Broad Rollout of iPhone to Small U.S. Carriers Coming on April 20

[MacRumors]

Earlier today, we noted that nTelos Wireless, a CDMA carrier based in Waynesboro, Virginia, announced that it would begin carrying the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 on April 20. Pricing for the device comes in at $50 below the standard pricing charged by Apple and the major national carriers.




We've been updating that article with mentions of several other carriers that have also announced iPhone launches for that date, and it is quickly becoming apparent that this is a rather significant coordinated rollout to small CDMA carriers. Among the carriers launching the iPhone on April 20:

- nTelos Wireless (Virginia)
- Alaska Communications (Alaska)
- Appalachian Wireless (Kentucky)
- GCI (Alaska)
- Cellcom (Wisconsin): Website updated with "coming soon" banner, and WSAW reports that April 20 is the launch date.
- Matanuska Telephone Association (Alaska)

With six small carriers having already announced today, we're also asking readers to let us know if they spot word of any others involved in this rollout.

Mississippi-based C Spire Wireless was the first regional carrier in the United States to begin offering the iPhone last November, and today's announcements represent a significant expansion of that channel. While the carriers announcing availability today represent only a small fraction of U.S. mobile phone users, the trend of making the iPhone availability to these customers may help some of these carriers remain viable as the cellular marketplace continues to become increasingly dominated by the major carriers.

Update: GCI has confirmed to MacRumors that it will be offering the GSM version of all iPhone models, including the iPhone 3GS, which will be free with a two-year contract. The carrier operates both GSM and CDMA networks, and it was initially unclear on which network the latest iPhone models would run. All of the other carriers announcing today operate CDMA networks.

Article Link: Broad Rollout of iPhone to Small U.S. Carriers Coming on April 20

[ArchaicRevival]

Good for competition among carriers! If you live and work on a ranch/farm in a small town in the midwest, more power to you

[URFloorMatt]

T-Mobile quickly becoming the only carrier that doesn't offer the iPhone. Ironic.

[acidfast7]

finally some competition for you guys. now, if you can finally get the prepaid SIM market going, you'll up-to-par.

[barkomatic]

Hey, they offer unlimited data which is better than some of the national carriers.

[Caharin]

Way to go, Mom n' Pop! Stick it to the Man!

[Mazeman]

I wish US Cellular would offer the iPhone. It's the best carrier in our area.

[Spock]

Wirelessly posted

T-Mobile has to get the iPhone 5 or they are dead in the water. I think the 1900MhZ refarming of T-Mobiles network might be a good sign as that will bring 3G compatibility on the iPhone.

[ArchaicRevival]

Originally Posted by acidfast7

finally some competition for you guys. now, if you can finally get the prepaid SIM market going, you'll up-to-par.

You're absolutely right. I don't know why you got thumbed down. Before I switched to AT&T to get the 4S, Virgin Mobile USA sent me a survey asking if I would buy an iPhone on its carrier and how I would like the payments to be.

[tasset]

Originally Posted by acidfast7

finally some competition for you guys. now, if you can finally get the prepaid SIM market going, you'll up-to-par.

We have that option, as much as can be expected, for only two national GSM carriers. http://straighttalksim.com/
Only problem is the option is not widely exercised as the mouth breathers here prefer to have a subsidized device and pay double over the term in service costs.

[KPOM]

Originally Posted by Mazeman

I wish US Cellular would offer the iPhone. It's the best carrier in our area.

Originally Posted by URFloorMatt

T-Mobile quickly becoming the only carrier that doesn't offer the iPhone. Ironic.

I see US Cellular is still holding out. Last year, their CEO Mary Dillon said it was too expensive and that she didn't want to be dragged into the margin squeeze that Sprint found itself in.

Anyway, I think this is good news. Introducing a CDMA version has enabled them to strike these deals, not just with Sprint and Verizon, but with many regional carriers, most of whom adopted CDMA rather than GSM as their 3G technology last decade because it was easier for them to strike roaming deals with Sprint and Verizon than with Cingular/AT&T and T-Mobile.

