Four More Small U.S. Carriers Launching iPhone on May 18 with $50 Discounts

MacRumors · May 8, 2012, 10:11 AM

Last month saw six small U.S. carriers begin offering the iPhone for the first time, and it appears that another round of expansion to similar carriers is coming on May 18. Four new iPhone carriers, all operating CDMA networks, have rolled out their announcements so far today:

- Bluegrass Cellular (Kentucky)
- Golden State Cellular (California)
- Nex-Tech Wireless (Kansas)
- Pioneer Cellular (Oklahoma)

As with other regional carriers, the new entrants will be offering the iPhone at $50 below the standard pricing available through Apple and the major carriers. Under the discounted pricing, the iPhone 4S will be priced at $149/$249/$349 and the iPhone 4 will be available for $49.

Given the small nature of the carriers announcing their iPhone launches, publicity is somewhat unorganized and we're asking readers to let us know if they spot word of any others involved in this round of launches.

Article Link: Four More Small U.S. Carriers Launching iPhone on May 18 with $50 Discounts

fpsBeaTt · May 8, 2012, 10:14 AM

Excellent! Spread the love?

aziatiklover · May 8, 2012, 10:25 AM

Tmobile prolly jelly as hell! Lol

Delighted · May 8, 2012, 10:28 AM

Yes, why is Tmobile not getting in on this action?

shanmugam · May 8, 2012, 10:29 AM

he has handling it better man.

Hope to see more good steps from him ...

rjohnstone · May 8, 2012, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delighted

Yes, why is Tmobile not getting in on this action?

They still use incompatible frequencies for data services.
Only a handful of T-Mobiles coverage area are compatible with the iPhone on the 1900Mhz band. The rest of T-Mobile's overage area uses the 1700Mhz band. The iPhone is not designed to operate on this frequency.

east85 · May 8, 2012, 10:35 AM

Now that Steve Jobs is gone it seems like Apple is willing to send the iPhone to any and every carrier. What a shame, should have stuck with the best.

Boisv · May 8, 2012, 10:37 AM

I hope this trend continues.

shanmugam · May 8, 2012, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by east85

Now that Steve Jobs is gone it seems like Apple is willing to send the iPhone to any and every carrier. What a shame, should have stuck with the best.

unlike original release, iPhone is not that unique or percentage of smartphone users.

What is the issue bringing the technology to all?

I would like to see more Unlocked iPhones with much better price point may be $450 to $500???

sha4000 · May 8, 2012, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by east85

Now that Steve Jobs is gone it seems like Apple is willing to send the iPhone to any and every carrier. What a shame, should have stuck with the best.

More money for Apple. Is there something wrong with that? Plus it's an easy way to close the gap with Android phones right???

Mad Mac Maniac · May 8, 2012, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boisv

I hope this trend continues.

I definitely expect it to. I have a feeling the iPhone 5 will be sold at nearly all carriers nationwide.

johncrab · May 8, 2012, 10:40 AM

At Bluegrass Cellular, they have worked out a deal with Apple so that instead of user-selected ringtones, each time an iPhone on their network rings, the owner will hear banjos.

DakotaGuy · May 8, 2012, 10:47 AM

I'm suprised US Cellular hasn't added it yet.

Konrad9 · May 8, 2012, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shanmugam

he has handling it better man.

Hope to see more good steps from him ...

What does Tim Cook have to do with this story?

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by east85

Now that Steve Jobs is gone it seems like Apple is willing to send the iPhone to any and every carrier. What a shame, should have stuck with the best.

Lack of competition hurts only one group, us, the consumer.

Your absurdly closed-minded attitude is disturbing.

unlimitedx · May 8, 2012, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DakotaGuy

I'm suprised US Cellular hasn't added it yet.

They declined the chance due to apple's terms

guzhogi · May 8, 2012, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johncrab

At Bluegrass Cellular, they have worked out a deal with Apple so that instead of user-selected ringtones, each time an iPhone on their network rings, the owner will hear banjos.

I have an uncle who plays banjo in a bluegrass band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClGMSUY8crY

As for these companies, good for them. Just wish T-Mobile used the same frequencies as well.

