U.S. Cellular may soon offer its customers the Apple iPhone, according to CEO Mary Dillon.
Dillon was coy about actually naming the iPhone, but said the company will sell “Apple products later this year.” U.S. Cellular is one of the few major carriers that doesn’t offer the iPhone. “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,” said Dillon. Dillon did not provide any more specifics about its plans. U.S. Cellular offers CDMA-based 3G service and has its own LTE 4G network in the 700 and 1700MHz bands.
The company also reported earnings today and outlined its network plans moving forward. It expects to cover 87% of its existing 3G base with LTE 4G by the end of the year, which will include some 3,800 cities and towns in Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
The company lost 51,000 customers during the most recent quarter and now claims to have 5.73 million subscribers.
