Apple did sign a new agreement with regional cellular provider C Spire which provides approximately 900,000 subscribers with access to the iPhone 4 and 4S starting next Friday.
Previously, the company had planned to offer LTE access during the fourth quarter of 2011. Customers try out the iPhone 4S in an Apple store.
Consumers pay $200 for the base model of the iPhone 4S, but Apple charges carriers about $600 for it.
During the company's third-quarter earnings call today, Mary Dillon said that U.S. Cellular considered adding the iPhone to its lineup, but that Apple's "terms were unacceptable from a risk and profitability standpoint." Dillon didn't offer specifics, Fierce Wireless reported, but she added that the potential strain on the carrier's data network was not a factor.
Whatever the reason, though, Dillon said that U.S. Cellular may reconsider carrying the iPhone in future.
During the call, Dillon said that LTE service will roll out to 25 percent of U.S. Cellular's network by the end of the year and that the carrier will introduce its first LTE devices in the first quarter of 2012. U.S. Cellular turned down Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone because it did not make sense for the company economically, CEO Mary Dillon said on the company's third-quarter earnings conference call.
Dillon said that the carrier had the opportunity to sell the iPhone but that Apple's "terms were unacceptable from a risk and profitability standpoint." U.S. Cellular's decision is notable in light of the fact that C Spire Wireless, formerly Cellular South, will begin offering the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 Nov. 11. Additionally, like the Tier 1 carriers, C Spire will offer an 8 GB iPhone 4 for $99.99 with a two-year contract.--The Tier 2 carrier posted net income of $62.1 million in the quarter, up 62 percent from $38.3 million in the year-ago period. Total revenue for the quarter climbed 5 percent to $1.11 billion. Service revenue also rose by 5 percent to around $1.036 billion.
Smartphones: The company said 40 percent of the devices it sold in the quarter--356,000 units--were smartphones, up from 23.6 percent in the year-ago period, or 216,000 units. U.S. Cellular added that 26 percent of its postpaid subscriber base now has a smartphone, up from 12.1 percent in the year-ago quarter.
LTE: Dillon confirmed that U.S. Cellular will deploy LTE to around 25 percent of its footprint by year-end.
The company will launch its first LTE devices by the end of the first quarter of 2012. Dillon said the company is currently evaluating where to deploy LTE throughout 2012.
Subscribers: U.S. Cellular said reported a net loss of 23,000 retail customers, including a loss of 34,000 postpaid customers and gain of 11,000 prepaid customers; postpaid customers comprised 95 percent of retail customers. U.S. Cellular ended the quarter with a total of 5.62 million customers. Dillon said that the company's Belief Plans, which include customer loyalty features, now have 2.8 million customers, and that U.S. Cellular added 452,000 Belief Plan customers in the quarter.--Churn: Postpaid churn dropped slightly to 1.55 percent, down from 1.58 percent in the year-ago quarter.
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