[MattMJB0188]

Almost too funny that T-Mobile the Nation's 4th largest carrier doesn't have the iPhone and all these Regional carriers do.

[KPOM]

Originally Posted by tasset

We have that option, as much as can be expected, for only two national GSM carriers. http://straighttalksim.com/
Only problem is the option is not widely exercised as the mouth breathers here prefer to have a subsidized device and pay double over the term in service costs.

The other issue is that our two GSM carriers operate on incompatible 3G frequencies.

[tasset]

Originally Posted by MattMJB0188

Almost too funny that T-Mobile the Nation's 4th largest carrier doesn't have the iPhone and all these Regional carriers do.

I think this proves it comes down to Tmobile's AWS licenses and incompatible frequencies for Apple producing one device. Also too their ability to commit to bulk purchases. But more so the radio frequencies.

----------

Originally Posted by KPOM

The other issue is that our two GSM carriers operate on incompatible 3G frequencies.

Agreed. Hooray for free markets?

[sportguy0913]

Any word on Alltel?

[Switched2aMac]

Originally Posted by Mazeman

I wish US Cellular would offer the iPhone. It's the best carrier in our area.

They turned down the chance at getting the iPhone at the launch this past October. I wish they wouldn't have passed since they are the best in my area. I went with Sprint and although they are really good I would have rather been with US Cellular.

I see KPOM beat me to it

[yeah]

Apple, Y U NO GIVE T-MOBILE IPHONE?

[KPOM]

Originally Posted by tasset

Agreed. Hooray for free markets?

Well, the way the government handled the spectrum auction wasn't exactly friendly to free markets. With the 700MHz auction they tried to get the carriers to agree to interoperability but still managed to botch things such that AT&T and Verizon have very little or no overlap at all on that spectrum.

That said, Apple has a direct interest in getting the iPhone to as many carriers as possible. Ever since their exclusive deal with AT&T ran out, they have been expanding very quickly. The CDMA version was a great move, even though it initially required a separate device.

[Heyref]

CDMA. Meh! Call me when this happens with GSM, please.

[SpinThis!]

Originally Posted by Switched2aMac

They [USC] turned down the chance at getting the iPhone at the launch of Sprint this past October. I wish they wouldn't have passed since they are the best in my area. I went with Sprint and although they are really good I would have rather been with US Cellular.

Yeh count me in on a USC phone as well. I switched from them to at&t to get the iPhone and while I haven't had many problems with the service, USC's plans are much better and everyone who I know who is still on USC would get an iPhone if they could. I would switch back the day to USC the day an iPhone became available. Anyone who feels the same way should give them feedback on their site.

The latest rumblings are USC is waiting for an LTE iPhone before they pull the trigger on it. I'm not sure how true that is—Dillon's statement sure seems contradictory—but companies contradict themselves all the time before it makes business sense.

Even Cellcom getting the iPhone before USC? That's just crazy talk. They're known as having good service but old crap phones. That just makes USC's decision even stupider.

[acidfast7]

Originally Posted by tasset

We have that option, as much as can be expected, for only two national GSM carriers. http://straighttalksim.com/
Only problem is the option is not widely exercised as the mouth breathers here prefer to have a subsidized device and pay double over the term in service costs.

I don't consider anything with a $45/mo minimum, a real prepaid SIM option as it has a minimum monthly charge.

[Wicked1]

Originally Posted by URFloorMatt

T-Mobile quickly becoming the only carrier that doesn't offer the iPhone. Ironic.

Can you say Bye Bye to T-Mobile, they are bleeding both Ca$h and Customers, also according to reports I read the major reason is Apple does not want to change their phone to work on T-Mobile since they are one of the only carriers on that frequency..

Will be interesting

[BMNB1tch]

really whats the point

the iphone is so ubiquitous now

its not even a status symbol

boring...

[Cordless_Drill]

Does anyone else hear the acronym "GSM" and think of "Gimme Some Money" from Spinal Tap?

[dwhit]

At least GCI (maybe others) are launching the iPhone on GSM. You should correct your story.

While GCI does have a CDMA network ALSO, they are only launching the iPhone on their GSM network.