T-Mobile explains why they don’t offer the iPhone

We guess it’s something of a sore point for T-Mobile and their subscribers that they are the only major carrier out of the four that does not offer the iPhone. T-Mobile instead makes up for it by supporting unlocked iPhones on their network with access to their HSPA+ network, but what’s the reason behind T-Mobile’s lack of iPhone in their portfolio? Is it because Apple does not think T-Mobile is worthy, or is it because either company could not reach an agreement? Well as it turns out, T-Mobile simply cannot afford the have the iPhone.

This was revealed by T-Mobile’s COO, Jim Alling during Morgan Stanley’s 12^th annual Media & Telecoms Conference, in which he was quoted as saying (via Fierce Broadband Wireless), “Make no mistake about it: We would love to carry the iPhone. However, we want the economies to be right for us. We recognize that it has been a point of churn for us.” If you’re wondering why T-Mobile can’t afford an iPhone, you might recall that not too long ago Sprint revealed that they had to commit to signing a deal with Apple for $20 billion worth of iPhones, money which we guess T-Mobile just can’t spare at the moment.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: iPhone, T-Mobile