Mad Mac Maniac · 11:07 AM

I'm hoping for cricket!!!

edit: I may actually switch from at&t for cricket....

well probably not, because I'm still on my parents family plan so I have $10 voice, $30 unlimited data (hoping for LTE unlimited), and $15 unlimited texts (splitting the family unlimited texts). So that's $55 for unlimited everything (ok voice isn't technically unlimited, but we have so many roll over minutes I'll never have to worry about running out).

AustinIllini · May 8, 2012, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by east85

Now that Steve Jobs is gone it seems like Apple is willing to send the iPhone to any and every carrier. What a shame, should have stuck with the best.

Yes...so go with AT&T... imbecile. Honestly? On what planet is AT&T the best?

chrmjenkins · May 8, 2012, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjohnstone

They still use incompatible frequencies for data services.
Only a handful of T-Mobiles coverage area are compatible with the iPhone on the 1900Mhz band. The rest of T-Mobile's overage area uses the 1700Mhz band. The iPhone is not designed to operate on this frequency.

The iPhone's radio supports that. Apple only has to do a transceiver (if their current one doesn't support it) and antenna that does it. Other phones out there support AWS and AT&T's 3G.

In any event, t-mobile claims 1700 MHz support by end of year and LTE next year. They could be gearing up for the iphone as we speak.

organerito · May 8, 2012, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Konrad9

Lack of competition hurts only one group, us, the consumer.

Your absurdly closed-minded attitude is disturbing.

His is point is that he thinks he is special because he has an iPhone. The problem is that he hasn't realized that the iPhone is just as cliché as the RAZR.
We are all special!

blevins321 · May 8, 2012, 11:03 AM

Come oooooon Cincinnati Bell

- they already roam on AT&T haha.

croooow · May 8, 2012, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by east85

Now that Steve Jobs is gone it seems like Apple is willing to send the iPhone to any and every carrier. What a shame, should have stuck with the best.

What a shame that Apple is getting their products out to more people? Didn't Steve talk about what a good market there would be in mobile phones (I remember him comparing it to the game console market, this is before the app store and all those iOS games, when the iPhone was mostly a phone) when he introduced the original iPhone?

Elitist attitudes like that are what give Apple users a bad name. Apple should not be trying to limit who buys their products, they should work on making the best products.

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacRumors

- Bluegrass Cellular (Kentucky)
- Golden State Cellular (California)
- Nex-Tech Wireless (Kansas)

So do iPhones on these small carriers say "Bluegrass," "Golden State," etc instead of "Verizon"/"AT&T"/"Sprint" or do they have a more generic carrier signal listing like some of the iPhone promo shots (that will say "3G" with no company listed as carrier)

nickdelvecchio · May 8, 2012, 11:32 AM

is this making anyone else think the "iPhone5" is closer than the fall???

I'm getting nervous... I have an upgrade in september....

Macclone · May 8, 2012, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Mac Maniac

I definitely expect it to. I have a feeling the iPhone 5 will be sold at nearly all carriers nationwide.

All but TMO is my guess.

carlgo · May 8, 2012, 11:41 AM

These little carriers fascinate me. Do they serve those who don't travel out of the area, does the traveller get switched over to VZ, etc? What are the upsides and downsides of hooking up with a regional carrier?

It would seem the small carriers might appreciate their customers more and be easier to deal with, but is even that true?

May 8, 2012, 10:11 AM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	Four More Small U.S. Carriers Launching iPhone on May 18 with $50 Discounts Last month saw six small U.S. carriers begin offering the iPhone for the first time, and it appears that another round of expansion to similar carriers is coming on May 18. Four new iPhone carriers, all operating CDMA networks, have rolled out their announcements so far today: - Bluegrass Cellular (Kentucky) - Golden State Cellular (California) - Nex-Tech Wireless (Kansas) - Pioneer Cellular (Oklahoma) As with other regional carriers, the new entrants will be offering the iPhone at $50 below the standard pricing available through Apple and the major carriers. Under the discounted pricing, the iPhone 4S will be priced at $149/$249/$349 and the iPhone 4 will be available for $49. Given the small nature of the carriers announcing their iPhone launches, publicity is somewhat unorganized and we're asking readers to let us know if they spot word of any others involved in this round of launches. Article Link: Four More Small U.S. Carriers Launching iPhone on May 18 with $50 Discounts
	0

