true values.

    As far as T-Moble, I have heard just as many horror stories with them as all of the other contract-based providers. But I also know a few people truly satisfied with their service. More than I can say for Sprint or AT&T.


    Reply
  • amdwilliam1985
    I hope TMobile will not get iPhones too.
    I'm currently rocking Samsung Galaxy S3, and we don't need iPhoners slowing down our network.

    No other major network can beat 2GB/month @ $20, and then throttles to 2G speed(fast enough to sync email and my whatsapp) afterward instead of hidden charges. Take that Vz, ATT and Sp users.
    Reply