Analyst: AT&T Exclusive iPhone Deal Up in June

Fans of other wireless carriers can rejoice. The end is near for AT&T's exclusive deal with Apple to offer the iPhone in the US. Broadpoint AmTech analyst Brian Marshall claims the expiration date is June 2010.

AT&T is said to be in negotiations to extend the deal through 2011. The iPhone deal could be of even greater importance to the carrier since Verizon will have LTE (4G) technology up and running in 20-30 markets in 2010.

Reports have indicated Apple could use LTE technology in a future iPhone model, which would allow the hardware to operate on multiple networks including T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T.

According to some reports, Apple receives a $400 subsidy from AT&T for every iPhone sold. Marshall believes the subsidy would be reduced to $300 for all carriers after the exclusive deal expires. It's not clear why Apple would choose to lower the subsidy, as the iPhone is clearly in high demand.

iPhone owners make up roughly 14% of AT&T's total subscriber base and consume almost half of the network's bandwidth. Spreading this pain around could improve service for all iPhone owners.

Marshall is bullish on Apple, claiming a Verizon iPhone would boost sales by 14 million units. Some disagree with his June 2010 proclamation, citing sources that indicate AT&T's exclusive deal runs through the end of 2010.

Comments

I would have to agree with the June 2010 date based upon my conversation with a high-level Verizon tech support person. We turned out to have a long conversation because of our mutual love of smartphones and mutual desire for the Verizon iPhone. What he said was something to the following affect. He said that he couldn't tell me anything official, but off the record, I should look for Verizon iPhone sometime after June 2010. Now this this conversation took place about February of 2009 and now I am seeing all of this begin to play out. So, yeah, I believe the June of 2010 date.

Hopefully, this time, Verizon won't make the mistake of passing over the iPhone, again.

$400 per phone from AT&T, solely vs $300 per phone from ALL networks.

...dont forget to carry the one, Thomas.

If you were in the market for a new iPhone ... and didn't have a contract currently... and you could pick either the Verizon-iphone... or the ATT-iphone... which would you choose?

I bet HUGE numbers would pick Verizon.

and then they can pay the excessive termination fee that never goes away. Verizon is definitely not the white hat provider.

yea, because its always good to pick a network without simultaneous voice and data. Don't base choices on emotion.

Simultaneous voice/data is a straw man argument. How often do people use voice/data together?

How often do you even use it as a *phone*?

Alternatively, switch to t-mobile. Faster speeds and simultaneous voice/data