May 8, 2012, 10:14 AM	#2
fpsBeaTt macrumors 6502 Join Date: Apr 2010	Excellent! Spread the love? __________________ 15" RMBP 2.6GHz16GB; 64GB iPad 3; 64GB iPhone 5; 27" Thunderbolt Display; PC: 4GHz i7, 3GB 7970, 6GB triple channel RAM, Lian Li A71F case, Logitech G700 mouse, Steelseries 7G keyboard.
	1

May 8, 2012, 10:25 AM	#3
aziatiklover macrumors 68000 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4	Tmobile prolly jelly as hell! Lol __________________ ppleholic
	3

May 8, 2012, 10:28 AM	#4
Delighted macrumors 6502 Join Date: Feb 2012	Yes, why is Tmobile not getting in on this action? __________________ \| Apple Fan \| Forum Contributor \| Tumblr \| Twitter \| Proud Owner of: Macbook Pro (13.3" Mid 2010) MC374LL/A Snow Leopard
	0

May 8, 2012, 10:29 AM	#5
shanmugam macrumors 68020 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Blazer town!	Tim Cook Rules! he has handling it better man. Hope to see more good steps from him ... __________________ iPhone 5/4S\| iPad 4 \| iPad mini \| Nexus 7 \| Kindle Nov2012\| Mac Mini\| Core i7 2.3GHz QC \| 330 240GB USB 3 \| Viewsonic 21.5" 1920x1080 Sep2012\|Toshiba 14" \| i5 2.5Ghz 1366x768 \|Win 7 \| x-25M 120GB
	0

May 8, 2012, 10:35 AM	#7
east85 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jun 2010	Now that Steve Jobs is gone it seems like Apple is willing to send the iPhone to any and every carrier. What a shame, should have stuck with the best. __________________ 13.3" MacBook Aluminum \| 2.4GHz \| 8GB RAM \| 160GB SSD \| OS X 10.8.2 iPhone 4 \| 8GB \| Factory Unlock \| iOS 6 My Twitter
	-27

May 8, 2012, 10:37 AM	#8
Boisv macrumors regular Join Date: Feb 2012	I hope this trend continues.
	6

May 8, 2012, 10:40 AM	#12
johncrab macrumors 6502 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Scottsdale, AZ	At Bluegrass Cellular, they have worked out a deal with Apple so that instead of user-selected ringtones, each time an iPhone on their network rings, the owner will hear banjos.
	-2

May 8, 2012, 10:47 AM	#13
DakotaGuy macrumors 68030 Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: South Dakota, USA	I'm suprised US Cellular hasn't added it yet. __________________ Mac: 21.5" iMac Core i5 2.5 Ghz "Sandy Bridge" iPad 2 64 GB WiFi - iPod Touch 2G 32 GB - iPod Classic 80GB - Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX
	0

May 8, 2012, 11:00 AM	#17
Mad Mac Maniac macrumors 68040 Join Date: Oct 2007	I'm hoping for cricket!!! edit: I may actually switch from at&t for cricket.... well probably not, because I'm still on my parents family plan so I have $10 voice, $30 unlimited data (hoping for LTE unlimited), and $15 unlimited texts (splitting the family unlimited texts). So that's $55 for unlimited everything (ok voice isn't technically unlimited, but we have so many roll over minutes I'll never have to worry about running out). __________________ Now I have a Signature! Last edited by Mad Mac Maniac; May 8, 2012 at 11:07 AM.
	-2

May 8, 2012, 11:03 AM	#21
blevins321 macrumors 68030 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Southgate, Michigan	Come oooooon Cincinnati Bell - they already roam on AT&T haha. __________________ 2012 15" Macbook Pro 16GB RAM/256GB SSD; iPad 4 - Black; iPhone 5 - Black; Synology DS411+II NAS 12TB
	0

May 8, 2012, 11:32 AM	#23
nickdelvecchio macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: AZ	is this making anyone else think the "iPhone5" is closer than the fall??? I'm getting nervous... I have an upgrade in september.... __________________ -Sarcasm self-test complete-
	-4

May 8, 2012, 11:41 AM	#25
carlgo macrumors 65832 Join Date: Dec 2006	These little carriers fascinate me. Do they serve those who don't travel out of the area, does the traveller get switched over to VZ, etc? What are the upsides and downsides of hooking up with a regional carrier? It would seem the small carriers might appreciate their customers more and be easier to deal with, but is even that true?
	0

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