iPhone 4S Release Date: US Cellular Declined to Sell iPhone 4S
United States Cellular reportedly turned down Apple management's offer to carry and sell the iPhone 4S smartphone.
CEO Mary Dillon, during a third-quarter conference call with analysts, said that Apple's terms were “unacceptable from a risk and profitability standpoint."
Dillon said the potential strain on her company's network played no part in the decision. She added that U.S. Cellular is open to carrying the iPhone 4S in the future.
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Dillon also said that her company would increase 25 percent of its network with 4G LTE by the end of this year. New smartphones will also be launching in early 2012.
U.S. Cellular, an Illinois-headquartered company, stands as the nation’s sixth-largest wireless carrier.
They currently serve about 6.1 million customers in half the country’s states.
Telefónica Czech Republic AS carrier also decided not to carry Apple's smartphone. They reasoned that its decision was due to problems with "business terms."
Another cellphone carrier and current rival to U.S. Cellular, C Spire Wireless, will be carrying the iPhone 4S. C Spire Wireless will offer the iPhone 4S to customers on Nov. 11.
The retail price that C Spire Wireless will sell iPhone 4S for match the prices of Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel and AT&T Mobile.
The 16 GB iPhone 4S will retail for $199.99, the 32 GB model will sell for $299.99 and the 64G B will retail for $299.99 with a two-year contract.
C Spire Wireless will also offer the 8 GB iPhone 4 for $99.99 with a two-year contract. C Spire said it still intends to introduce tiered data plans in the first half of 2012.
Alan Ferber, U.S. Cellular's executive vice president and chief strategy and brand officer, said that tiered data pricing will “not only help us on monetizing the data growth, but that will also, in combination with lower-cost smartphones, allow customers to move from feature phones to their very first smartphone."
The iPhone 4S should continue to be a success going into this year's holiday season.
Michael Walkley, analyst with Canaccord Genuity, said: "We believe iPhones are outselling all other smartphones combined at each of [AT&T, Sprint and Verizon] since the iPhone 4S launch."
