T-Mobile Expected To Offer iPhone 5 In Early 2013 [Report]

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T-Mobile deal could give Apple more than 2 million extra customers in Q1 2013.
T-Mobile deal could give Apple more than 2 million extra customers in Q1 2013.

T-Mobile is now the only major carrier in the United States that doesn’t offer the iPhone, because Apple’s device isn’t compatible with its 3G network. However, that could be about to change. One analyst believes that T-Mobile will finally get its chance to offer the iPhone 5 from early 2013.

T-Mobile could “announce official iPhone distribution in early 2013,” according to Nick Delfas, an analyst with Morgan Stanley, who also noted that the move could provide Apple with a further one to two million iPhone 5 customers during the first quarter of 2013 alone.

Since its debut in 2007, the iPhone has slowly made its way to three of the four major carrier in the U.S., including AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. Despite this, T-Mobile still has a huge number of unofficial iPhone customers who have put their SIM into an unlocked handset, and it’s long been working to get its hands on Apple’s device.

The company announced it will spend $4 billion to expand its 4G LTE network, giving it the ability to carry the iPhone 5 in more markets. It has also revealed plans to merge with MetroPCS, which has also been growing its own LTE network.

While the iPhone 5 is expected to sell in massive quantities during the first quarter of next year anyway, Delfas sees its arrival on T-Mobile as “another possible catalyst” towards record-breaking sales.

Via: CNET

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