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T-Mobile says no iPhone

T-Mobile posted a quick FAQ on its website regarding the recently announced merger with AT&T. The biggest question for Apple fans on T-Mobile is whether the AT&T iPhone will be available to current T-Mobile customers. Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding "No." Under the acquisition agreement, T-Mobile will continue to operate as an independent company and will offer phones like the Samsung Galaxy S 4G and the Sidekick 4G, not the iPhone. This may change several years down the road when the two carriers share the same 4G LTE network; but for the immediate future, customers looking to score an iPhone will have to sign up with AT&T or Verizon Wireless.



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T-Mobile posted a quick FAQ on its website regarding the recently announced merger with AT&T. The biggest question for Apple fans...
 

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xBig-Ex

Very interesting article, TMobile should also have the iphone available.

But thats just me.

March 21 2011 at 5:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tom Payne

Duh,

"The only reason I left T-Mobile to join Cingular was when I moved to a rural part of the country, T-Mobile did provide coverage within a 150 mile Radius" Should be "didn't provide coverage"

March 21 2011 at 4:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Drdre74

Just something to start rumors. Next week there will be a rumor that the t mobile iPhone has been spotted

March 21 2011 at 3:01 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tom Payne

Now I wonder if AT&T is purchasing T-Mobile to keep AT&T's iphone customers from switching to a better provider, thus continuing AT&T's ability to limit data usage and charge high prices.

Verizon at this point isn't too much of a threat because of it's limitation to CDMA network, and inability to do data & voice simultaneously, at least until they have their 4g lite nationwide.

Not that I'm suspicious of AT&T's motive, as they are such a philanthropic company putting the user's experience at the top of their list, not shareholders' profit. (sarcasm of course).

March 21 2011 at 1:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
5 replies to Tom Payne's comment
brian

Sweet! This means demand (and thus, resale value) for used iPhones will remain high. I've owned each model of iPhone over the years but I haven't spent my own money on one since late 2007. :-)

March 21 2011 at 1:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
amiga_tone

That's what T-Mobile says. But what does AT&T say?

Look I'm sure AT&T aren't going to come on board and start modifying the 3G network that T-Mobile has to make it compatible with the iPhone, but these statements that T-Mobile are making are a bit premature since the purchase only just happened, and the take over process has just begun.

Admittedly I'd like to see my iPhone 4 working properly with the T-Mobile network, but I would prefer to see a 4G/LTE version of the iPhone before I see anyone attempting to make T-Mobile's 3G network work properly.

And just for those wondering: T-Mobile does support the iPhone at EDGE speeds for people who come into the country on particular work visas - they won't turn you away, in fact they will encourage you. But forget all about getting proper 3G speeds, because they use a modified 3G network that the iPhone does not support.

Painful, but useable.

March 21 2011 at 12:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Chris M

When orange and T-Mobile merged in the UK it took upuntil now for them to 'share' each others networks. Now the handsets 'roam' on the t-mobile and orange networks giving increased coverage across the UK.

At&t and T-Mobile in the USA will probably do the same in 6 months to a year. Then the handsets will be available to all on their networks.

March 21 2011 at 12:05 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
marynowany

Me says no T-Mobile

March 21 2011 at 11:24 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jason

I thought that this was a technical limitation. The iPhone is built to run on AT&T's 3G spectrum, not T-Mobile's, which is why unlocked iPhones are EDGE-only on T-Mobile. AT&T is not merging those spectrums, meaning that the current technical limitations will persist until LTE is fully rolled out, unless Apple makes a GSM iPhone to work on T-Mobile's spectrum which is almost certainly not to happen at this point.

Am I wrong?

March 21 2011 at 11:07 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to Jason's comment
Matt

Love the implication that the iPhone is not "cutting edge."

March 21 2011 at 10:49 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Matt's comment
rbgaynor

Hardly, this is all about T-Mobile not wanting its customers to delay purchases because they feel the iPhone is imminent (the Verizon iPhone announcement was enough to cause Motorola's sales to drop).

March 21 2011 at 1:51 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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