Andre Yoskowitz
4 May 2013 19:59
U.S. Cellular, a regional carrier, has announced it will begin offering Apple products later in the year, although details were scant.
During their quarterly earnings release, the company noted "we have a number of strategies in progress to increase loyalty and attract more customers, including our announcement today that we will begin offering Apple products later this year. By further strengthening our device portfolio, we'll give consumers another great reason to switch to U.S. Cellular, and enable our existing customers to choose from an even wider variety of iconic smartphones, and enjoy the outstanding U.S. Cellular customer experiences they deserve. Our smartphone penetration is currently 43 percent of core market customers and growing quickly. We believe there will be strong, ongoing demand for smartphones and data products and services from our customers, and we have significant room for growth in this area."
In 2011, U.S. Cellular made headlines when it refused to carry the iPhone due to Apple's "unacceptable terms." Apple normally requires carriers accept a certain amount of devices over the course of three years.
U.S. has 5.7 million subscribers and will become the last of the biggest five carriers in the nation to get the iPhone, a few weeks after T-Mobile began offering the device.